Importing worries

Raising Customs duties has many downsides

The central government last week raised the Customs duty on a wide variety of electronic goods such as mobile phones, cameras and microwave ovens. According to a notification by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, the hike ranged from 5 to 10 per cent; for instance, imported mobile phones will now be costlier by 5 per cent while microwave ovens may cost 10 per cent more. The government’s justification for the move is that it will force industry to explore local manufacturing of these goods to reduce cost instead of importing, thereby creating jobs in the country. India imported