Piyush Goyal | Higher GST mop-up partly due to rise in economic activity

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday, January 27, said a large part of the increase in goods and services tax (GST) collections can be attributed to higher economic activity. Speaking on inflation, he said in India it is mostly seen in energy products.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of DAKSH 2023 at Christ University, Bengaluru, Goyal stated that increasing imports signal that economic activity is picking up in India and this increased demand will encourage new investment, thereby creating new jobs.

The minister pointed out that inflation has largely been seen in energy products and India has been able to maintain other products at reasonable levels.

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Goyal urged students to make sustainability an important element of their lives, stressing that sustainability is going to determine the future of the planet.

He said Australia and India are in dialogue to offer joint degrees or dual degrees for students of both countries, "India is in dialogue with the UK for mutual recognition of degrees and supporting each other with offshore campuses for colleges of both the countries."

The minister said India is in talks with Gulf countries and exploring having offshore campuses of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)  in Middle East countries.

Also, he said the government is engaging with universities across the world and Stanford University has expressed its interest to expand collaboration between India and the USA.

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Talking about National Education Policy (NEP), Goyal said it came out in 2020 but unfortunately due to COVID-19, could not have outreach programmes with many universities.

Further, he said, the government has been successful in helping the startup ecosystem and service industry and urged the management of Christ University to have a competition among their students, wherein they can suggest what needs to be done by the government, business, and industry. Those who give the best suggestions can be awarded, he added.