President of India Presents Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards instituted by the Federation of Indian Export Organizations for outstanding performance in exports for the year 2010-11 and 2011-12 in New Delhi today (December 1, 2014).

Speaking on the occasion, The Presidentcongratulated all the award winners and said that he was sure their achievements would inspire other exporters also to contribute more vigorously to the economic development of our country by augmenting their export efforts.

The President said that exports have a very important role to play in our economic growth. Exporters may, however, do well to remember that in today’s fiercely competitive world, their ability to tap new markets, and consolidate their presence in existing markets, is directly dependent on the value proposition they offer to overseas buyers. They must, therefore, ensure that their products are not only reasonably priced but that they also score highly in terms of quality, robustness and durability. For this, it is essential that all of them internalize the mantras of quality consciousness, professionalism in service delivery and complete transparency and fairness in dealings with their trading and business partners.

The President said that India has done reasonably well in all parameters of socio-economic activity over the last decade. All across, we see a genuine recognition of present day, "emerging India” embarking onto a new era and making its mark on the world stage. We are today the third largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity with our economy growing at an average rate of 7.6 per cent per year from 2004-05 to 2013-14. The international trade to GDP ratio, which was less than 15 per cent in 1991-92, is now close to 42 per cent. Our export sector has done well. From US Dollar 17.9 billion in 1991-92, the value of exports has increased to US Dollar 312.6 billion in 2013-14. The compound average growth rate of our exports during 1991-92 to 2001-02 was 9.4 per cent. This has increased to 17.8 per cent during the period 2001-02 to 2013-14.

This release issued at 1915 hrs.