RAS question
According to the Commerce Ministry FAQ on the India-EU FTA, immediate duty elimination covered nearly what share of India's export value to the EU?
Correct answer: (A) 90 percent.
Under the India-EU FTA factsheet, immediate duty elimination covered nearly 90.7 percent of India’s export value to the EU, so the nearest answer is 90 percent.
Explanation
The Commerce Ministry factsheet says the EU committed to eliminating duties immediately on 70.4 percent of tariff lines. Those tariff lines were not just a large count on paper; they covered nearly 90.7 percent of India’s export value to the EU. That is why the question asks for the share of export value, not merely the share of tariff lines. Since the options round the figure, 90 percent is the closest match to 90.7 percent. The point tested is the distinction between tariff-line coverage and export-value coverage in an FTA concession schedule.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 50 percent understates the immediate coverage, because the cited factsheet gives nearly 90.7 percent of India’s export value.
- (C) 25 percent is far below the cited export-value coverage and does not match either the 70.4 percent tariff-line figure or the 90.7 percent export-value figure.
- (D) 75 percent is closer to the tariff-line share of 70.4 percent, but the question asks about India’s export value, which the factsheet places near 90.7 percent.
Concept
This tests the Indian Economy syllabus area on external trade and free trade agreements. It recurs in RAS because candidates must read trade-policy figures precisely, especially when tariff lines and export value point to different percentages.