The Commerce and Industry has planned to implement the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) from April 1st. The officials a have already submitted a draft for the same. A final go through is yet to be done.
Will there be a focus on the policy?
There will be a primary focus on the Commerce and Industry as a whole. The Commerce and Industry Minister,Piyush Goyal has indicated that the new FTP is about to be launched soon. The officers are focusing on the FTP. In an interview the minister, he said,”I have instructed my officials to start concentrating on the FTP as we are now free from the parliamentary budget process”.
A new FTP will be made public in due course. The new FTP was supposed to be announced in 2020, but got postponed due to the pandemic. The FTP f 2015-2020 is been considered as a piecemeal. The last extension made on the same was on October 1st,2022. This will last till 31st March,2023.
The FTP is usually for a five year period. The duration of the new FTP is yet to be decided because the start did not happen as per schedule. There is an election coming up in 2024. The new FTP might bear the new duration,said the sources from FTP.
Tough times for Indian goods
The Indian goods export are undergoing a difficult time due to the slowdown in the economy and the global demand. The value has reached a high demand of $422 billion in goods exports throughout 2022-2023.
The demand could see a decline in October 2022 for the first time. It was seen rising to margin by 0.6% in November 2022. According to a Delhi-based businessman/porter,”We are not sure whether the government will finally come yp with a new FTP on April 1st as the uncertainity in the global economy is still continuing “ Adding more to this, “Given the fact that there are elections next year,it might be more logical to come o with the new policy after the process is over and the new government is sworn-in”