New Delhi, October 16: The government on Thursday announced that it has banned imports of ‘air conditioners with refrigerants’. This is done with a view to promote domestic manufacturing of the products and cut imports of non essential items. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification on October 15 said, "Import policy of air conditioners with refrigerants ...is amended from free to prohibited". The ban on the imports of ‘air conditioners with refrigerants’ adds to a list of recent import restrictions that was announced  by the government.

The government is intent to reduce import bill of non-essential goods and promote domestic manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative that has been announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  According to government data, China and Thailand are the top exporters of air-conditioners to India. Together the two contribute over 90% of India’s imports of the good.

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In June, the government imposed curbs on imports of certain new pneumatic tyres used in motor cars, buses, lorries and motorcycles. Previously, prohibitions were placed on imports of items ranging from televisions to select defence equipment.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2020 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).