Commerce Secy says interest rate subvention soon

Govt has no plan to revisit export target

Good news could be in the offing for all exporters in the country. The government is working on an interest subvention scheme for exporters and it is likely to be announced soon according to Union Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher.

“Subvention is an important intervention and we are working to implement it as soon as possible. We hope to come out with a policy on subvention within the next couple of months. However, the sectors that are likely to benefit from the scheme are yet to be decided,” Kher said in a function organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

According to Kher, the depreciation in the value of the rupee is not much of a challenge for the exporters. “The depreciation of the rupee is not much of a challenge as far as exports are concerned. If the rupee, however, remains volatile, it can cause some problems for the exports from the country,” Kher said.

Exports have declined over the last three months and it is a concern. Economies across the world are facing challenges and are declining and so it is going to impact exports from India. We have to make extra efforts in policies to ensure that exports grow, Kher added.

As far as the recently unveiled Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) was concerned, Kher said the government had no immediate plans for revisiting the export targets.

Targets $900 billion

“We have set a target of $900 billion of merchandise and exports by 2020. The government has no intention of looking at revision in those figures,” Kher said.

In the third year, if we are doing phenomenally well, then we may raise it, Kher said, also adding that the government has no plans to re-look at current gold import norms in the country due to rising gold imports.

Kher said that to notify the subvention scheme, the expenditure finance committee of the Finance Ministry has to clear the proposal.

Wish granted

Interest subvention scheme for exporters is likely to be announced soon
But the sectors likely to benefit from the scheme are yet to be decided
Commerce secretary says rupee depreciation is not a challenge for the exporters