The Indian government may broaden the scope of incentives so that the exporters, who are facing the impact of rupee depreciation and slowdown in Western market, will get benefited The incentives include interest subvention and market development assistance, reports said.
The Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday took stock of the sector and held discussions with stakeholders, including various export promotion councils, ahead of the foreign trade policy (FTP) to be announced on June 5.
He said the factors affecting exports, such as the Euro crisis, rupee depreciation and cost of credit will be discussed with the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, before announcing the FTP.
Exporters have sought the continuation of existing schemes and want sector-specific assistance to fight the slowing demand in key markets, especially Europe and the US.
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has sought an interest subvention of two percent for garments and knitwear. Chairman A. Sakthivel suggested creation of a Rs.500 crore market development fund to help expand its presence in traditional and non-traditional markets.
Similarly, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has demanded that the sector be included in the interest subvention scheme. Chairman Rajiv Jain also sought a market development assistance of up to Rs.250 crore to tap new markets in China (excluding Hong Kong) and Europe (exclusive of Belgium).
In April, gems and jewellery exports fell by 26 percent to $2.6 billion, while that of garments were dropped by ten percent to $1 billion over corresponding last period.
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