Government organisation promoting export

PROMOTION OF  GLOBAL BUSINESS

With a view to making exports an effective instrument for promoting greater economic activity and employment, a number of schemes which have been in existence for some time now have been strengthened and improved upon while some new ones have been introduced.  A brief description of some of these schemes is given below:

I. Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and other activities (ASIDE) Scheme

The ASIDE scheme aims at encouraging the active involvement of State Governments for development of export infrastructure through assistance linked to export performance.  The scheme provides an outlay for development of export infrastructure which is distributed among the States, inter-alia, on the basis of the States’ export performance in the previous year. After the merger of EPIP, EPZ, CIB, EDF scheme in the ASIDE scheme, the on-going projects under these schemes are also being funded by the States from the resources provided under the ASIDE scheme. The specific purposes for which the funds allocated under the scheme that can be sanctioned and utilized are as follows: -

·        Creation of new Export Promotion Industrial Parks/Zones (including Special Economic Zones (SEZs)/Agri-Business Zones) and augmenting facilities in the existing Zones.

·        Setting up of electronic and other related infrastructure in export conclaves.

·        Equity participation in infrastructure projects, including the setting up of SEZs.

·        Meeting the requirements of capital outlay of EPIPs/EPZs/SEZs.

·        Development of complementary infrastructure such as roads connecting the production centres with ports, setting up of Inland Container Depots and Container Freight Stations.

·        Stabilizing power supply through additional transformers and islanding of export production centres, etc.

·        Development of minor ports and jetties of a particular specification to serve exports.

·        Assistance for setting up Common Effluent Treatment Plants.

·        Projects of national and regional importance.

·        Activities permitted as per the Export Development Fund in relation to the North East and Sikkim.

II.Marketing Development Assistance (MDA)

The Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) scheme has been formulated to stimulate and diversify the country’s exports with the following objectives:

• Assist individual exporters for export promotion activities abroad
• Assist Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) to undertake export promotion activities for their product(s) and commodities
• Assist approved organisations/trade bodies in undertaking limited exclusive non-recurring innovative activities connected with export promotion efforts for their members
• Assist EPCs to contest countervailing duty/anti dumping cases initiated abroad
• Assist Focus Area export promotion programmes in specific regions abroad like Focus LAC, Focus Africa, Focus CIS and Focus ASEAN+ 2 programmes
• Promote residual essential activities connected with marketing promotion efforts abroad

III. Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme

The Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme has been launched as a plan scheme to act as a catalyst to promote India’s exports on a sustained basis. The Scheme is based upon ‘focus product’ and ‘focus market’ concept. Under the scheme, assistance is extended to the Departments of Central Government and Organizations of Central/State Governments, Export Promotion Councils, Registered Trade Promotion organizations, Commodity Boards, Recognized Apex Trade Bodies, Recognized Industrial Clusters and Individual Exporters for product registration and testing charges for engineering products abroad. Assistance is given for the following components: -

·        Market Studies

·        Marketing projects which may include:

a)      Opening of showrooms

b)      Warehousing facility

c)      Display in international departmental stores

d)      Publicity campaign

e)      Participation in trade fairs, BSMs etc., abroad

f)        Research and product development

g)      Reverse visits of the prominent foreign buyers etc. from the project focus countries

• Export potential survey of the states
• Registration charges for product registration abroad for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agro-chemicals
• Testing charges for engineering products abroad
• To cottage and handicrafts units for similar activities and for developing the web site for virtual exhibition
• Studies on WTO related matters
• To industrial clusters for marketing study, participation in trade fair etc. abroad
• To any project/study which would further the objectives of the scheme

IV. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. (ECGC)

In order to promote the country's exports by covering the risk of export on credit, the ECGC provides (a) A range of insurance covers to Indian exporters against the risk of non-realisation of export proceeds due to commercial or political causes and (b) Different types of guarantees to banks and other financial institutions to enable them to extend credit facilities to exporters on liberal basis.

V. National Export Insurance Account (NEIA)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting held on 24.1.06 has approved the proposal for setting up a separate Fund with a corpus of Rs.2,000 crores called the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA).  The Fund will be maintained and operated by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. (ECGC) and 20% of the risk is to be borne by the ECGC from its own funds. The objective of NEIA is to promote project exports from India, which will not take place but for the support of a credit risk insurance cover in the following cases:

• High risk on a single country;
• High value of a single transaction; and
• Large valued projects involving unusual or unconventional credit terms, which are beyond the normal, risk bearing capacity of ECGC.

