Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Friday maintained that the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) not only underlined an approach for the next couple of years but it also incorporated a long-term vision aiming at doubling the country’s trade and its share in global trade in percentage terms.
Interacting with captains of industry at two separate meetings organised separately by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr. Sharma said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s objective had been kept in mind while framing the short-term approach in tune with the current economic scenario across the globe.
The policy had a vision to double the country’s trade volume by 2014 and the country’s share of the global trade in percentage terms by 2020.
Mr. Sharma also assured trade and industry leaders that the Finance Ministry would be acting on the announcements made by him relating to the FTP on Thursday and the necessary notifications relating to customs and revenue departments would be issued next week.
Assuring to reduce transaction cost of exporters and simplify procedures, Mr. Sharma said that the first meeting of the Inter-State Trade Council would be held next month.
He said that India was determined to catch up with China and not lag behind perpetually, stressing that it was a matter of strategy and the need was to co-exist with competition.
