India's exports looking up from market downturn: Scindia

Kolkata, Nov 4 : Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya M Scindia today stressed the need for diversification of products and newer markets for enhancing exports of Indian goods.

Addressing the captains of industry at Merchants' Chamber of Commerce, Mr Scindia said India's exports were gradually looking up from market downturn and called for minimising the time for shipment of goods.

He said India's export position was gradually improving and hoped that the shipment of goods would go upwards at end of this fiscal from the present 3.5 per cent.

He said India would gain hugely both in terms of import and export of high tech gadgets with Korea, which needed software from India and the latter the hardware from them.

After recording a double digit growth for 3-4 years and 29 per cent growth in 2007-08, India's exports hit a road block due to global economic crisis and dropped to 3.5 per cent in 2008-09.

Mr Scindia also underlined the need for hassle free paperworks for export and observed that integrated effort between the departments would save time for quick disposal of work.

Earlier, MCC president S S Beriwala said the exporters often faced difficulty in availing benefit of incentives due to procedural hassles with the customs authorities.

A recent report by ICRIER revealed that around 20 per cent of exporters did not avail themselves of export incentives due to hassle involved and more than 50 per cent admitted to having incur some expenditure to avail the benefits under various schemes, Mr Beriwala quoted as saying.

For example, shipping bills are not being updated on the website of DGFT uploaded by Customs, he added.

--UNI

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