'India eyeing new markets to boost engineering exports'

To meet the target of $125 billion engineering exports by next fiscal, India needs to identify new countries along with strengthening its base in key markets of the US and Europe, Commerce and Industries Minister Anand Sharma said on Thursday.

“The Ministry has set a target of$125 billion by 2013-14 for engineering goods exports. We believe our efforts in identifying new countries to partner with for engineering sector along with strengthening our base in US and Europe will help boost Indian engineering export,” he said here after inaugurating India Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS).

The three-day event provides a platform for India to showcase its engineering strengths and gives global players an opportunity to source vendors. Czech Republic is one of the countries taking part in the show.

The economic partnership between India and Czech Republic, Sharma said, has grown over the years, expanding the flow of trade, technology, investment and people-to-people contact between the two nations.

The two-way trade between India and Czech Republic is growing rapidly and is expected to touch $2 billion by the end of 2015 from the current $900 million, he added.

“India is a priority market for us and we have historical industrial relations with India.

Companies such as SKODA have been in India for some time and we expect more companies to set up facilities here,” Czech Republic Industry and Trade Minister Martin Kuba said.

He said the European nation is keen on introducing, establishing and strengthening the position of the famous Czech design trade brands in the Indian market.

Etihad yet to approach govt

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sinha said on Thursday that neither Jet Airways nor Etihad Airways have approached the government with a formal investment proposal.

“We have so far not received a formal proposal from Etihad for investing in Jet Airways,” Sharma said on the sidelines of the India Engineering Sourcing Show here.
Earlier this month, Jet sold its parking lots in  Heathrow airport to Etihad for $70 million, improving the possibility of a deal between the airlines.