At the same time, Maran said that the government would act to ensure that the India did not face a flood of imports.
Eternal vigilance is absolutely essential to guard against the opening of the floodgates of imports.
As part of a move to protect the automobile industry under the new liberalised trade regime, the minister said India would ban the import of second hand cars older than three years. India lifted quantitative restrictions on the import of more than 700 items last year as a first step toward complying with the WTO ruling. Analysts say the latest move lifting restrictions on the import of 715 items ranging from food, stationery, textiles, vehicles to electronic goods, will mean tougher competition but that domestic industry is unlikely to suffer much. In an event, trade analysts say WTO mechanisms provide enough scope for protection of industry against any import surge. But it finetunes the policy every year.