New Delhi: India's imports from China during the April-July period decreased to $16.60 billion from $23.45 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, said Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. "Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic there were several global and domestic supply side constraints and also a dip in global demand," Goyal told the Rajya Sabha in a written response. He added that the full impact of the ban on Chinese apps and the sanctions on trade between the two countries will be discernible as the global economy recovers and revives from the recessionary affects of the pandemic.
"Some of the items exhibiting decline in imports include electronic components, telecom instruments, computer hardware, industrial machinery for dairy, electric machinery, residual chemical and allied products, consumer electronics, electronic instruments, fertilisers, products of iron & steel etc," said the minister.
Speaking on the ban imposed by India on imports from China, the minister said that the government has taken steps to expand domestic capacities to minimise the impact of such disruptions. "The government has implemented policies to promote domestic manufacturing through ease of doing business and Production Linked Incentives (PLIs) in select sectors including mobile phones and electronic components and medical devices and bulk drugs. The government has also sensitised stakeholders to source critical imports from diversified sources through the active support of our missions," said Goyal.
The government has banned certain Chinese apps in June and September on concerns of security and to ensure safety and sovereignty of the Indian cyberspace, said Goyal. Many apps are available on each of the popular playstore namely Google PlayStore and Apple Store including competing apps with similar functionalities. The government has also launched Digital India Aatmanirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge to give a push to Indian App ecosystem through short listing of the top Indian apps that have the potential to become global competitors in their respective categories.
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