Balbharati solutions for Economics HSC 12th Standard Maharashtra State Board
Chapter 10: Foreign Trade of India
Q.4. Answer the following
2. Explain any four features of composition of India's foreign trade.
Main feature of the composition of India’s foreign trade are as follows:
Change in the composition of exports: The composition of export trade in India has undergone a change. Prior to Independence, India used to export primary products like jute, cotton, tea, oil-seeds, leather, food grains, cashew nuts and mineral products.
Change in the composition of imports: India used to import consumer goods like medicines, cloth, motor vehicles, electrical goods, etc. Apart from petrol and petroleum, India is now importing mainly capital goods like high-tech machinery chemicals, fertilizers, steel, etc.
Oceanic trade: Most of India’s trade is by sea. India has trade relations with its neighbouring countries like Nepal, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, etc.
Development of new ports: For its foreign trade, India depended mostly on Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai ports. Therefore these ports were overburdened. Recently, India has developed new ports at Kandla, Cochin, Visakhapatnam, Nhava Sheva etc. to reduce the burden on the existing ports.
