PremiumThe Central government on Friday said that it has taken several steps to reduce import reliance so as to curb the trade deficit.
“These include creating/enhancing of domestic capacity, incentivizing domestic manufacturing through Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, phased manufacturing plans, timely use of trade remedy options, adoption of mandatory technical standards, enforcement of FTA Rules of Origin (RoO) and development of import monitoring system, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry," Minister of state for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The government has taken steps to boost exports so as to narrow down the trade deficit. It includes extension of existing Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) by six months till March 31, 2023.
The government has also approved the extension of Interest Equalization Scheme for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit up to March 31, 2024 or till further review, whichever is earlier. The extension takes effect from October 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2024.
Other include rebate of state and central levies and taxes (RoSCTL) scheme to promote labour-oriented textile export has been implemented since March 7, 2019, remission of duties and taxes on exported products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since January 1, 2021, the launch of Common Digital Platform for certificate of origin to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilisation by exporters.
The ministry also said 12 champion services sectors have been identified for promoting and diversifying services exports by pursuing specific action plans.
Districts as export hubs has been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters or manufacturers to generate employment in the district, according to a ministry statement.
It also mentioned the active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced.
It added that package announced in light of the COVID pandemic to support domestic industry through various banking and financial sector relief measures, especially for MSMEs, which constitute a major share in exports.