Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called to revamp archaic rules to enable the services sector to expand globally, while urging local players not to fear competition. Recognizing the need to go beyond information technology (IT) as a key foreign exchange earner, Modi flagged financial services, tourism, arbitration and entertainment as sectors that hold enormous potential. Citing the experience in IT and yoga, the Prime Minister recognized that the role of the government should be minimal and that of a facilitator. He pitched India as a potential hub for international arbitration with changes in law and said the country had chartered accountants and lawyers and should not fear competition. But, a key theme of his speech at the Global Exhibition on Services was to move away from the fear of “brain drain” to an era of “brain gain,” where India could be a major player.
“There is immense scope in the services sector...India's human resource is our biggest strength,” the Prime Minister said as he suggested a detailed exercise to map sectors where India could emerge as a leading global player and also identify gaps across the world, which Indian services providers could fill in the coming years. As a country, there was a need to think of “multiple layers of services” which can be exported to the world, he said.
Modi also suggested that India had the potential to emerge as an international financial centre on the lines of Mauritius and Singapore and said the government is working towards that. Modi pointed to the need for a strong intellectual property rights (IPR) regime to help India emerge as a base for the global entertainment industry. India's services exports are estimated at a little over $150 billion, which account for around 50% of the annual merchandise exports. IT and IT-enabled services contribute to a large part of exports. But, services account for over half the share of the Indian economy .
