{"id":176166,"date":"2022-03-26T20:22:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-26T14:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=176166"},"modified":"2022-03-26T20:22:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-26T14:52:14","slug":"heartening-milestone-on-indias-overseas-shipping-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/heartening-milestone-on-indias-overseas-shipping-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Heartening milestone: On India\u2019s overseas shipping record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

News<\/strong>: Govt has announced that India\u2019s merchandise exports have already surpassed the target set for this fiscal year, with overseas shipments crossing a record $400 billion mark by March 21.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is this news significant?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

This news assumes importance esp in light of the last fiscal\u2019s pandemic-induced slump in global demand.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the fact that the export growth has been achieved against the backdrop of <\/span>persistent logistical challenges<\/span><\/b>, including <\/span>container shortages<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>port congestion<\/span><\/b>, is laudable. It further reflects the concerted effort made by the government in coordination with industry and the country\u2019s overseas missions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which sectors have performed well?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Petroleum products <\/span><\/b>were the standout performer as the global surge in oil prices lifted the dollar value of overseas shipments of goods produced at India\u2019s refineries by 150% over the first 11 months of the fiscal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Key value-added sectors of <\/span>engineering goods and apparel and garments<\/span><\/b> have also done well this year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some challenges that need to be addressed?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Multiple challenges persist on the trade front.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inc in trade deficit<\/span><\/b>: Imports have outpaced exports this year, almost doubling the trade deficit in the April-February period to more than $175 billion. The gap is wider than the pre-pandemic year of 2019-2020 as well and points to the pressing need to step up the pace of export growth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lack of purchase of capital goods<\/span><\/b>: Project goods were the only item of import, among the 30 broad categories listed by the Ministry that contracted over the 11-month period. The lack of overseas purchases of capital goods for new projects is a clear indicator that private Indian businesses are still not making fresh investments given the lack of momentum in personal consumption.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project goods are the input materials required in the construction of civil and private infrastructure projects. The import of project goods may act as a barometer for the pace of infrastructure creation, both public and private, in the country.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

India is a net importer of such goods and, historically, has had a higher inflow during periods of growing infrastructure activities.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

War in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia<\/span><\/b> is now posing fresh problems for exporters seeking to ship goods to not only these countries but other markets in Europe as well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the way forward?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Commerce and Industry Minister made a reference to the role played by India\u2019s embassies and envoys in exploring new opportunities for Indian products. If the current momentum in exports is to be sustained in the coming years, the diplomatic corps will need to enlarge their role in trade promotion.<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Policymakers must go beyond stopgap measure<\/strong>s such as enabling rupee-rouble trade. They need to expedite ongoing negotiations on\u00a0 free trade agreements so as to at least help lower some of the tariff walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: <\/span><\/b>The post is based on an article \u201c<\/span>Heartening milestone: On India\u2019s overseas shipping record<\/span><\/b>\u201d published in <\/span>The Hindu <\/span><\/b>on <\/span>26<\/span><\/b>th<\/span><\/b> Mar 22<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News: Govt has announced that India\u2019s merchandise exports have already surpassed the target set for this fiscal year, with overseas shipments crossing a record $400 billion mark by March 21.\u00a0 Why is this news significant?\u00a0 This news assumes importance esp in light of the last fiscal\u2019s pandemic-induced slump in global demand.\u00a0 Also, the fact that… Continue reading Heartening milestone: On India\u2019s overseas shipping record<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10498],"class_list":["post-176166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700772402,"cached_date":1704759820},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}