Govt working on new scheme TIES to fund export infra in states

The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday said it is working on a new initiative — Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), which aims at funding export infrastructure in states.

The issue among others were discussed during the meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion. Its members include trade/commerce ministers of states and UTs, besides secretaries of the central government and industry representatives.

The move assumes significance as the “Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) Scheme” shifted to states on the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

ASIDE provides for an outlay for development of export infrastructure in states.After this shift, states came back last year and urged the centre to take care of creating infrastructure for exports, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding all the pending or incomplete projects will have to be undertaken by states.

But from “our side lot of discussions have happened. As a result of which TIES (trade infra for export scheme) have come out. In that, the central government is now devising ways and means to fund states for their export infrastructure requirement,” she told reporters here.

She said that details about the scheme will come out soon. Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that TIES is an entirely different initiative, effort and scheme.

In her inaugural address, the minister has said that almost all the states had expressed their wish for a central scheme which supports export infrastructure, the ministry has acted on those suggestion and are trying to formulate a scheme which could provide financial support and supplement your efforts to create export infrastructure.

“I hope, we can soon succeed in achieving a consensus for the roll out of this scheme (TIES), which is very aptly titled as TIES. This would surely strengthen our TIES with the states,” she added.