The NDA government rightly identified external trade as one of the key indicators of a healthy economy when it took charge of the government in 2014. It set to put in place a robust Foreign Trade Policy in 2015 with a steep export target and a focus on new targeted export promotion schemes.
Things, however, did not go as smooth as hoped over the next decade. Exports faltered, imports increased faster and trade deficit widened.
An adverse global economic situation, the Covid 19 pandemic, WTO challenge to popular export schemes and increased protectionism across countries proved to be considerable setbacks. Noted economist and former JNU Professor Biswajit Dhar explains the nuances of the country’s external trade performance during the NDA’s ten years of governance and gives his take on what lies ahead.