The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Tuesday outlined a ten-point agenda and appealed to the government to increase exports.
In a report titled ‘Re-orienting India’s Export Endeavour in the COVID-19 World’, the CII said that India must aim to achieve 5 per cent share in world merchandise exports and 7 per cent in services exports by 2025.
India’s share in global merchandise export is currently 1.67pc with a low share in top globally traded items and 3.54pc in service export.
The CII report includes measures for nine manufacturing sectors including steel and automotive sector. For the steel sector, the body suggested an auto trigger mechanism to stop a surge in imports while negotiating for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and opt for stricter Rules of Origin.
For the growth in automotive and auto component segment ,CII suggested Free trade agreements/ Preferential trade agreements with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Algeria, Libya, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, UK, Mexico, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Israel. The current Foreign Trade Poicy (FTP) expires in 2021, and CII has appealed for a revised robust policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Indian exports as it declined by 35pc in March, 60pc in April and 36.5pc in May 2020.