New Delhi, Oct 10 (FN Representative) Noting that quality will define future of exports from India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday asked export promotion councils (EPCs) to identify and name exporters whose products fail to meet international standards and are often rejected due to inferior quality. The Minister expressed displeasure over the EPCs not identifying specific exporters hurting the reputation of ‘Made in India’ products in the world markets despite repeated reminders. “Quality will define the future of our exports,” he stressed. Addressing a Mid-Term Review Meeting with heads of various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) through video conferencing today, Goyal directed discussions with all stakeholders before the new Foreign Trade Policy is finalised. He set US$ 450-$500 billion exports target for next year. Growing at rapid pace following the record decline last year, India’s merchandise exports touched US$ 197 billion in the first half of FY2021-22, 48 per cent of the target set for current fiscal.
The Minister said that engineering goods have much more potential and textile exports should aim for $100 billion. “You must have seen we are coming out with schemes,” said Goyal referring to the various PLI schemes announced by the government recently. The Minister said that government is negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with various countries and blocs including the UK, UAE, Oman, Australia, Canada, EU, Russia and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. “Equitable, fair and balanced and to the benefit of the Indian exporters, you will have to raise whatever are your concerns,” Goyal said, adding mostly issues are related to market access rather than tariffs. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil ‘Gati Shakti’ programme on October 13, Goyal invited the Export Council heads to join the event by VC and participate with infrastructure issues of related export sectors. The National Logistics Policy has also been unveiled recently and exporters should flag their concerns, he added.