New Foreign Trade Policy to come into effect from April 1

• New Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) will become effective from 1st April 2021 as announced during Parliamentary Consultative Committee meet on ‘New Foreign Trade Policy 2021-26’
• Meeting was chaired by Minister of State for Commerce Hardeep Singh Puri.
• It will be valid for 5 years.
• FTP will strive to make India a leader in international trade and channelize the synergies gained through merchandise and services exports for growth and employment making India $5 trillion economy.

Who are the largest trading partners of India?

• Bangladesh, UK, USA, Bhutan, UAE, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Israel, Nepal, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Iraq.

Which is the biggest export of India?

• Pharmaceuticals

By which year has India set to achieve the target of 5 trillion USD?

• 2024

Can India achieve the target of 5 trillion USD?

• If India grows at 12% nominal growth then from the 2018 levels of 2.7 trillion USD, India can achieve 5 trillion USD by 2024.

What are challenges India should address to become a 5 trillion USD economy?

1. Under-employment.
2. Slowdown in agriculture
3. Funding issues
4. Slow pace of infrastructure development
5. Export issues

What was the previous Foreign Trade Policy?

• The previous foreign trade policy was implemented between 2015 and 2020. This policy aimed to boost “Make in India” initiative.
• The policy merged five different schemes under “Merchandise Export from India Scheme” (MEIS).
• The five different schemes were Market Linked Focus Product Scheme, Focus Product Scheme, Focus Market scheme, VKGUY and Infrastructure Incentive Scrip.
• Also, the Served from India scheme was replaced with Service Exports from India Scheme.