EEPC appeals to Pranab for help

Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), now renamed EEPC India, has sought the help of foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Rakesh Shah, chairman, EEPC India, highlighted the plight of the SME exporters who have been hit hard by the recent monetary policy together with the sharp escalation in raw material prices and freight costs and rupee depreciation in his appeal to Mukherjee for help.

Mukherjee, while congratulating EEPC members for their total export of around $126.26 billion, emphasised the need to augment trade and export infrastructure, which he admitted was inaduquate at present.

He promised to take up the EEPC plea at inter ministerial meetings. He spoke about the newly formed core committee which was empowered to take care of all trade infrastructure issues. Mukherjee, while praising engineering exporters, claimed that the government was trying its best to mitigate the problems of exporters class but pointed out that there were other more pressing issues at present, with more than 300 million people living below the poverty line in the country.

Mukherjee and Shah shared the platform at a meeting at which EEPC, as the apex body of engineering exporters in the country, handed awards to 90 member companies for extraordinary export performance in fiscal 2006-07. Topping the list was Tata Motors Limited, Diamond Engineering of Chennai, R.B Aggarwalla & Company of Kolkata, Peshavaria Exports of Jamnagar and MMTC Limited.