By IANS
New Delhi : With a twin focus of curbing price rise and boosting trade, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath recast India’s foreign trade policy Friday, that bans export of primary steel and extends fiscal sops to a range of industries.
The Foreign Trade Policy for 2004-09, which was reviewed before representatives of trade promotion organisations, also sets an export target of $200 billion for this fiscal, against an estimated $155 billion achieved last fiscal.
“The remarkable achievements in trade and commerce of the past four years gives me the confidence to spell out an even more ambitious target – of achieving 5 percent of world trade by 2020,” Kamal Nath said.
“In practical terms, this means a four-fold increase in our percentage share in the next 12 years, he said, adding: “Ambitious the target may be, but achieving it is not impossible”.
Some of the highlights of the policy recast include:
– Extension of duty entitlement passbook scheme by another year
– Duty cut on export promotion capital goods scheme to 3 percent
– One-year extension of lower interest rates for small exporters
– One-year extension of tax exemption for export oriented units
– Relief to sectors affected by rupee appreciation
– New export promotion council for telecom sector
– Sops for exporters of toys, sports goods
– Cement exports banned
– Export of primary steel banned to curb prices
– All sops withdrawn on export of steel
– 10 more countries added to focus market scheme
– Computer hardware also under special focus initiative