VI. Export Credit

To make Indian exports compatible with the WTO norms, the Government through the Export–Import Bank of India, proactively endeavored to enhance the competitiveness of Indian exporters, while also striving to ensure that the Bank’s activities and financing initiatives keep pace with the discerning requirements of industry and trade. Initiatives have been taken for opening up new Branch(s) or to upgrade the status of the existing Branch of Indian Banks abroad and of Foreign Banks in India.

With a view to help the exporters, representations/complaints involving export credit/exchange control matters were also taken up with the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI has already taken the decision to continue Rupee Export Credit Interest Rates up to 30 April, 2006 and a Working Group consisting of the RBI, select banks and export organizations was set up in April, 2005 on export credit.

The function of this group is to review

(i)                  action taken on exporters’ satisfaction survey

(ii)                existing procedures for export credit

(iii)                Gold Card Scheme

(iv)               export credit for non-star exporters, and

(v)                 the current interest rate regulations in export credit.

 The RBI is to issue instructions to the Banks based on the recommendations of this Working Group.

VII. Incentives and Promotional Schemes for Agricultural Products & Aquaculture

In order to boost export of agricultural products, the Government provides various incentives through Commodity Boards/Council for infrastructure development, quality and quality control, market development and promotion, packaging, publicity, information dissemination etc. Vigorous efforts are also being made to gain access for our agricultural products through conclusion of SPS protocol with China, Japan and other important importing countries.

Promotional schemes for development of aquaculture and augmenting fresh water shrimps were taken up for increasing production for the purpose of export. The Mission Mode Programme was introduced for the development of shrimp and scampi culture, in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa. Training programmes on implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Programme (HACCP) were also organised. Subsidies were extended to exporters for setting up/modernizing/upgrading processing facilities with a view to achieve the level of international quality standards, including EU/HACCP norms.

VIII. Infrastructure Support

The Government provides transport/logistic support and resolves problems experienced by the trading community in the carriage of goods by courier, sea, air, rail and road in coordination with the concerned Ministries & Departments. It seeks to encourage greater containerisation, computerisation of cargo clearance and electronic data interchange, warehousing, setting up of air cargo complexes, inland container depots, container freight stations, etc.

As a result of these efforts, export and import have been facilitated through various orders of the Government. The condition of Bank guarantee for inland movement of customs bonded containers has been relaxed and the requirement of execution of Bank guarantee for the purpose of transhipment for all carriers of containerised cargo handling more than 1000 TEUs as import containers in a financial year has been waived.

The process of Sub- Manifest Transhipment Permits has also been simplified by the customs. There has been a constant endeavour to solve the problem of congestion in handling and clearance of containers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad. The Government has also reduced the customs duty on the handling equipment being imported by the ICDs/ CFSs.

Single window clearance for proposals for setting up of Inland Container Depots/Container Freight Stations/ Air Cargo Complexes (ICDs/CFSs/ACCs) is implemented through an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) since 1992. So far, 26 proposals for setting up Inland Container Depots/Container Freight Stations (ICDs/ CFSs) and Air Cargo Complexes (ACCs) have been approved by the Inter Ministerial Committee during the year.

IX. Electronic Commerce (EC) / Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for Trade

The next five years is expected to witness a rapid growth in e-commerce which would have positive impact on small businesses that have established themselves as legitimate, trustworthy merchants. Most companies have initiated measures to create and execute an e-commerce strategy. The project entitled “Electronic Commerce (EC) / Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for Trade (e-Trade)” is pursued in various trade regulatory and facilitating agencies like Customs, DGFT, Ports, Airports, RBI, Export Promotion Organisations (EPO), Exporters, Importers, Agents, CONCOR, Banks, etc. to facilitate international trade. The objectives of this project are to facilitate electronic delivery of services; to simplify procedures; to provide 24 hour access to users with their partners; to make procedures transparent; to reduce the transaction cost and time, and to introduce international standards and best practices.

India Trade Promotion Organisation

India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for promoting the country's external trade. ITPO, during its existence of nearly three decades, in the form of Trade Fair Authority of India and Trade Development Authority, has played a proactive role in catalysing trade, investment and technology transfer processes. Its promotional tools include organizing of fairs and exhibitions in India and abroad, Buyer-Seller Meets, Contact Promotion Programmes, Product Promotion Programmes, Promotion through Overseas Department Stores, Market Surveys and Information Dissemination.