New Delhi, Jul 17 (IANS): The Central government is taking necessary steps to further reduce the licencing time for exporting sensitive and dual-use products and technologies from India, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the 3rd National Conference on Export Controls 2019 organised by industry body Ficci, Additional Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Vijay Kumar said the government has simplified many policies in the last year and strengthened the e-platform for licencing sensitive and dual-use exports.

"We have been successful in reducing the average time for issuing an authorisation from the previous 60 days to 45 days. In some cases, like repeat orders, we have further reduced it to 7 to 10 days. But still we are not satisfied. We are taking necessary steps to further reduce the time we take to issue licences," he said.

For this purpose, the government is adopting the best international practices for its licencing protocol, Kumar said.

Further, the government is in the process of reviewing its Foreign Trade Policy and have invited suggestions from the stakeholders.

At the same event, Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary (D&ISA) at the Ministry of External Affairs, said that as a responsible member of the international community, India is committed to ensure non-proliferation of sensitive and dual-use materials, equipment and technologies.

To meet this objective, India has recently joined three key multilateral export control regimes -- Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group. The country has also joined the Hague Code of Conduct, he said.

Pandey added that the government is keen to encourage exports of sensitive and dual-use goods and technology, but it wants to ensure that exports by Indian entities do not reach wrong destinations in wrong hands.