India Govt. unveils new foreign trade policy to boost exports, greeted with mixed response

Concessions announced in the new policy will cost the exchequer an additional Rs.2200 crore in the current fiscal year, a government official said.

The policy has, however, met with mixed response from India's industry captains.

According to Harshpati Singhania, president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), "...(the FTP) will help our exporters retain market share, and will hopefully reverse the declining trend in our exports."

The enhanced benefits for market development and promotion schemes would enable the exporting community to explore new export destinations, he added.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said the focus in the FTP on 26 new markets will greatly benefit the exporters who have been hit due to demand slowdown in the country's traditional markets.

"It is a very realistic trade policy. I think new products (and) new countries have been best thought out...In a very innovative Foreign Trade Policy," Banerjee said, adding that though the FTP may not have specifically mentioned the small and medium enterprises sector but it talks about the labour intensive sector which largely consists of SMEs.