Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
India is pushing tech giants to make smartphones compatible with its home-grown navigation system within months, worrying the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple who fear elevated costs and disruptions as the move requires hardware changes, according to two industry sources and government documents seen by Reuters.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive for self-reliance, India has over the years expanded the use of its regional navigation satellite system called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation).
The Indian government wants to reduce dependence on foreign systems, including the widely used U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), and says NavIC provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit the economy.
China, the European Union, Japan and Russia have their own global or regional navigation systems to rival GPS. Operational since 2018, NavIC's uptake is minimal; it is mandated in public vehicle location trackers, for example.
But government and industry documents show Modi's administration and space officials want to broaden its use, and have this year pushed smartphone giants to make hardware changes to support NavIC, in addition to GPS, in new phones they will sell from January 2023.
In private meetings in August and September, representatives of Apple Inc., Xiaomi Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others pushed back, citing worries that making phones NavIC-compliant would mean higher research and production costs.
The changes would also require more testing clearances, which with a January 1 deadline would disrupt businesses and planned launches, according to two smartphone industry sources and documents.
Samsung declined comment on the meetings, while Apple and Xiaomi did not respond to requests for comment. India's IT ministry and the space agency ISRO that are both involved in the project also did not respond.
Samsung in particular voiced concerns during a September 2 closed-door meeting between top smartphone players and chipmakers with Indian IT ministry and space agency officials, according to the meeting's minutes reviewed by Reuters.
Samsung's India executive Binu George warned of cost worries, telling officials that NavIC support requires not just new smartphone chipsets but also many other components.
The smartphone players have sought time until 2025 to implement the changes, and a final decision is expected in coming days, a senior government official said.
The minutes said the Indian space agency will provide technical support for implementing NavIC in new smartphones, adding another meeting may be called.
India's space agency has said systems like GPS and Russia's GLONASS are operated by their countries' defence agencies, making it possible for civilian service to be interrupted.
Editorial
Putting power back in the hands of the people (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
A world bereft of an inclusive global community of trust is upon us. Racial genocides through history, blatant fascist leanings of the so-called “democracies”, and escalating hunger and disease in Africa and other parts of the under-developed world give enough evidence that democracy faces serious issues of populism, growing economic discrimination, overpopulation, and environmental degradation. Misgivings about moral progress, about mutual understanding, exacerbate the dismal situation that faces humanity.
And though there is a lot of rage to go around, we also share hope for a better world and a commitment to bringing it into existence through those who dream and work and think deeply to subvert any kind of state repression underpinned by violence and the manufacturing of fear.
Aware that the odds are pulling us fast towards a cataclysm, these “dreamers” are ready to act against the increasing injustices of democracies gone astray.
Their voices have already begun to resound and reinforce each other in unison of emancipatory struggle for the reinvention of democracy and its beleaguered institutions.
As SlavojZizek, the European philosopher, argues, their watchword is: “We are the ones we are waiting for”, which apparently does not have connotations of “agents predestined by fate to perform the task” but that there is “no big Otherto rely upon”. What alone can prevent the inexorable march of history towards the “apocalypse”, writes Zizek, is “pure voluntarism”.
The motivation is to oppose the tyranny of the state through the understanding of the workings of unilateral majoritarian power and control.
In this context, people must believe in the fact that though demonstrations and strikes have always been put down, they nevertheless advance the cause of progressive movements.
The Congress party in India, for instance, has nothing much to write home about, but the Bharat Jodo Yatra initiated by Rahul Gandhi is a way of reaching out to the people to make them see the grim reality facing the nation.
The pressure on the Government already exists, but it needs to grow. At a public gathering in honour of GauriLankesh, Arundhati Roy spoke on the death of democracy and argued: “The question we have to ask ourselves is, what is it that brought us to a situation where people who are oppressed, people who have no employment, people who are suffering deeply, are voting for further hellishness upon themselves.
