Govt planning to give interest subsidy to exporters: Nirmala

The government is considering giving interest subsidy to exporters reeling under current global slowdown in orders.

“The interest subvention scheme was available up to March 31, 2014. A proposal for the interest subvention scheme to various sectors is under consideration of the government,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

According to the latest government data, merchandise exports declined for the seventh straight month in June to $22.29 billion which was 15.82 per cent lower than the $26.48 billion worth shipped in the same  month of last year.

Disappointed over sagging exports, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) S C Ralhan said that the government should engage with stakeholders, reintroduce interest subvention and support export marketing to steer exports.

While soft external demand was the main cause of declining exports, the other reasons were slowdown in manufacturing and high cost of credit and increasing logistics cost .

Meanwhile, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Pravir Kumar asked exporters to look beyond the US and European markets to improve their fortunes.

“It is a good idea not to keep all your eggs in one basket. If we depend too much on the US and Europe, then if there is problem in one area, the whole country and the industry will suffer. So, we would like our exporters to explore possibilities in other countries,” Kumar said at an event.