Govt discusses possibility of having more FTAs

NEW DELHI: With the economy facing bad times, government today explored the possibility of having more free trade agreements with various countries at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

The meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee, attended among others by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, held discussions with the aim of giving a boost to the economy, sources said.

The meeting also reviewed progress of various free trade agreements (FTAs) under negotiations, they added.

The discussions included the possibility of having more commerce-opening FTAs with various countries in Europe and Pacific, sources said.

India is negotiating several FTAs with various countries, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand besides the European Union.

The economy in the first three months of 2013-14 grew at rate of 4.4 per cent, the lowest rate in four years.

Recently, various external agencies had lowered their India growth projections for this financial year. The World Bank had slashed its India growth projection to 4.7 per cent, while IMG lowered its India growth estimate to 3.75 per cent for 2013-14.

Last year (2012-13), India economy grew at decade's low of 5 per cent.