India's international sector

 It is time for India to go for another major round of lowering of import tariffs and, in general, taking steps to integrate more with the global economy. When trade was liberalised, slowly in 1991 and then sharply in 1992 and 1993, there was apprehension in many quarters that India would run into a major balance of payments (BoP) crisis.

 In retrospect it is clear that these were among the best policy moves India has made in many decades. The nineties turned out to be the best decade for India in terms of the international sector.

 Far from having a BoP crisis, India has seen a build-up of foreign exchange reserves like never before, a creditable growth performance, and a boom in the information technology sector that is making the world take note of the country, and promises to launch the Indian economy into being a player of some significance in the world.

 There are several reasons why the time is right for another round of trade liberalisation. There has been a lot of soul searching about India