Sops for textile, handicraft segments likely on Aug 10

The government may announce additional fiscal incentives to the labour-intensive textile and handicraft export segments, which are still down in the dumps, in the annual foreign trade policy review slated for on August 10.

"In the next two-three days, the incentives package will be finalised and I am sure something for sectors like textiles and handicrafts will come as they need some more incentives at least for two years," a Commerce Ministry official told PTI.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is likely to announce the incentives to labour-intensive sectors in the foreign trade policy review later this month, he added.

Unlike the previous years, the review policy will this time be announced in Parliament. Last year, Sharma had announced the Exim policy at a press conference. The policy review will be part of the Foreign Trade Policy for 2009-14 announced in August 2009.

The likely sops follows "extensive consultations" by Sharma with business chambers and exporters body, including CII, Ficci and Fieo in the past 10-15 days.

With pick-up in exports since November 2009, sectors like gems and jewellery and chemicals have posted good growth but several segments like textiles and handicrafts continue to remain laggard.

Ministry sources said laggard sectors need government support as Europe, one of the traditional markets for the country, continues to remain a cause of worry. While the US market has started showing signs of improvement, there are apprehensions of the European debt trouble casting a shadow on exports from the country.

The global economy slipped into major crisis from September-October 2008, impacting the country's exports particularly to the developed markets. While the exports have recovered (since November 2009) following turnaround in the global economy, they are still below the 2007-08 levels and the first half of 2008-09 fiscal.

The world's second-fastest growing large economy is aiming about 15 per cent export growth this fiscal, following a drop of 4.7 per cent in 2009-10.