What has made people believe in propaganda more than the reality of their experience…” in and outside their homes? Understandably, democracy is more in crisis than ever before, with the onset of centralisation of power, with a foreign policy defying public opinion, with the media centralised, and with corporate control of the economy tighter than ever.
It is our responsibility to publicise the anti-democratic actions of the state as much as we can because the political leaders will not do it.
Pitching India as a signature destination (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Earlier this month, the Dhauladhar ranges in the Himalayas were the setting for a gathering of State Tourism Ministers — a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss, debate and deliberate on modes and mechanisms to develop tourism in India.
The Ministers brainstormed for three days, co-developing ‘The Dharamshala Declaration’ by drawing inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Whole of Government’ approach, which enables the breaking down of silos and encouraging synergies across various government corridors.
On the occasion of World Tourism Day (it is held on September 27), I am happy to share this collective vision. ‘The Dharamshala Declaration’ aims to recognise India’s role in contributing towards global tourism as well as focusing on recovery by also promoting domestic tourism — which has been overlooked for long. In his Independence Day speech in 2019, Mr. Modi urged every Indian who could afford to travel, to visit at least 15 locations in India by 2022 and discover the country. However, COVID-19 made this vision a challenge.
In the declaration, the Tourism Ministry has come up with a strategy and action plan to encourage more Indians to travel domestically and explore India’s natural, cultural, and spiritual beauty while simultaneously reaching the goal of an ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ (interaction and mutual understanding).
In parallel, the Ministry has also been working with the Ministry of External Affairs to identify 20 Indian missions abroad with the highest tourist footfalls to India and build country-specific strategies to attract foreign tourists.
Tourism has been one of the sectors severely affected by COVID-19. The Government of India’s Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was recently enhanced by ₹50,000 crore, from ₹4.5 lakh crore to ₹5 lakh crore to benefit enterprises in hospitality and related sectors such as hotels and restaurants, marriage halls, travel agents, tour operators, adventure and heritage facilities.
The pandemic has also given us the time to reset and rethink the way forward for tourism in India. The Ministry of Tourism, after wide-ranging consultations, has prepared a draft National Tourism Policy 2022, which aims at improving the framework conditions for tourism development in the country, supporting tourism industries, strengthening tourism support functions and developing tourism sub-sectors.
The guiding principles include promoting sustainable, responsible and inclusive tourism in line with our civilisational ethos. From Gautama to Gandhi, India has always spoken about the inherent need to live harmoniously with nature and within our means. The National Green Tourism Mission aims at institutionalising this approach.
The National Tourism policy also aims to give impetus to digitalisation, innovation and technology through the National Digital Tourism Mission and skilling through the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Mission. The policy also gives a special impetus to private sector participation through public-private-partnerships (PPP). After 2002, this has been the first such attempt to bring forth a transformative tourism policy. Once the new policy is ratified, the Ministry would have a new set of tools and frameworks that are required to execute on the vision and goals we have set for ourselves.
Home and abroad (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Delivering India’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke of several challenges in India’s past, present and future, with a special emphasis on the immediate “shocks” arising from the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and terrorism.
In stark contrast to the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who made pejorative remarks about India, Mr. Jaishankar made no direct comment on Pakistan. Nor did he directly mention India’s challenges at the Line of Actual Control, although he criticised China’s habit of politicising and blocking UN Security Council terrorist designations.
His comments on Ukraine were watched, as they came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was lauded by western countries for telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that the “era of war is over”. Mr. Jaishankar expanded on Mr. Modi’s theme without seeming to either criticise Russia or condone its actions: instead, he said, India stands on the side of peace, of respect for the UN charter, dialogue and diplomacy, and with all those now grappling with the “escalating costs of food, of fuel and fertilizers”.
His words were even-handed, and require global stakeholders to consider both the risks from the conflict in Ukraine, and from U.S.-EU led sanctions that could exacerbate global economic fragmentation and inflationary trends.
