The UPA Government has assumed office at a challenging time when the entire world is facing an unprecedented economic slow-down. The year 2009 is witnessing one of the most severe global recessions in the post-war period. Countries across the world have been affected in varying degrees and all major economic indicators of industrial production, trade, capital flows, unemployment, per capita investment and consumption have taken a hit. The WTO estimates project a grim forecast that global trade is likely to decline by 9% in volume terms and the IMF estimates project a decline of over 11%. The recessionary trend has huge social implications. The World Bank estimate suggests that 53 million more people would fall into the poverty net this year and over a billion people would go chronically hungry.

Though India has not been affected to the same extent as other economies of the world, yet our exports have suffered a decline in the last 10 months due to a contraction in demand in the traditional markets of our exports. The protectionist measures being adopted by some of these countries have aggravated the problem. After four clear quarters of recession there is some sign of a turnaround and the emergence of ‘green shoots’, though I would be hesitant to hazard a guess on the nature and extent of this recovery and the time the major economies will take to return to their pre-recession growth levels.

Attachment

http://pib.nic.in/archieve/ForeignTradePolicy/ForeignTradePolicy.pdf