GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Indian Economy
Source: Indian Express
Context: Recently Foreign Trade Policy 2023 was unveiled by the government
For the provisions of FTP 2023: Click here
Issues with the new FTP 2023 policy:
| Issues | Description |
| Non-updation of the 1992 Act | The FTP is notified by the Central Government under the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, of 1992. However, this act still focuses on regulating and restricting trade, rather than facilitating it. |
| Not focusing on quality and efficiency | It still relies on export incentives rather than improvements in product quality and production efficiencies, which are the new trade policy instruments. |
| Restrictions on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) | It still imposes import “prohibitions” or “restrictions” on the DGFT, instead of reducing its regulatory functions and making it a facilitator. |
| Not addressing the weakness of the RoDTEP Scheme | RoDTEP Scheme— the scheme exempts or gives back the taxes and levies (levied on the exported products) to the exporters.
It fails to address the lower-than-desirable rates of remission of duties under the RoDTEP scheme. |
| Not addressing the issues with developing districts as export hubs | It lacks a commitment to supporting the efficient infrastructure component of the programme to develop districts as export hubs. |
| Issue with the Inclusion of e-commerce | The inclusion of e-commerce in the FTP might send the wrong signals that India is ready to engage in the WTO on this issue. |
| Issue with the Amnesty scheme | It might encourage further fraud and misdeclaration by exporters.
However, the Ministry of Commerce has now clarified that the cases under investigation for fraud, and misdeclaration of capital goods will be excluded from the coverage of the amnesty scheme. |
