Odisha to park own funds for export infrastructure

With the scrapping of the Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) scheme by the central government, the onus of augmenting export infrastructure has now shifted to the states. The ASIDE scheme was meant for development of export infrastructure,

The Odisha government is planning to develop the infrastructure for boosting exports by allocating funds from its own coffers.

“Initially, the government was contemplating to come out with a separate scheme ‘State Assistance for Creation of Export Infrastructure in Odisha’. Of late, it has been decided to add one more item for infrastructure to the existing scheme of ‘Export Promotion and Publicity scheme’, instead of opting for a new one. The allocation will be made for the development of infrastructure in addition to promotion and publicity. The state government has allocated Rs 1.75 crore for the existing scheme in the budget for 2016-17," said a government official.

The state may allocate a minimum of Rs 20 crore annually for the development of infrastructure to promote exports in its budget for 2017-18 and thereafter towards this purpose. However, the allocation depends on the project proposals placed before the government, he added.

The funds to be apportioned for the development of export infrastructure is expected to address the critical link both at the point of production (first mile) and point of evacuation (last mile).

The ASIDE scheme launched in 2002, has been discontinued since 2014-15. Under the central scheme, Odisha has availed the assistance of Rs 120 crore and more for the development of export infrastructure.

“We will soon ask the stakeholders to send us the proposals that are pivotal to boost the exports from the state. The funds will be used in the creation of new special economic zones (SEZs) and agri-business zones and new projects in the sunrise sectors like IT, fishery and electronics," said the official.

To boost exports, Odisha has already put the implementation of its export promotion policy-2014 on the fast track. The state intends to scale up exports to Rs 39,000 crore in 10 years. Odisha has set a target to scale up its exports to Rs 21,559 crore in this financial year, up from Rs 17,346 crore recorded in last financial.