NEW DELHI : The General Department of Foreign Trade (DGFT) searched 6,000 crore from the Ministry of Finance for the Districts are proposed as Export Centers plans to help manufacturers across 200 counties expand their production scale and find foreign buyers for their goods.
The Department of Commerce, where the DGFT was founded, has proposed it as a centrally funded program, where 60% of the total cost is about 10,000 crore will be borne by the Center, and the rest by the states.
Under the proposal, the DGFT sought funding to develop 200 of the country’s 750 counties into export hubs in phases. It searched for the distribution of 50 crore per county.
The DGFT is in the process of answering questions raised by the Ministry of Finance and other ministries.
The move comes as the government is also in the process of deciding on an “ambitious” export target for fiscal year 23.
The district-level export center scheme, if approved by the Ministry of Finance, will be part of the new foreign trade policy (FTP). FTP was originally scheduled for April 1, 2020, but has been postponed several times to April 2022 due to the covid-19 pandemic. It was extended for another six months last month, to September.
“We asked around 6,000 crore for the Region as an Export Center Scheme. It will be 60:40 as we are seeking its approval as a centrally funded program. Therefore, 40% will be paid by the respective states for each school district. We are also communicating with the states,” a government official said.
“We sent a note to the Treasury Department, which raised a number of questions. We will answer those and convince the finance department about the financing,” he added.
Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal said that in order to exploit the export potential of agricultural and industrial products, the DGFT is working with the states and union territories to implement the Regional Economic Zones initiative. region as an Export Center for all counties of the country in phases.
Inquiries sent to the trade and industry ministries and the finance ministry on Monday remained unanswered as of press time.
The initiative, said Goyal, aims to mobilize each district to reach its potential as an export hub. Under this initiative, district-level Export Promotion Committees (DEPCs) have been established in most of the districts and products and services with export potential have been identified in each district, he said. more.
India’s exports hit an all-time high of $419 billion in 2021-22, beating its full-year target of $19 billion.
The Ministry of Commerce has also been implementing the Trade Infrastructure for Exports (TIES) Scheme since fiscal year 18 with the goal of assisting central and state government agencies in creating infrastructure. suitable for export growth.
India’s trade deficit hit a record high mainly due to rising oil prices amid the Ukraine war.
The deficit widened nearly 88% to $192.41 billion in fiscal year 22 from $102.63 billion in the previous fiscal year.
While total exports in the last financial year rose to a record high, imports also skyrocketed to $610.22 billion. The government is conducting consultations to decide on export targets for the ongoing fiscal but some uncertainty is proving to be an obstacle.
