Govt seeks states’ participation to boost India’s exports

The participating states’ trade ministers urged the Centre to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, especially the railway connectivity and minor ports and enhance their connectivity with hinterland The Dollar Business Bureau

The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge), Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman interacting with media regarding the 1st Meeting of Council for Trade Development and Promotion, in New Delhi on January 08, 2016. The Commerce Secretary, Ms. Rita A. Teaotia and the Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Shri Amitabh Kant are also seen.

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacting with media regarding the 1st Meeting of Council for Trade Development and Promotion, in New Delhi on Friday.

The central government has sought active participation from states to boost India’s exports that have been facing challenges amid global slowdown. On Friday, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion and expressed hope that the council will bring together state governments for creating an environment conducive to international trade. The Commerce Minister advised the states to cooperate with central agencies in setting up common facilities like testing labs, training institutes as well as giving packaging and storage support to the industry. She also suggested state governments that a bimonthly meeting with exporters could sort out their infrastructure and tax related issues. “There was a need to diversify India’s services exports basket by enabling more sectors to reach more markets. Other areas like medical tourism, nursing and healthcare, education and audio-visual media also afford an excellent potential which can be harnessed,” Sitharaman said. The Minister also highlighted the measures taken by the government to facilitate ease of doing business and said the number of mandatory documents required for export and import has already been reduced to three and four from seven and ten respectively. Karnataka’s Industry & Trade Minister R V Deshpande, however, said more changes were required in the ease of doing business and that the rankings should be linked to implementation. The participating state trade ministers urged the government to improve the country’s infrastructure, especially railway connectivity and minor ports and enhancing their connectivity with hinterland. Assam’s Commerce and Industry Minister Siddeque Ahmod requested the government to improve road links as well as transit facilities with Bangladesh. Rajasthan’s Industry Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar suggested for a separate export promotion council for dimensional stone and a revenue laboratory at Jaipur so that export consignments could be sent in time. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), along with FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII, gave a presentation on the current trade scenario and suggested how state governments could play a vital role in the country’s trade promotion activities. Most of the states underlined the importance of restoring the ASIDE (Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) schemes.

January 09, 2015 | 2:01pm IST.

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Jan 09, 2016 08:32 IST

Govt seeks states’ participation to boost India’s exports

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