Satisfied over growth in exports and industrial output, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the recently published January IIP figure is encouraging, but we have to do more, both on exports and industrial manufacturing.
Regarding the external trade, Sharma said that as we did two rounds of consultations with the CII and FICCI, now we will chair a high-level Board of Trade (BOT) meet on March 22 to review export performance, due to uncertain economic conditions in Western markets. After that we will start working to give the final shape to this year’s foreign trade policy (FTP).
By adding further, he said that the objective of the foreign trade policy is to boost exports and reduce the widening trade deficit, which has reached $182.1 billion in the 11-month period of the fiscal. Exports of merchandise increased for second month in row in February by an annual 4.23 percent to $26.26 billion after decreasing for eight months.
Meanwhile, a series of measures recently taken by the government to boost the economic growth have added to improve the investors’ sentiments. India's industrial output expanded for the first time in three months in January, an early sign that Asia's third-largest economy may have turned a corner after contracting for eight months in a row. India’s economy has been constrained by weak capital investment and flagging consumer demand.
