The Hindu : Business : Exports to be made globally competitive

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 28, 2004

Business

Business

Exports to be made globally competitive

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 27. Flagging off the first in a series of meetings with exporters, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, said the revised Exim policy for 2004-05 would be announced only after the Budget so as to reflect the priorities of the new Government.

Addressing an interactive session with exporters organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), he proposed that export strategies should aim at achieving even higher than one per cent share of world trade, given that this target was likely to be achieved well before the scheduled date of 2007.

Exports should be unshackled from all unnecessary controls and delays so that exporters could concentrate on the primary task of pushing up exports. "We must aim to make India a hub of manufacturing activities as well as a service provider to the rest of the world," he said.

To achieve this, the country's exports should be made internationally competitive through various means, including reduction of transaction cost to the minimum level. "Exports should be an important engine of growth of our economy as a generator of employment and should contribute significantly to the country's GDP and higher rates of overall economic growth."

The effort would be to focus on the non-traditional areas of agro and processed food sectors and minor forest produce to create employment opportunities in the rural sector, especially in backward areas.

Mr. Kamal Nath, who was "very keen" on getting specific suggestions from trade and industry through regular interaction with them, said the focus would now be on reorienting the role of delivery systems and restructuring the existing organisation to expand the country's manufacturing and services base in general and exports in particular. In doing so, he said the requirements of the country as a significant player in international markets with a long-term perspective would be kept in mind.

The FIEO vice-president, Subhash Mittal, requested the Minister to help exporters reduce losses by restoring Section 80 HHC benefits on export profits and also by allowing weighted reduction for expenditure on marketing.

He also urged him to take up the issue of making dollar loans available to exporters at LIBOR-plus basis with the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram.

Others suggestions included giving a boost to exports from small scale, cottage and tiny sectors as they generated largescale employment in rural areas and contributed significantly to the country's total exports.

He welcomed the Minister's statement that the revised Exim policy would give a thrust to agricultural exports.

He felt this would help farmers get better returns on their produce.

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