New trade policy to facilitate India's transition to developed economy: FICCI

New Delhi [India], April 1 : New foreign trade policy reiterates the government's focus on self-reliance or Atmanirbhar Bharat and it will play a critical role in facilitating India's transition to an advanced developed economy during its Amrit Kaal (the period when it attains 100 years of Independence), said industry body FICCI's president Subhrakant Panda.
Panda, in a statement, said, the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) will play a pivotal role in realizing the target of USD 2 trillion in exports, as projected by the government, (for merchandise and services) by the year 2030.
"By doing away with the sunset clause and end-period, the FTP will allay apprehensions of the exporters and importers and ensure stability, continuity and certainty amidst the changing geo-political environment," said Panda, referring to the new policy which doesn't have any specific timeline.
Introduction of new elements in the foreign trade policy, especially E-commerce, Internationalization of the India Rupee, District Exports Hub, and Merchanting Trade reform are welcome steps.
The Central government on Friday unveiled India's new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, which seeks to boost the country's exports to USD 2 trillion by the year 2030 and focuses on international trade settlement in rupees.
The earlier Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, which was to end in March 2020 was extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and volatile geo-political scenario and was set to end on Friday.
The RBI had last year put in place an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports/imports in Indian currency. This mechanism will help in internationalizing the Indian currency in the long run. A currency can be termed "international" if it is widely accepted worldwide as a medium of exchange.
The Foreign Trade Policy 2023, the government said, is aimed to provide policy continuity and a responsive framework.
Meanwhile, India's total exports already crossed USD 750 billion and is projected to touch USD 760 billion by today, and will be the highest by the country ever. This will be an increase of over 13 per cent on a yearly basis.
In the past six-to-seven years, India's exports have risen by about 75 per cent, as compared to 28 per cent at the global level, data showed.
During the period, engineering and agricultural exports rose 81 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively. Pharma and electronics goods rose 45 per cent and 163 per cent, respectively.
Coming to marine products and toys, they rose 63 per cent and 89 per cent, respectively, data showed.
Further, the dairy sector is to be exempted from maintaining Average Export Obligations. It aims to support the dairy sector to upgrade technology.
The government will set sector-specific targets to achieve the goal of trillion-dollar merchandise exports by 2030. The government will also restructure the Department of Commerce to make it future-ready.