The prognosis seems even bleaker, given that just prior to the UNGA, Mr. Putin delivered a speech committing to Russia’s ability to use “all weapons”, indicating nuclear options, while the Ukrainian President said no dialogue could bring an end to the war, calling instead for more weaponry and a global effort to “punish” Russia.
Above all, Mr. Jaishankar hailed what he called the “New India” under Mr. Modi, spelling out five pledges made at the 75th Independence day anniversary, which includes making India a developed nation by 2047.
He added that India is ready to take on enhanced responsibility at the global body, and called for a reformed UN with an expanded Security Council, as a means at righting the “injustice” done to the global south.
The year ahead, where India will host the G-20 summit, will, no doubt, test the will and the ability of the Modi government to play the role of global uniter, and what Mr. Jaishankar called a “bridge” between nations polarised by bitter divides.
It is a goal which will only be achievable if New Delhi is able to play a similarly uniting role in its own neighbourhood, and bring polarising and divisive forces within India under control.
Opinion
Samarkand: a miniature of an emerging world (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
That the world is in a state of flux — with all its complexities, hopes, aspirations and fears, but unable to embrace new realities — was in evidence in the historic city of Samarkand during the summit (September 15-16) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) when key world leaders groped in the dark for an ideal world order.
The realities they faced were mind-boggling even without their traditional rivals breathing down their necks. Russia was clearly in the dock for its invasion of Ukraine, but the former Soviet Republics were not in a position to call a spade a spade.
China was vulnerable because of the deal it had struck with Russia on Taiwan in return for a pledge to support Russia in its war with Ukraine.
China appears to have made up its mind that its future lies with Russia as it does not see itself becoming a partner of the U.S. The U.S. seems to have chosen to be with democratic countries in its eventual return to centre stage.
The emergence of a Red Quad may well be a possibility to counter democratic forces in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S.’s decision to modernise the Pakistani air force may be to preempt Pakistan from becoming a closer ally of China.
India had both its biggest adversaries on the table but was not on talking terms with them on account of a conspiracy of circumstances. Ironically, India, with its special historic bonds with Russia, was the only country to demand a cessation of hostilities and want diplomacy and democracy.
India bluntly told Russia that this was not the time for war and that the war must stop because of the immense challenges it had posed to the world. India spoke about the oil crisis and the looming food scarcity, the disruption of supply chains and transit trade access. The war had to stop to avert a disaster.
Russian President Vladimir Putin got away by saying that he understood India’s concerns over the war in Ukraine, promising to try and end the conflict, but blaming the Ukrainian government for prolonging the crisis.
He indicated that he was in no hurry to end the war. India has the best of relations with Russia, but the exchange pointed to the future when Russia would be an adversary of India together with China. India appeared to be the spokesperson of the conscience of mankind, which wanted the war to end.
India’s real business should have been with China, which had violated every bilateral agreement and occupied territories across the Line of Actual Control.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was there dictating to the world what kind of new world order must be shaped, and India was silent. The latest disengagement in Ladakh was supposed to have facilitated a thaw in the situation, making it possible for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the SCO, but each side was perhaps waiting for the other to blink.
India resents ICRC taking sides on political issues (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India has warned the International Committee of the Red Cross that taking sides on political issues would affect its capacity for discharge of its humanitarian duties.
The warning followed a statement by the ICRC spokesman, Mr. Alain Modoux that India was continuing to turn a deaf ear to pleas by the International Committee of the Red Cross for the release of the 500 to 1,000 sick or wounded Pakistani soldiers captured during the fighting in Bangladesh.
An official spokesman said to-day “it is a pity that the ICRC which is a humanitarian organisation and which is expected to discharge its humanitarian functions objectively and impartially has seen fit to take side on political issues.
The spokesman described the ICRC statement as “vague, somewhat incomprehensible and biased” and said it was “unfortunate” that the spokesman had come out with such a statement on the question of prisoners of war and civilian internees in India.
Pointing out that India had already repatriated 299 sick and wounded prisoners of war and had decided to release another 123, the spokesman said that in these circumstances the ICRC statement “is factually incorrect”.
