Prabhu reviews proposed agri export, industrial policies

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday reviewed proposed agriculture export and new industrial policies and discussed strategies to boost outward shipments with top officials here.

The Commerce and Industry Minister said the government was working on new initiatives to take India’s exports to the next level.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said a new agriculture export policy will be unveiled soon to boost farm income as the government is on track to achieve the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. “Held a meeting with the Commerce Secretary and senior officials of @dgftindia today. Discussed various export promotion strategies and reviewed the upcoming Agri Export policy and Industrial Policy. We are working on new initiatives to take India’s export to the next level, Prabhu said in a tweet.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry in March came out with a draft ‘Agriculture Export Policy’, aimed at doubling agricultural exports and integrate Indian farmers and farm products to the global value chain.

The new industrial policy will replace the old policy of 1991 which was prepared against the backdrop of balance of payment crisis.

The proposed industrial policy aims at promoting emerging sectors and modernising existing industries.

It will also look to reduce regulatory hurdles and encourage adoption of frontier technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August last year floated a draft industrial policy with an aim to create jobs for the next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract USD 100 billion FDI annually.