India unveils Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, aims to boost exports to $2 trillion by 2030

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday unveiled Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023. The policy, which aims to boost the country's exports to $2 trillion by 2030, will shift from incentives to remission and entitlement-based regime.

However, The FTP this time has done away with 5 year period clause. The latest policy has no end date and will be updated as and when needed, said Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi while briefing media about FTP 2023.

"We have broken uncertainty. Have presumed the sun never sets on our exports sector. The policy will be updated as and when required instead of waiting for 5 year period," Sunil Barathwal, Secretary, the Department of Commerce added.

The DGFT also said India is likely to end this fiscal year with total exports of USD 760-770 billion as against USD 676 billion in 2021-22.
The new FTP identifies four new Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) -- Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi -- in addition to the already existing 39 TEEs.

The FTP benefits have been extended to e-commerce exports, which are estimated to grow to $200-300 billion by 2030. The value limit for exports through courier service is being increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per consignment, he said.

The new FTP also seeks to make the Indian rupee a global currency and allow international trade settlement in the domestic currency. The DGFT further said FTP 2023 is dynamic and responsive to the emerging trade scenario. He also said the department of commerce is being restructured to make it "future-ready".

Goyal, meanwhile, said that amidst all the economic challenges faced by many countries, India is the bright spot. Earlier, he had said that there is a high interest for FTAs with India shown by many countries, and discussions are on at a “frenzied pace” with many countries, and quipped that he is not left with the bandwidth to discuss such agreements.

In 2021-22, the country's goods and services exports touched an all-time high of $422 billion and $254 billion respectively, taking the total shipments to $676 billion.

What is a Foreign Trade Policy?

Foreign Trade Policy is an elaborate framework aiming to increase exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increase value addition in the country. Its primary focus is to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ease of doing business.

Established by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the governing body for the promotion and facilitation of exports and imports under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the policy emphasises on adopting a twin strategy of promoting traditional and sunrise sectors of exports including services.

(Inputs from PTI)