Self-reliant India aimed at becoming part of global supply chains: I&B Secretary Jaju

New Delhi: India's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative is not about protectionism but becoming a part of the global supply chain with a focus on diversifying the mix of the economy, Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said on Tuesday.

Addressing the FICCI Viksit Bharat conclave in the national capital, Jaju said Atmanirbhar Bharat meant that India wants to achieve self-reliance and national development within the overall rubric of the globalised world.

"When we say that we want Atmanirbhar Bharat, we are not saying we are going to close our doors to the entire world but, on the contrary, we are saying this shows our openness and engagement. But it has to align with the requirement of self-reliance, especially in critical and strategic sectors," said Jaju, who had a stint in the defence ministry before being appointed as the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

He said the first pillar of self-reliant India is to have export competitiveness, having leadership in manufacturing, design and technology.

The second pillar is about strategic partnerships when India emerges as a knowledge economy and the world treating it as an equal in terms of knowledge and technology transfers, Jaju said.

"That is where excessive reliance on design leadership becomes pivotal and extra-reliance on design leadership becomes pivotal to the entire process," he added.

Self-reliant India also refers to getting integrated in the global supply and value chains, the bureaucrat said.

"That is how we will be able to get the domestic industry players get integrated into the global network of corporations and industrial and medium and small enterprises all over the world," Jaju said and added that it has brought in a lot of collaborative framework and contributed to the global economy.

He said the fourth pillar of Atmanirbhar Bharat is about India’s openness to trade.

"That is why we are talking about fair and equitable trade agreements that protects our domestic interests but, at the same time, also allows us access to global markets and vice versa," Jaju said.