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G. Srinivasan

Mr S.K. Saraf, Vice-President of CEU (western region) and also for FIEO, expressed his puzzlement over the proposal particularly at a time when the Ministry of Commerce had taken a conscious decision to consolidate and whittle down the number of EPCs by merging some smaller ones with the like-minded larger EPCs.

NEW DELHI, July 24

THE 100 per cent export-oriented units (EOUs) appear to be divided over the proposal in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to evolve a separate Export Promotion Council (EPC), designed to take care of their problems and concerns exclusively through such a body.

Industry sources told Business Line here that there was already an association representing the interests of the 100 per cent EOUs in the form of the Confederation of Export Units (CEUs) based in Mumbai and Delhi and any initiative to duplicate the works of this body would only add to the transaction cost and additional burden without actually conferring on them any solid benefits.

When contacted in Mumbai, the Vice-President of CEU (western region) and also for FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisation), Mr S.K. Saraf, disfavoured the very proposal, stating that units in special economic zones (SEZs), export processing zones (EPZs) and EOUs were in diverse fields.

The concept of EPC was to put products in the same family together, illustration being engineering, chemicals and gems and jewellery. It would be difficult to have an efficient EPC with an all-round knowledge of all the disparate products.

Stating that all the facilities that EPC confers were being made available to all EOUs through membership to their respective council, Mr Saraf pointed out that his own unit was a member of Texprocil (Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council) as well as CEU. He said that if a separate EPC was formed, he would have to become a member of one more body, which would jack up his cost of operation.

He also expressed his puzzlement over the proposal particularly at a time when the Ministry of Commerce had taken a conscious decision to consolidate and whittle down the number of EPCs by merging some smaller ones with the like-minded larger EPCs.

However, the CEU President, Mr R.Veeramani, is in favour of evolving a separate EPC for 100 per cent EOUs as the existing arrangement was outside the Government supervision with not much of membership to boast. He said it was a right idea to have a separate quasi-governmental EPC so that it would be easier for members to sponsor visits abroad to explore new markets and get the requisite market development assistance for building brands and popularising products.

Mr Saraf said with limited finance available in CEUs and equally poor membership, it would be difficult to undertake many such things for furthering the interests of the EOUs.

Asked whether it would be not undermining the existing CEUs, being presided over by him, Mr Veeramani said that he would take the idea to the executive committee meeting of the CEUs to try and convince the members that a separate EPC would be in their best interests particularly at a time when SEZ, agri export zones were coming up and EOUs should have a distinct body to liase with the Government in articulating policies and getting their support in their export endeavour.

With the President and Vice-President being at loggerheads over the pros and cons of the proposal to form a separate EPC for EOUs, industry sources are of the view that the best option is to beef up the extant CEU by recognising its pioneering work in the field for long years during which it has been designated by the Government as the sponsoring authority for EOUs for grant of national awards for outstanding export performance, besides being called upon to present evidence before the Standing Committee of Parliament.

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