Levels Of International Trade in India
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Answer:
India's economic growth levels have remained sustained, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating the gross domestic product growth rate at 7.4% for 2018/19. This growth is attributable to structural domestic reforms and favourable global trade conditions. The government and the domestic industry are preparing for greater opportunities and deeper integration in the global value chain, with a special emphasis on the manufacturing sector. However, certain constraints remain obstacles to India's growth (for example, the availability of land and low productivity). These are highlighted in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2019, in which India was ranked 77th out of 190 countries. However, the government is making efforts to improve its ratings. This is reflected in the increase by 23 positions from 100 in the previous edition of the report.
The Indian trade policy for 2015-2020 is set out in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). The government releases its FTP every five years. However, the FTP is reviewed periodically to account for external and internal macroeconomic factors. The stated aim of the FTP is to stimulate the increase of India's share in global exports to 3.5% by 2020. It seeks to establish connections between trade policy and other domestic initiatives, including "Make in India", "Digital India" and "Skill India". Collectively, these policies attempt to incentivise the diversification of India's export base which, in turn, will result in increasing global competitiveness.
India has also been implementing measures to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The FDI limit applicable in several sectors has been liberalised and the FDI policy has been simplified. Further, India has been making efforts to facilitate ease in foreign trade. In recent years, India introduced changes to the domestic competition and intellectual property policies and laws.
However, despite attempts to liberalise domestic investment policies, the government is not favourably disposed towards signing new or renewing existing bilateral investment treaties. Additionally, India continues to aggressively use trade remedy measures. In recent months, the steel industry has benefited from the imposition of minimum import prices, anti-dumping duties and safeguard duties simultaneously.