After announcing the final annual supplement to the foreign trade policy (2004-09), Union minister of commerce and industry Kamal Nath spoke to the media
NEW DLEHI: After announcing the final annual supplement to the foreign trade policy (2004-09), Union minister of commerce and industry Kamal Nath spoke to the media on several issues including inflation, rupee appreciation, special economic zones and employment generation. Excerpts from the Q&A session:
On the impact of inflation on the foreign trade policy…The supply-side management within the country needs to be addressed. And, we are already doing it. But, this policy is under no shadow. The objective of the policy is to enhance economic activity in the country. We have already achieved that to a large extent.
On the new measures proposed in the supplement…
We have expanded the scope of ‘focus product’ and ‘focus market’ schemes. The new measures are expected to remove some of the anomalies in the market. For instance, India has a large market in apparel in the US, but the penetration is very low in Japan.
The focus products and focus market scheme would be calibrated so that some products of high export intensity, but which have low penetration in other countries, would be considered for export incentive as a focus product for that country.
Also, 10 countries have been included in the focus market scheme. These are Mongolia, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Honduras, Djibouti, Sudan, Ghana and Colombia.
On special economic zones (SEZs)… The government sees SEZs as vehicles of industrialisation and employment generation. It is projected that exports from SEZs would reach Rs 1.25 trillion ($31.25 billion) by the end of this financial year. Development of this nature reassures us of the validity of the basic policy relating to SEZs notwithstanding the scepticism expressed by a few persons.
On allowing realisation of money in Indian rupee in the case of rupee invoicing…
This suggestion has been there for some time. But there are many pros and cons to this suggestion. We are examining it.
On job loss due to rupee appreciation…There have been many studies on this aspect. I’m confident of new opportunities in employment due to the trade policy. We have announced today that in the last four years, increased trade activity has created 136 lakh new jobs.
Exports are not just about earning foreign exchange, but about boosting our manufacturing sector, creating large-scale economic activity and generating fresh employment opportunities.
On whether export of iron ore should be banned to curb steel prices… Any ban on the export of iron ore would not impact domestic steel prices (which have been rising strongly). The government is withdrawing incentives for exports of steel (to check inflation).
On checking overall inflation growth…We will announce more measures to contain inflation.
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net
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