E-Paper
Parliamentary committee pushes for ‘real’ Make in India to fix trade deficit
The standing committee of Commerce, led by TMC MP Dola Sen, recommended the government on Wednesday to further strengthen domestic manufacturing facilities to “improve overall trade balance with focus on real ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.”
The standing committee of Commerce, led by TMC MP Dola Sen, recommended the government on Wednesday to further strengthen domestic manufacturing facilities to “improve overall trade balance with focus on real ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.”
The panel, which submitted its report on Wednesday, also noted with concern the increase is the US tariff and said, it is “likely to have a significant impact on finance, commerce, trade and industry.”
The government informed the panel that exports to the US grew by 11.28% despite prevailing tariff pressures, reaching ₹58.99 billion during April-November 2025, compared to the corresponding period in 2024, “Exports to China registered a growth of 32.60 % during the same period. Hong Kong, where exports grew by 22.37%, continues to serve as a key trade gateway to the broader region. However, Netherlands, Singapore and Saudi Arab have registered negative growth of 22.34%, 23.42% and 7.71% respectively,” the report said.
“The Committee notes the widening trade deficit and the stagnation in merchandise exports during 2025–26, and recommends that the Department may undertake targeted and time-bound measures to enhance export competitiveness and provide focused support to high-potential sectors in order to correct the trade imbalance. Further, the Department undertake a strategic diversification of India’s merchandise export basket with a clear shift towards high-value sectors and emphasise the need to revitalising labour-intensive industries through targeted policy support and effective utilization of existing schemes,” the report said.
The Committee further recommends strengthening of domestic manufacturing capabilities to reduce dependence on imports particularly in crude petroleum, gold and electronic components and also focus on capacity building measures and strengthening supply chain. Value addition initiative should be at priority to enhance competitiveness and improve overall trade balance with focus on real ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” it added.
Panel chairperson Dola Sen said, “The Committee’s opinion and suggestions are aimed to assure that there are no negetive impact of various economic reasons and international policies on our industry and commerce.”
