Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that there is a need to issue Quality Control Orders (QCOs) across sectors in the electrical industry. 

He was addressing the gathering at the 15th edition of ELECRAMA, themed ‘Reimagining Energy for Sustainable Future’, organized by the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA) in Greater Noida today. ELECRAMA is the flagship showcase of the Indian Electrical Industry ecosystem and the largest standalone show in the electrical and allied equipment arena. 

He sought the industry’s support in implementing QCOs.  ‘Quality control orders will help us save the industry from unfair competition from non-transparent economies which are pumping low quality goods and sub optimal goods into the country’, he stressed. He urged larger companies to support and handhold smaller companies to develop quality consciousness by making them realize that quality would help them grow, get better markets and better prices. He also asked IEEMA to run campaigns to help people understand the importance of quality products and their role in boosting sustainability, energy efficiency and conservation.

The Minister applauded the electrical industry for having achieved USD 10 billion worth of exports and their target of achieving exports worth USD 25 billion dollars in next five years. ‘But we have to achieve more’, he said. He asked IEEMA to strive to make ELECRAMA an unbeatable exhibition.

Shri Goyal said that the electrical industry has certainly made India proud globally. He asked that we conduct exhibitions not only in developing countries but also in the developed part of the world. He said that FTAs with UAE and Australia must be leveraged to take such exhibitions to these nations and suggested that exhibitions also be held in Europe and US. ‘We should go straight into the big markets and showcase our presence and world class quality standards globally and make it known that India can be a reliable and trusted partner in all their energy needs and in their energy efficiency and transition programs’ he noted. The Minister also asked IEEMA to take smaller editions of ELECRAMA to the state and regional levels. 

Shri Goyal underscored that after the pandemic the world had realized the importance of working with trusted partners and reliable supply chains. He said that India offered transparency, integrity, honesty and rule of law that the world was looking for. ‘We must use this golden opportunity and make it count’, he said.

The Minister noted that the whole world was now looking upto India and Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership. He said that India’s leadership in the G20 had given us an opportunity to engage with businesses all across the world through forums such as B20, Startup 20 and Trade and Investment Working Groups. He highlighted that India had ambitious goals as a nation in the Amrit Kaal, as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; to become a developed nation, to take development and prosperity to every single citizen of the country.  The electrical Industry has a very important role to play in achieving this goal, he added. 

Pointing out that, the government’s efforts to make sure that every Indian has a good home had resulted in the construction of over 35 million homes, the Minister said that the fulfillment of these basic needs of life by the government had effectively raised the aspirations of people. He noted that a TV or smartphone is not a luxury but a necessity. ‘Digital technology exposed our youth to the better things of life, thus opening up huge opportunities for both the nation and the electrical industry’, he said. 

Shri Goyal highlighted the government’s success in taking electricity connections to the remotest corners of the country. ‘Electricity transforms lives, making it easier and more efficient and this is one industry where we have a domestic quality strength’, he said. 

The Minister spoke of India’s huge success in nurturing a domestic LED lighting industry and achieving a rapid shift from incandescent to LED bulbs and said that India had significantly brought down Carbon emissions, contributing significantly to India’s net zero emissions goal by 2070 and our effort to have 500 GW of clean and renewable energy in the days to come by 2030. ‘These efforts open up huge opportunities for the electrical industry and the electricity sector is such that the entire value chain has so many different elements that each company has huge potential going forward:’ he added. 

Shri Goyal noted that the Amrit Kaal Budget has given big boost to green goals and circular economy. He said that the goal to transition to green and sustainable products and practices was one of the ‘saptarshis’ or the seven goals of the Amrit Kaal budget.  He added that there is a need to make energy efficiency and sustainability a movement and motivate our children to conserve energy. The Minister said that we needed to work as a team to address the needs of not only India but those of the world at large. 

The Minister stated that solar energy is the biggest source of clean and sustainable energy available to India. He asked the electrical industry to strive to harness it to the best possible extent and create a huge storage capacity which would in turn would help popularize Electric vehicles in India. A robust ecosystem for electric vehicles would in turn boost solar energy initiatives, he said. He asked the electrical industry to Invest in electrical vehicles, helping make electric mobility a pathway to sustainability, reducing dependence on fossil fuels which are bad for the economy as well as the environment. He also asked them to work to create better electrical products and energy efficient transmission and distribution infrastructure to maximize conservation. 

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