With the constant decline in merchandise exports since last December, the government aims to announce a package to boost shipments. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman indicated this while speaking at a recent convention. She said that the package would include extension of existing interest subvention scheme to many more sectors.
“The finance ministry has given us an outlay for interest subvention. We (commerce ministry) have laid out rules by which different sectors would be given this benefit. These will soon go the Cabinet for a decision,” Sitharaman said. Under the scheme banks provide three per cent interest relief on export credit and get compensated for the same.
The minister further added that the government will look into the ‘Merchandise Export for India Scheme’ for rewarding export performance, at the time of a mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, which will be held in the months of September/October 2017. Responding to the discussion on foreign investment in B2C e-commerce, she said that some states are yet to revert with their responses on the issue. However, she added that the government was not considering allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail, neither had it received any applications from companies in this regard.
In Budget FY16, the FM had announced Rs 1,650 crores for interest subvention scheme for exporters. This amount is expected to be increased significantly. The rate of export credit in India is 11 to 12 per cent compared with 5.5 per cent in China, 6.2 per cent in Malaysia, 4.6 per cent in Thailand, 2.6 per cent in Taiwan and 2 to 3 per cent in the euro area except Greece. Talking about the delay in FTA talks with EU, she said that India is awaiting a response from the EU on why they chose to act against the country’s pharmaceutical sector, which is world-renowned as suppliers of authentic but cheaper generic medicines.
