In order to increase the performance of India’s overseas shipments, the government will soon set up a Trade Facilitation Council consist of members of Centre and states. This council will be chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and secretaries of key ministries and state ministers will be the members and the main objective of this council will be facilitating trade from states.
To discuss the issue related with local problems and hindrances that come in their way while exporting their produce, commerce secretary Rita Teotia will be meeting representatives from the state governments, which will pave the way for the committee to achieve three key goals such as infrastructure development, easing regulatory environment and addressing concerns related to local taxes and their refund. The government will also push those states that do not have a stipulated export policy to devise their own state trade policy of sorts under the broad framework of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020.
Merchandise exports from country have been declining continuously for the last six months. In May 2015 exports contracted 20.19 percent to $22.34 billion compared to $28 billion last year. In the first two months of current financial year, total exports were lower by 17.21 percent to $44.40 billion as compared to $53.63 billion last fiscal.
Earlier, the government had announced several incentives in the five-year Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for exporters and units in the Special Economic Zones, in order to nearly double India’s exports of goods and services to $900 billion by 2020.