The Indian government appears to have upped the ante on reducing import dependence on China as the border issue still remains unresolved.

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The Department For Promotion Of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has prepared a second list covering 1172 Made In China items ranging from toasters to elevators, and has sought comments from India Inc on import curbs.

This is the second list shared by DPIIT in the past three days with industry associations for their comments.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that bodies like FICCI, Assocham and CII have gone into a huddle to assess the impact of import curbs on items mentioned in the new DPIIT list. The nature of the proposed import curbs that DPIIT proposes to impose is not yet known.

Members of industry associations told CNBC-TV18 that several items in the new DPIIT list are critical for manufacturing value chains in India as those goods are not made in India.

“We need to be careful before imposing import curbs on the items which DPIIT has prepared. Import curbs not advisable on items not made in India. This will disrupt domestic value chains,” said a member of one of the industry associations who has seen the list.

The list mostly covers items from sectors like consumer goods, battery parts, auto components, electrical machinery as well as industrial goods and machinery.

Consumer goods included in the new DPIIT list includes toasters, refrigerators, air conditioners, coffee makers, microwave ovens, shavers, cutlery, and even sewing machines.

Electrical goods where DPIIT wants to impose import curbs include circuit breakers, high capacity switches, resistors, generators as well as DC motors.

The list also includes goods like elevators, roller bearings, valves, pneumatic tools, parts of food processing machinery and coal handling plants. Critical battery related items like lithium and primary cells are also included in the list.

In FY19, imports of goods in the DPIIT list pf 1172 items were valued at $ 12 billion, which was 10 percent higher than the previous year. These items comprise 2 percent of India’s import basket of $ 514 billion in FY19. Overall merchandise imports from China in that year stood at $ 70.31 billion, which was 10 percent higher than the previous year.

First Published:Jun 23, 2020 4:02 PM IST