Stimulus package will help achieve $200 bn exports target

NEW DELHI - Industry associations Monday welcomed the Rs.1050 crore stimulus package announced by the government for the labour-intensive sectors, saying it will make India’s exports competitive and boost growth.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said the policy supplement was forward looking and would help the sectors which were in trouble.

“It will make India’s exports competitive and help us in achieving $200 billion exports target in 2010-11,” said Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Rajan Bharti Mittal.

He said given the budgetary constraints it was encouraging to see that adequate emphasis had been given on reducing the transaction cost for exporters through simplification of procedures.

“There is a scope to reduce transaction costs for exporters by around 40 percent if the recommendations of the taskforce set up by the government are implemented,” Mittal added.

Reacting on the annual supplement to the foreign trade policy, Director General of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Chandrajit Banerjee said two percent interest subvention being extended to special sectors would greatly benefit many labour intensive sectors.

“The extension of the interest subvention scheme is a very welcome move and addition of new sectors such as engineering would be a great help,” Banerjee added.

However, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) urged the government to give incentives to technological imports, saying it would make Indian exports competitive.

“Most of the measures announced by the government are industry and user-friendly but it would have been more appropriate if technological imports been incentivised,” said Assocham President Swati Piramal.

She also expressed doubts on achieving $200 billion exports target during the current financial year.

“Assocham is slightly doubtful that with increasing global consolidation and exports showing slump, the target of $200 billion for current fiscal exports is still ambitious,” Piramal added.

Welcoming the policy supplement, Chairman of EEPC India Aman Chadha said out of the total outgo of Rs.1050 crore a substantial amount would be benefiting the engineering sector.

Earlier in the day, announcing annual supplement to the foreign trade policy, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma announced sops for labour intensive exports sectors like handicrafts, handloom and leather goods, whose businesses had been badly affected by the economic downturn in the US and European countries.

Sharma said the government was hopeful of achieving $200 billion exports target.

– Indo-Asian News Service