India Further Tightens Screws On China, To Prevent Import Of Sub-Standard Items In 371 Categories

In a bid to further discourage imports from China, India has announced that products from around 371 categories including toys, steel bars, steel tubes, consumer electronics, telecom items, heavy machinery, paper, rubber articles and glass would now be included in the Indian Standards (IS) regime, Times of India has reported.

These items are mainly imported from China and the move is aimed at furthering the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative to improve self-reliance and discourage imports.

The implementation of the Indian Standards on these items is expected to be completed by March 2021 and would prevent the import of sub-standard items in these categories.

Besides framing mandatory standards, the authorities are also planning on improving enforcement at various ports.

"The commerce ministry has identified 371 imported tariff lines, including Chinese products. We are framing the mandatory standards for these items and to improve the enforcement including at government-owned major ports such as in Kandla, JNPT and Cochin by deploying our officers", Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari has been quoted as saying.