(a) the items imported by the foreign companies in India on which customs duty has been reduced;
(b) whether as a result thereof the rates of indigenous goods have become much higher than the foreign goods;
(c) if so, whether the Government propose to adopt a concrete policy to boost export of indigenous goods; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY( SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY )
(a) to (d) The customs duties on imports are being reduced, as part of the economic liberalization policy being followed by the Government since early 90`s. Custom tariff on all commodities is decided taking into account various factors including the interests of domestic producers. The likely import of any particular item by a foreign company is not one of the criteria for reduction in customs duty. Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the official agency for compilation of trade data, does not compile company-wise trade statistics.
The reduction in custom duty rates has not altered the overall rate of growth of imports of the country. The growth rate of imports was 15.3% in 1993-94, 23.1% in 1994-95, 36.4% in 1995-96, 13.2% in 1996-97, 11% in 1997-98, 14.2% in 1998-99 and 13.6% in 1999-2000(in rupee. terms). The import growth rate during the year 2000-2001 was only 5.59% in rupee terms and 0.27% in US dollar terms. The growth rate of imports during the first nine months of this financial year was only 0.31% in Dollar terms and 4.55% in Rs. terms, compared to the same period last year.
The Government is committed to providing an encouraging policy regime to boost exports from India. Towards this end, the Government has recently formulated a medium term export strategy for the period 2002-2007 with a view to achieving a share of at least 1% of world trade by the year 2007. Copies of this document are available in the parliament library.