The Hindu Business Line : IIFT told to make sector-specific study for Karnataka

KARNATAKA, with an eye on doubling its exports in four years, has commissioned a study to identify sectors, products and strategies that need special thrust in the WTO era.

The Industries & Infrastructure Minister, Mr P.G.R. Sindhia, on Thursday said the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade was asked a few days ago to make a sector-specific study over the next six months to help the State devise its export promotion strategies. He was speaking at an open house organised by the Karnataka chapter of FIEO here.

Karnataka came out with a pioneering and proactive export policy for 2003-07 among the States and identified eight thrust areas. The new IIFT study, according to Mr Sindhia, will help to promote hitherto neglected but promising areas such as handicrafts. "We also want to promote bulk drugs, textiles and herbal products as they have been showing good scope," Mr Sindhia told Business Line.

The export promotion arm, Visvesvaraya Industrial Trade Centre (VITC), has forecast 2004-05 export figure of Rs 50,000 crore, or 16 per cent growth over last year's Rs 43,000 crore. It hopes that this value will double by 2008-09 in tune with the national policy, Mr Sindhia said.

Currently ranked fourth, the State has been making positive moves on export infrastructure, such as improving the ports at Mangalore, Karwar and Belikeri, doubling the railway link from iron ore producing centre Bellary and setting up special economic zones in Hassan, Mangalore and Bangalore. It is also strengthening VITC.

"We would like more money (from the Centre) for all these... Karnataka has high potential of doubling its share in the next 4-5 years. While we need to adopt new strategies to push our exports, we also need the full support of the Central Government if the State has to meet its targets," Mr Sindhia said.

During 2003-04, software exports accounted for Rs 20,000 crore of the total State's share. The Minister renewed the State's request that software exports be considered for assistance under the export-linked ASIDE scheme.

Bellary, which produces huge amounts of iron ore that is exported, should be considered under towns of export excellence with Rs 1,000-crore limit.

According to VITC, the State already accounts for 12 per cent of national exports and is well on its way to taking it to 15 per cent by 2007. Karnataka mainly exports iron ore, jewellery and petro products, besides software from its numerous IT units.

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