India Imports

Indian Import Policy
Import is the antonym of export. In the terms of economics, import is any commodity brought into one country from another country in a legal way. The economic needs of the country, effective use of foreign currency are the basic factors which influence India's import policy. There are mainly 3 basic objectives of the Indian import policy :

Current Scenario of Imports in India
There are few goods which cannot be imported namely tallow fat, animal rennet, wild animals, unprocessed ivory etc. Most of the restrictions are on the ground of security, health, environment protection etc. Imports are allowed free of duty for export production. Input output norms have been specified for more than 4200 items. The norms tell about the amount of duty free import of inputs allowed for specified products. There are no restrictions on imports of capital goods. Import of second hand capital goods whose minimum residual life is of five years is permitted. Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme provides exporters to import capital goods at a concessionary custom rates. In the past 30 years Indian imports have risen quite dramatically. At present imports accounts for 17% of the GDP. Capital goods have been continued to be imported and in the last three years, their share has fallen from 25% to 22%.

Major Indian Imports
There are facilities available for the service industries to enjoy the facility of zero import duty under EPCG scheme. Some of the major imports of India are edible oil, newsprint, petroleum and crude products, crude rubber, fabrics, electronic goods etc.

Problems due to Large Import of Products
The recent trend of imports is of some concern. The regular imports of oil reflect upon the fact that India is not able to produce the quantity of oil required in India. Moreover the increase in the imports of products also highlights the fact that the Indian domestic industries need to be developed. High cost of imports also put pressure on the foreign exchange reserves.