India is looking to unveil a ₹20,000 crore long-term plan by September to shield its exporters from global trade uncertainties and fluctuations, officials said.
A raft of measures aimed at facilitating easy access to export credit and tackling non-tariff barriers in overseas markets are being planned under the new Export Promotion Mission, the officials said.
The government’s initiative assumes significance in light of the commerce and industry ministry urging exporters to build and promote homegrown brands for coping with the 25% tariff levied by the US. “For the mission to operationalise as a scheme, more than ₹20,000 crore are required for the next five-six years. This is under consultation,” said an official.The mission is being driven jointly by the ministries of commerce and industry, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), and finance.
“The mission will implicitly help exports bound for the US, and wherever our exports go. We will have to close it by August so that it is operational by September,” said the official cited above.
Ecommerce Hubs
The plan also involves elevating Brand India on the global stage on the lines of Japan, Korea, and Switzerland, supporting the setting up of ecommerce hubs, and developing districts as export centres.
“It will be positive if such a large fund can support our exports in these challenging times,” said Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Washington has imposed an across-the-board 25% tariff on all Indian-origin goods, effective August 7, along with an unspecified penalty. India’s rivals including Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Turkey are in the 15-20% range. The steep duty could impact nearly half of India’s exports of more than $85 billion annually to the US.
The mission will have five components – trade finance, non-trade finance dealing with regulation, standards and market access, better brand recall for Brand India, ecommerce hubs and warehousing, and trade facilitation.
For MSME exporters, the plan is to offer fully or partially collateral-free loans with a cap on individual exporters and based on their credit history.