This blog is in continuation of my previous blog Make in India 2.0 giving insights on trade, conditions of fellow economies and a road ahead.

Trade has always been a major contributor towards the growth and development of an economy. Foreign trade acts like catalyst in the process of economic growth and it accelerates the speed with expansion in trade related activities of the country. India’s foreign trade can be traced back to the Indus valley civilization which is said to be the origin of the trade for the country. Although trade gained popularity in the country during the British invasion as during that time India used to provide food supplies abroad. Things changed and got better after independence of the country. Post independence India witnessed a lot of changes in terms of policies, economic planning, and expansion of different sectors and their contribution to the growth and development of the economy. Major changes that led to the improvement and expansion of foreign trade in the country happened post 1990 reforms wherein Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation was implemented in the country leading to major policy changes. The reforms were launched with the intention of improving the working conditions of the private as well as public sector in the country with opening the doors for the global investors and businesses too. Post 1990s the trade pattern of India has expanded vastly alongside the diversification in goods and services’ composition from the country. Today, India has successfully established a global image and its products and services are seen as of international standards and globally competitive.

Since the beginning of this century foreign trade for India has improved an increased over the years not only resulting in growth of the economy but also creating foreign relations around the world which are not only profitable for the country but have been a great provider of their services to the nation as well. Looking at the graph it can clearly be stated how trade value has had a rise since the year 2000 and it was estimated that trade will play major role in making Indian a five trillion economy in five years from now. India as said is a fast emerging global economy with its vast natural resources, huge skilled labor force around the country combined with edge technology and intelligence, Indian trade market has been able to establish its worldwide presence quite well. In February 2020, it was being said that the government of India was keen to expand trade in the coming years and provide jibs to the young talented, skilled and well-educated people as well as the semi-skilled workforce of India.

India’s trade policies and government reforms have attributed in strengthening its foreign trade position and had made India stand with a status of global investments and business. The foreign trade policy of financial year 2015-2020 has been extended for one more year up to 2021 whereas the FTP was to be focused on providing incentives and guidelines for increasing exports for the next five years. The economic disruption and mishaps caused by the pandemic is of gigantic proportions. The economic loss, slow growth rate to be precise there has been a downfall in the growth rate as well given the fact that the country has been in lockdown for past few months. Given the situation not only India has been affected both economically and emotionally but also the economies of ASEAN, the ones in competition with India have also been experiencing a downfall in economic terms. Whereas a group has been worst affected out of the ASEAN members the remaining have been able to flatten the curve a bit. It has been assumed no matter how fast the economies try to recover out of the COVID-19 situation they are going to face deep recession for a prolonged period of time. The downfall in the economic cycle has also led to a major loss in trade cycle for the countries. The healthcare facilities of these economies have also been up for a question and with the increasing number of cases. Unless and until a vaccine is found the tourism sector will not be able to contribute much as before for these countries. Even after assuming an optimistic cycle of economy it has been stated that everything getting back to normal will take time and will be experienced till 2021. All the economic disruptions and restrictions imposed have been a slow down in the economic activities. Atmanirbhar, an idea stressing on making the domestic industries stronger and improving the conditions of the enterprising sectors in the economy. This initiative was announced to generate employment, promote the domestic products and services and to enhance the local markets. Corona virus crisis made these local firms excel in their businesses and have been a great support to the country as well. The economy will stand on five pillars now and the budget has also been allocated to various sectors of the economy supporting them to expand their services and meet the requirements of their firms. Not only will this initiative make India self reliant but will also make a strong global image of the country. It is correct that the crisis has had a very negative impact on the country both mentally and economically but if the idea of the initiative taken by the prime minister is followed well with support of innovation, investment and intelligence the country will emerge as stronger than before. An “Atmanirbhar” economy does not stand to be a complete import substitution or autarkic isolationism from the world or going back to the “closed economy” state, this will only be a mere plan to promote the domestic products and make the country self sufficient enough to survive the pandemic and come out as an independent nation. This will make an active participation in global activities post COVID-19 crisis and will attract foreign direct investment to the country. Many have openly questioned about the ability of this economic package and how much will it be able to do for India’s economic growth. It has been criticized by many and up till now no positive response has been observed towards the economy. Atmanirbhar Bharat will now require a double digit growth rate for certain years now in order to make up to the lost ground. Although, it is clear that this package won’t do much wonders to the economy as are expected yet it can be hoped that self reliance comes in handy to the economy and local producers are promoted well enough to boost the independent state of the country.