In fact the Government of India had suggested that these prisoners of war be repatriated to Pakistan on September 28. No response has so far been received from the ICRC.
Explainer
A push for the semiconductor industry (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In a bid to make India’s $10 billion chip-making initiative more attractive to investors, the Centre on September 21, approved changes to the scheme for the development of a semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
Semiconductors are the thumbnail-sized building blocks of almost every modern electronic device from smartphones to connected devices in the Internet of Things (IoT).
They help give computational power to devices. The global semiconductor industry is currently valued at $500-$600 billion and caters to the global electronics industry currently valued at about $3 trillion.
The basic component of a semiconductor chip is a sliver of silicon, which is etched with billions of microscopic transistors and projected to specific minerals and gases, forming patterns to control the flow of current while following different computational instructions.
The most-advanced semiconductor technology nodes available today are the 3 nanometre (nm) and the 5nm ones. Semiconductors having higher nanometre value are applied in automobiles, consumer electronics and so on, while those with lower values are used in devices such as smartphones and laptops.
The chip-making process is complex and highly exact, having multiple other steps in the supply chain such as chip-designing done by companies to develop new circuitry for use in appliances, designing software for chips and patenting them through core Intellectual Property (IP) rights.
It also involves making chip-fabrication machines; setting up fabs or factories; and ATMP (assembly, testing, marking and packaging).
The chip-making industry is a highly-concentrated one, with the big players being Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S. among others.
In fact, according to a New York Times estimate, 90% of 5nm (nanometre) chips are mass-produced in Taiwan, by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Therefore, the global chip shortage, U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, and the supply chain blockages owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have led major economies to enter the chip-making sector with a renewed push.
For example, the U.S. announcement of $52.7 billion in government funding for the CHIPS and Science Act and the EU’s Chips Act that will mobilise €43 billion for public and private investments.
In December 2021, India announced its roughly $10 billion dollar production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to encourage semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country.
It also announced fiscal support for a design-linked initiative (DLI) scheme to drive global and domestic investment related to design software, IP rights etc.
According to the Electronics and IT Ministry, semiconductor demand in India would increase to $70-$80 billion by 2026 with the growing demand for digital devices and electronic products.
Text & Context
Landslides in Pettimudi: social inequalities in disasters (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Disaster Management)
Irshad, Mohammed S. and Solaman, Christin S.S, ‘Identity, Space and Disaster: A Case Study of Pettimudi Landslide in Kerala’, Sage Journals, Vol 71, Issue no. 3, May 9, 2022
Among theories about the relevance of space as a social product and its relation with an individual’s or communities’ understanding of social realities, S. Mohammed Irshad and S.S. Christin Solaman’s article ‘Identity, Space and Disaster: A Case Study of Pettimudi Landslide in Kerala’, draws attention to the role of space during natural calamities such as landslides, in terms of the disaster vulnerability of a community and State interventions.
The authors through the study of a landslide that hit Pettimudi, a tea plantation estate in the Idukki district of Kerala, discuss the ‘geographical and sociological space’ in which the incident occurred and how the State’s approach towards the incident was influenced by the social position and historical vulnerability of the community living in the landslide-prone region.
On August 6, 2020, a landslide caused by relentless rainfall in Pettimudi, a tea plantation estate in the Idukki district, killed over 65 workers.
They lived in a ‘layam’, a line of 10 residential spaces in a building provided by the company as accommodation. Presently owned by the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP), the tea estate was first owned by a British official, John DanialManro, in 1877.
While in 1843, slavery was abolished in the State, estate owners found a work-around by bringing workers from other regions as bonded labour.
Moreover, theorists argue that the Plantation Labour Act, of 1951 failed to provide the workers with social security and socio-economic mobility. Currently, most workers are part of the second and third generations of Tamil migrant workers who were provided with accommodation by the estate owners.
Without decent accommodation or land of their own, the workers have continued to live in the accommodation (layam) provided by the estate owners in an ecologically vulnerable landscape.
