Improve R&D for exports, ease of doing business, review tariffs on Chinese goods, industry leaders tell the FM

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Modi 3.0 Budget 2024 Expectations: What are Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's plans for taxpayers?The need to protect domestic industry from dumping of Chinese products featured prominently in the discussions."We represented our industry pain points, which are imports from China and the threats we face from China," said Ajay Sardana, chairman - National Expert Committee on Chemical and Petrochemical, Indian Chamber of Commerce."China has created a lot of overcapacity. After the pandemic, with the demand coming down, they are dumping products in India at a cheaper price.

We asked the finance minister to review the tariffs put on China," Sardana said.Meanwhile, some industry leaders asked the government to step up investments in research and development to push exports."Exports require R&D and innovation. And therefore, the fiscal support to R&D should go up," said Ajay Sahai, Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.Also Read: Budget 2024: Will Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman increase income tax exemption limit?"Our other proposal is that we should develop an Indian shipping line of global repute," he added.The finance minister has already met economists, representatives of industry, capital markets and financial sector, farmers' associations, trade union leaders and MSMEs for pre-budget consultations.Senior finance ministry officials present at Tuesday's meetings included Ajay Seth, secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, and the government's chief economic advisor V.