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| DGFT to put all incentive schemes of exporters online |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar Sep 12, 2009, 00:29 IST |
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In a bid to reduce the transaction and procedural cost of the exporters, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) plans to put all the incentive schemes meant for exporters on line in next 2-3 months.
For the purpose, DGFT is currently implementing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) project which aims at setting up of a centralised computer system. The equipments required for EDI connectivity has already been put in place.
While trial is going on in 3 ports at present, this will be expanded to 13 ports of the country by December, said R S Gujral, Director General of Foreign Trade, Union ministry of commerce.
Participating in an interactive meeting on foreign trade policy 2009-14 organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) in Bhubaneswar, Gujral said, DGFT wants to develop a Centralised Computer System for convenience of the exporters.
Since the ports are not connected with each other, the exporters are facing a lot of inconvenience. The EDI connectivity will be expanded to all the ports in the country in future, he added.
He said, the export policy of the country has come at a difficult time. However, despite the slowdown sectors like petro and plastic downstream products have been able to attain higher growth.
Referring to Orissa, the Director General said, exports from Orissa has mainly consisted of primary goods and minerals. So it should move up in the value chain. Instead of focussing on export of iron ore, the efforts should be made to export manufacturing items and stainless steel products from the state.
Ramesh Kumar Agarwal, chairman, FIEO (eastern region) said, the DGFT should increase the outlay under the Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) scheme to cover infrastructure funding costs in Orissa. This will help to bring down the transaction costs for the exporters.
He urged the government to watch the situation on exports, exchange and employment front till the third quarter of 2010, before arriving at any conclusion on the issue of boosting the exports from small and medium enterprises (SME) sector.
Niranjan Mohanty, president, Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI), said, the scope of the zero percent interest scheme should be expanded to SMEs and a ‘focus state’ scheme to boost exports from the state should be introduced. Similarly, hassle free movement of goods meant for exports should be ensured for boosting exports from Orissa, he added.
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