Layams, about 80-90 years old, were built when the plantation was set up and are not maintained well. In the landslide, 22 such layamswere washed out, killing 66 people (four people are still missing and are considered dead), all of whom were buried together due to scarcity of land.
The Pettimudi landslide was analysed through a qualitative research approach with the help of secondary data. The authors interviewed labourers, trade union workers, and environmental scientists to understand the complexities behind the incident.
The article also considered newspaper and media reports as well as comments of Ministers, officials and community leaders to understand the different narratives surrounding the incident.
The response and rehabilitation facilities provided by the government and the various descriptions of the incident show how the disaster was singled out and provided with only conventional relief measures.
The spatial inequality that impacted the disaster vulnerability of the community due to their social position was also ignored.
News
Govt. to ‘restrict’ awards given for scientific research (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Government Policies and Interventions)
The Centre has decided to reduce the number of awards given to scientists and medical researchers on the grounds that they are restricted to only “really deserving candidates”, says the record of a meeting chaired by Ajay Bhalla, Home Secretary, and attended by senior officials of the country’s science departments.
The meeting, held on September 16, was attended by Secretaries and senior officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Atomic Energy and representatives from the Department of Health Research – Indian Council for Medical Research and the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. The Hindu has viewed the minutes of the meeting made available on September 23.
Several Ministries made presentations on the awards conferred by their respective departments. The DST gave 207 awards, of which four were National Awards, 97 were private endowment awards, 54 were lecture, scholarship or fellowship based awards and 56 were ‘internal awards’.
The participants then agreed to retain only the National awards and do away with the rest. The Department could start a new scheme for scholarship/fellowship with “suitable honorarium and full justification and detailed guidelines”, the minutes said.
The Atomic Energy Department currently gave 25 “performance-based awards” given by public sector units affiliated to the department and 13 non-core domain awards. The quorum decided to do away with all awards and instead institute a new one “of very high stature”.
The Indian Space Research Organisation said it didn’t confer awards, save three internal ones. These too ought to be done away with and replaced with a National level award of “very high stature”, the meeting concluded.
The CSIR conferred seven awards, including the Shanti SwarupBhatnagarAwards, that is given annually to accomplished scientists under 45 across departments and announced every year on September 26 at the institute’s Foundation Day. By norm, the awards this year were to be announced on Monday but was not done this year, several scientists told The Hindu. It couldn’t be immediately confirmed if this was linked to the meeting.
The meeting concluded that the SSB was a “high stature award” and therefore could be continued but a monthly allowance given to winners for 20 years would be capped to 15 years. The six other awards would be discontinued.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences conferred four National Awards. The meeting decided that the Dr. Anna Mani Award for women scientists ought to be merged with “awards given to women by other departments like the Ministry of Women and Child Development” and the other three awards ought to be discontinued and replaced with a “new national award”.
The Health Ministry would have to “rationalise” 51 Florence Nightingale awards given to nurses and “suspend” three national awards by the National Medical Council, it was decided.
OBCs not on Central list can apply under EWS for Union government posts: DoPT (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Government Policies and Interventions)
People belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities in the State list but not in the Central list will be eligible to apply for posts and services of the Government of India under the EWS quota criteria, provided they fulfill all other requirements, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has said in a list of FAQs it has put out on how to recruit under the 10% reservation provided for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
The DoPT issued the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the answers to them after it received several references from ministries, departments and individuals with regards to the criteria to qualify for the EWS quota.
This comes at a time a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the EWS quota and has repeatedly voiced concerns of the EWS quota eating into the 50% for the unreserved category — meant to be open for all irrespective of their caste, creed, or religion.
In addition to this, the DoPT, in the list of FAQs issued to States and Union Territories last week, added that members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes will not be eligible to apply for Central government positions irrespective of where they reside (even if the State of residence does not recognise their community as an SC or ST).
