India needs to get into cutting edge tech to boost exports: Kant

India now needs to get into cutting edge technology to boost exports which will benefit sectors like telecom, automobiles, battery storage devices and solar energy, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Tuesday. Kant, speaking at the launch event for CII’s report ‘Foreign Trade & Investment in India: Unlocking Key Opportunities through Strategic Reforms’, further said the country is at the cusp of a transformation. “India now needs to get into cutting edge technology in order to boost its exports. “… sectors such as telecom, automobiles, battery storage devices, and solar energy, among others, would benefit from technology exports,” industry body CII said in a statement quoting Kant.

Kant also pointed out that reforms that have been implemented post the pandemic would go a long way in facilitating this process. “Thanks to the reforms process in India, key indicators such as GDP, FDI and trade have risen sharply,” he said, adding that India has became a favoured destination for global investment. Kant said the report now highlights the measures that the government needs to take in order to make India more competitive in the global market. Participating in the event, UK’s Deputy Trade Commissioner, South Asia, Rhiannon Harries said trade and investment sits at the heart of the UK-India relationship. The UK and Indian governments are already working closely on an enhanced trade partnership, which will help deepen trade ties, remove market access barriers and act as a roadmap for a potential future free trade agreement, Harries added. The CII report presents a detailed analysis of the policies that affect India’s openness with respect to international trade, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, and FDI, the statement said.

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Against the background of the policy changes, the study analyses the trends and patterns of imports and exports and FDI inflows as also identifies on-ground issues being faced by companies in India. It also highlighted the need to participate in preferential trade arrangements with key partners, alongside leveraging existing ones, for realising greater export and FDI and increasing India’s integration into the regional and global value chains. The report recommended key policy measures including developing a mechanism to review the effectiveness of single-window systems more regularly and effectively by the chief secretary of the respective states, digitisation and integration of land records, introduction of single online portal with integrated information, notification of fixed term employment by all states, among others. To establish India as a global trade and investment hub, the CII report calls for exploring free trade agreements (FTAs) with key partners such as the UK, US and the EU. It also suggests setting up a single point of contact for large overseas investors, designing specific policies for Champion Sectors, and introducing differential slab-based incentives as per FDI size.