The govenrment is closely tracking the referendum on a British exit, or Brexit, from the European Union, but it’s too early to assess the precise impact of any such possibility on India, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.
“We are observing the developments. But it’s too early for me to comment (on its impact on India),” the minister said. The UK is holding the referendum on Thursday.
The minister also said India is waiting to hear from the EU on the dates to resume stalled negotiations on a proposed free trade agreement between the two sides.
“The moment they give the dates, we will be keenly wanting to continue the talks to reach the conclusion at the earliest,” she added.
Asked about Apple Inc’s proposal to set up its own retail stores in India after the latest FDI policy was declared on Monday, Sitharaman said: “We have announced the policy. We will wait to hear from them.”
Under the latest FDI rule, foreign entities having “cutting-edge” technology will be an exmeption from the mandatory 30% local sourcing rule for three years and a relaxed sourcing regime for another five years.
Package to benefit textiles and garment sector
Sitharaman said the incentive package will help create more jobs and drive up exports. “It has a great potential for job creation,” she said. This “extra push” was given to the sector due to various global developments, she said.
The Cabinet approved a special package on Wednesday with a total additional outgo of R6,000 crore a year and announced changes to labour rules, aimed at creating one crore new jobs over the next three years and attracting investments of R74,000 crore and $30 billion in additional exports. Proper standards mechanism can check unwanted imports. The country desperately needs to further strengthen standards to assess the quality of products being imported, Sitharaman said.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) should speed up the process of setting up these standards, she added. The domestic industry has been complaining about rising imports of sub-standard products from countries like China.
