The Hindu Business Line : Kamal Nath calls for doubling exports to $125 b

The Federation of Indian Export Organisation suggested the reintroduction of target plus scheme and extending benefits under the focus market scheme to all countries in Latin America and Africa.

THE MINISTER for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, and the Secretary, Mr S.N. Menon, addressing a review meeting on export performance in the Capital on Thursday. — Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , July 27

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, today asked exporters to aim at almost doubling the country's exports from $63 billion in 2003-04 to $125 billion during the current fiscal, even as the current fiscal export target is set at $120 billion.

Chairing a review meeting of performance logged during the first quarter with all export promotion councils (EPCs) and commodity boards (CBs) on export targets and performance, he assured that the Government would extend all support to enable exporters to cross the target.

"With the sustained 20 per cent plus export growth witnessed in the last couple of years, I am confident that $150 billion merchandise exports would be achieved well before the target date of 2009, enabling India to increase its share of world trade to at least one per cent," Mr Nath said. Pointing out that some of the councils such as gems and jewellery and chemicals and allied products were projecting growth rates lower than 16.8 per cent set out for exports as a whole, the Minister urged them to strive for higher performance.

Trade-centric initiatives

He also deliberated with exporters on the implementation of various trade-centric initiatives unveiled in the annual supplement to the foreign trade policy particularly the focus products and focus area approach, Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana and Gram Udyog Yojana as also their feedback of schemes initiated to promote employment-intensive export activities.

Representatives of EPCs and CBs include the country's key export segments such as engineering, gems and jewellery, chemicals and related products, textiles (including silk, synthetic and rayon, wool and woolens, handlooms and handicrafts), sports goods, leather, processed foods, coffee, tea, tobacco, cashew and coir.

They flagged off several sector-specific problems ranging from the creation of corpus Rs 1,000 crore for focus export promotion in the handicraft sector to reduction of duty on imported diamonds from 5 per cent to nil and for devising a mechanism to save exporters from heavy incidence of fringe benefit tax.

The FIEO made several suggestions including the reintroduction of target plus scheme and extending benefits under the focus market scheme to all countries in Latin America and Africa.