Further, the DoPT has clarified that unfilled EWS vacancies for a particular recruitment year cannot be carried over to the next and that successive attempts to fill these vacancies with EWS candidates should be made.
Thereafter, the unfilled vacancies may be filled up, treating them as unreserved provided it does not result in excess representation in the general category beyond the number added on account of non-availability of EWS candidate. If it results in excess representations, it may be diverted to the category in which shortfall exists.
In addition to these, the DoPT has said the original Office Memorandum (OM) for EWS recruitment (issued on 31.1.2019) excluded commercial property among the criteria for exclusion from the EWS category, which it now said would “result in injustice”, adding, “the definition of residential flat/plot in the OM also includes the commercial property”.
Moreover, the DoPT clarified that in cases where the residential plot of a candidate is divided between an area in a notified municipality and an area not in a notified municipality, the criteria for exclusion should be applied to each of the areas independently.
Currently, the criteria for exclusion with regards to property irrespective of family income are if the candidate or their family owns 5 acres of agricultural land and above; residential flat of 1000 sq ft. and above; residential plot of 100 sq. yards and above in notified municipalities; residential plot of 200 sq. yards and above in areas other than the notified municipalities.
Live-streaming, online RTI portal: SC takes big steps on transparency (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit assured a litigant that a dedicated platform is being planned to livestream Supreme Court proceedings.
The Chief Justice’s remarks came a few days after Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a similar fashion, spoke in open court about the opening up of a Right to Information (RTI) portal.
These remarks by the two senior-most judges of the top court provided glimpses of a court edging closer and closer towards complete transparency.
The move towards transparency can be traced over the past seven years, which have been rather tumultuous for the court. It, however, started with a big negative in 2015.
The court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment in 2015, claiming “it is difficult to hold that the wisdom of appointment of judges can be shared with the political-executive”.
But, the aftermath of the judgment also saw the court invite public opinion on ways to improve the opaque Collegium system of judicial appointments.
That received over 11,500 views from the public. The ensuing months saw the Collegium publish its resolutions on the Supreme Court website, a practice that continues still.
Then came the unprecedented press conference held by four senior-most judges on January 12, 2018 to complain about “selective” allocation of sensitive cases by successive Chief Justices of India to certain Benches of the Supreme Court. This led to the publication of the first-ever “subjectwise roster” for allocation of cases a month later.
The same year saw the Supreme Court deliver its judgment agreeing to live-stream its proceedings. But the 2018 judgment was forced to lie dormant for years as successive Chief Justices remained hesitant to implement the court’s own verdict.
That was the situation until the pandemic struck and the court was forced to radically change its way of functioning. It embraced technology, introduced videoconferencing and perfected the online system over the two years of COVID-19.
Recently, a letter from senior advocate Indira Jaising to Chief Justice Lalit, reminding him about the live-streaming judgment, saw a Full Court promptly gather on September 20 and agree to beam Constitution Bench proceedings live.
On Monday, Chief Justice Lalit brushed aside apprehensions raised by former BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya, through a writ petition, about the Supreme Court using YouTube as a medium for its webcast.
Business
Centre defers new foreign trade policy (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The government extended the tenure of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 by another six months till March 2023, instead of replacing it with a new policy by September 30 as it had envisaged, citing requests from industry bodies.
On September 3, Commerce Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam had said the government was readying a new Foreign Trade Policy which would be unveiled on September 30 as part of a package to propel goods exports that had dipped sequentially for the third successive month in August.
Noting that the policy had already been ‘extended from time to time’, the Ministry has now said that leading exporters as well as export promotion councils for different sectors have pushed for the status quo amid the turmoil in the global economy.
In recent days, exporters and industry bodies have strongly urged the government that in view of the prevailing, volatile global economic and geo-political situation, it would be advisable to extend the current policy for some time, and undertake more consultations before coming out with the new policy.
The government has always involved all stakeholders in formulating policy. In view of this, it has been decided to extend the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, valid till Sept. 30, 2022 for a further period of six months, w.e.f. October 1st , 2022.