New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) S. Mahendra Dev on Saturday said that the Indian government is following a four-pronged strategy to address tariff-related challenges, focusing on industry support, export diversification, free trade agreements, and trade negotiations with the United States.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the SKOCH Summit here, Dev said the government’s approach includes: supporting domestic industries, diversifying exports towards Asian, African and Latin American markets, entering into free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries, and continuing discussions with the US for a trade deal.

On the goal of achieving a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India), Dev said several countries such as Japan and South Korea have already achieved this status.

“India has the right policy framework, but sustaining a growth rate of 7–8 per cent is essential,” he told IANS.

“For this, the investment rate needs to rise to 35 per cent from the current level of around 30 per cent,” Dev added.

Commenting on economic growth, Dev said India’s GDP growth is expected to be around 7.4 per cent this year, while next year it may moderate to between 6.5 per cent and 7 per cent.

“In the four years since the pandemic, India’s average growth rate has been about 7.7 per cent,” he noted.

He further said the government is aggressively promoting ease of doing business to achieve the target of Developed India by 2047.

“As part of these reforms, the Centre has recently opened the nuclear sector to private companies, approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the insurance sector, and undertaken decriminalisation and deregulation of several laws,” Dev mentioned.

–IANS

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