Riding on the back of revival of demand in the US, India’s engineering exports are expected to maintain uptrend. Union minister for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the country's engineering exports are likely to reach over $60 billion during the current financial year after touching $50.87 billion during April-January period of 2016-17, exceeding the total shipments of $ 49 billion in the entire financial year of 2015-16.
In order to boost engineering exports, Sitharaman has said that the department of commerce is engaged in a key initiative for technology upgradation of engineering manufacturers and added that this is being attempted by bridging the gap between leading R&D labs and industry for the development of cutting-edge, export-oriented technologies. She also noted that the ministry has identified important industrial clusters where it is interacting with stakeholders to identify technology gaps and that can be filled by research labs and academic institutions.
She further stated that there is enormous potential to enhance bilateral trade with Russia, which presently stands at $6.62 billion and the ministry has discussed with the Russian minister about the International North South Transport Corridor that would cut time and cost for transportation of goods between both countries.