India Aims for $2tn Exports by 2030 with New Foreign Trade Policy 2023

The Indian government released the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 on Friday, March 23rd, which aimed to increase the country's exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030. The policy proposes to shift from an incentives-based regime to a remission and entitlement-based one to achieve this goal.

As “Mint” stated on their news forum, during a media briefing on the recently launched FTP 2023, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi mentioned that unlike the previous practice of announcing 5-year FTP, the new policy does not have an end date and will be updated periodically as per the requirement. 

The Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had previously introduced the FTP 2023, which is set to become effective from April 1, 2023. 

Additionally, the DGFT shared a positive outlook on India's exports, stating that the country is likely to close this fiscal year with total exports worth USD 760-770 billion, as compared to USD 676 billion in 2021-22.

The previous five-year policy had come into effect on April 1, 2015, but due to the global pandemic's impact on the economy, it was extended multiple times. The last extension was granted in September 2022 until March 31, 2023.

The recently launched FTP 2023 highlights the identification of four new Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) - Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur, and Varanasi - in addition to the existing 39 TEEs.

One of the key features of the FTP 2023 is the extension of its benefits to e-commerce exports, which are predicted to reach USD 200-300 billion by 2030.