New Delhi The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has demanded 6,000 crore from the finance ministry for its proposed districts as an export hub scheme, which aims to help producers in 200 districts scale up manufacturing and find foreign buyers for their goods.
The Department of Commerce, under which DGFT comes, has proposed this as a centrally sponsored scheme, with about 60% of the total cost. 10,000 crore will be borne by the Center and the rest by the states.
Under the proposal, DGFT has sought funds to develop 200 out of 750 districts in the country as export hubs in phases. has demanded the allocation of 50 crore per district.
DGFT is in the process of responding to the queries raised by the Finance Ministry and other departments.
The move comes as the government is in the process of setting “ambitious” export targets for FY23.
The District Export Hub Scheme, if approved by the Finance Ministry, will be part of the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). The FTP was initially scheduled for 1 April 2020, but was postponed several times to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was extended by another six months to September last month.
“We’ve Asked Around” 6,000 crore for the district as an export hub scheme. It will be in the ratio of 60:40 as we want its approval as a centrally sponsored scheme. So, 40% will be borne by the respective states for each district. We are also in touch with the states,” a government official said.
“We had sent a note to the finance ministry, which has raised some questions. We will answer those people and persuade the finance ministry to finance them.”
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that in order to tap the export potential of agricultural and industrial products, DGFT in collaboration with States and Union Territories will implement the districts as Export Hub Initiative for all districts of the country in a phased manner. doing.
Queries sent to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Finance on Monday remained unanswered till press time.
Goyal said that the objective of this initiative is to mobilize each district to realize its potential as an export hub. He said that under this initiative, District Export Promotion Committees (DEPCs) have been constituted in most of the districts and products and services with export potential have been identified in each district.
India’s exports touched an all-time high of $419 billion in 2021-22, exceeding the $19 billion target set for the year.
The Department of Commerce is also implementing the Business Infrastructure Scheme for Exports (TIES) from FY2018 with an objective to assist Central and State Government agencies in creating suitable infrastructure for export growth.
India’s trade deficit reached a record high due to rising oil prices amid Ukraine war.
The deficit widened nearly 88% to $192.41 billion during FY22 as compared to $102.63 billion in the previous fiscal.
Total exports reached a record high during the last financial year, while imports also increased to $610.22 billion. The government is in discussions to fix the export target for the current financial year, but several uncertainties are proving to be a hindrance.