Overview
- Think Change Forum released a white paper and held an expert roundtable on May 27 that pushes a three‑point agenda of export competitiveness, import discipline, and stronger trade defence.
- The paper recommends correcting India’s 'inverted duty structure' with a 12‑month duty fix and a 'Dynamic Tariff Calibration' that links import duties to price triggers to protect domestic manufacturing.
- It calls for targeted import curbs and tighter licensing for non‑merit and luxury goods to conserve foreign exchange and channel demand to local firms.
- Authors urge bringing natural gas under GST to cut cascading taxes for fertilisers, chemicals and construction and warn that repeated open‑ended subsidies are fiscally unsustainable.
- The report cites a 2025–26 merchandise gap (imports $774.98bn, exports $441.78bn) and a spike in rejected DGTR anti‑dumping recommendations in late 2025 as reasons to consider these policy options, but the measures remain recommendations and are not government policy.