Govt in dilemma over curbs on cheaper imports: Nirmala Sitharaman

Section of SMEs are achieving global competency by using such imports, says Minister

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, has said that the government is in a dilemma over the issue of imposing restrictions on cheaper imports, since a section of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are achieving global competency by using such imports.

Speaking in an event organised by the Chennai International Centre in the city, she said that while a section of SMEs in the country are relying on cheaper raw material imports to become globally competitive, others are being affected by cheaper imports, and are turning into non-performing assets for banks.

"That is our daily Dharmasankata (moral dilemma)," said the minister, adding, "We want both of them to survive and are trying to protect the industry by imposing anti-dumping duty, but for a limited period," she said.

Sitharaman said that in some cases, the government is not able to restrict imports based on quality standards, since there are no standards in the country for those items.

The country will have a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth over eight per cent, on the premise that Goods and Services Tax (GST) will bring in 1.5 per cent to the expected 7.5 per cent.

With the removal of infrastructure bottlenecks and addressal of power related issues, supported by RBI's monetary policies, Indian industry is ready to scale up, she said.

The government is also emphasising on innovation and education, along with skill development, in order to address future requirements.