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» Foreign Trade Policy 2004-05 » BriefBrief
India For India to become a major player in world trade, an all
encompassing comprehensive view needs to be taken for the overall
development of the country's foreign trade. While increase in exports is
of vital importance, the country must also facilitate those imports
which are required to stimulate the Indian economy. Coherence and
consistency among trade and other economic policies is important for
maximizing the contribution of such policies to development.
Thus, while incorporating the existing practice of enunciating an
annual Exim Policy, it is necessary to go much beyond and take an
integrated approach to the developmental requirements of India's foreign
trade. This is the context of the new Foreign Trade Policy (2004-2009).
Trade is not an end in itself, but a means to economic growth and
national development. The primary purpose is not the mere earning of
foreign exchange, but the stimulation of greater economic activity. The
Foreign Trade Policy is rooted in this belief and built around two major
objectives.
These are:
To double India's percentage share of global merchandise trade within
the next five years.
To act as an effective instrument of economic growth by giving a thrust
to employment generation.
Trade Policy (2004-2009) is essentially a roadmap for the development
of India's foreign trade. It contains the basic principles and points
the direction in which the country proposes to go. By virtue of its very
dynamics, a trade policy cannot be fully comprehensive in all its
details. It would naturally require modification from time to time. The
government proposes to do this through continuous updates, based on the
inevitable changing dynamics of international trade. The government
proposes to erect milestones on this roadmap in partnership with
business and industry.
