 "EEPC demands technology upgradation fund for MSME")
Seeking government's attention to realise the gravity of the situation arising out of a sharp fall in engineering exports, the EEPC India has said the promotional schemes for the external trade must be re-aligned immediately in the wake of worsening conditions in the global market.
“Plans like MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) should be set aside and a new scheme be announced where the benefits accrue for all tariff lines and for all countries. This will lower transaction costs as the need for landing certificates or any other alternatives will not be necessary. Alternatively, the government should increase the MEIS benefit extending them to Category C countries,” said T S Bhasin, chairman, EEPC India, in his presentation to the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 2, 2016.
At a meeting convened by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Bhasin also raised the move to impose the Minimum Import Price on steel which has created considerable uncertainty in the market. “This is bad for engineering exports and one of the reasons for the sharp decline in December 2015 is the uncertainty created due to reports on MIP. This issue must be addressed immediately,” Bhasin opined.
Yet another issue bothering the engineering exporters relates to the Quality Control Order, which is a non-tariff barrier for other countries. “But it is affecting us first. Our exporters are unable to import as their importers have not got sufficient time to register with BIS. A time period of six month needs to be given for importers to register. Further, at a time when exports are falling, perhaps this is not a right response at this juncture,” said Bhasin.
India’s engineering exports which accounts for over 21 percent of India’s total exports in December 2015 once again registered a fall of 29 percent to $ 4765.51 million from $ 6710.57 million during December 2014. Consequently, the cumulative value of engineering exports during April-December 2015-16 recorded a dip by over 14.9 percent to $ 45.32 billion from $ 53.26 billion the same period last year.
The other issues raised by the EEPC India chairman include demand for a technology upgradation fund to help the MSME sector catch up with the latest knowhow. Besides, the capital goods subsidy scheme is inadequate and the Rs 50 lakhs scheme of DIPP is also not adequate.
There is an urgent need for a National Shipping Regulator so that there is a transparent mechanism for levying of various shipping charges, the council said. Bhasin said, “At present, India is putting all eggs in one basket: this is the RCEP region. We must not ignore CIS, Africa and Latin America. We must have FTAs with some of these countries and regions and develop greater relations and diversify our exports to these countries. Further, we must also have our own warehouses in Latin America, so that we can lower our delivery time.”
“Plans like MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) should be set aside and a new scheme be announced where the benefits accrue for all tariff lines and for all countries. This will lower transaction costs as the need for landing certificates or any other alternatives will not be necessary. Alternatively, the government should increase the MEIS benefit extending them to Category C countries,” said T S Bhasin, chairman, EEPC India, in his presentation to the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 2, 2016.
At a meeting convened by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Bhasin also raised the move to impose the Minimum Import Price on steel which has created considerable uncertainty in the market. “This is bad for engineering exports and one of the reasons for the sharp decline in December 2015 is the uncertainty created due to reports on MIP. This issue must be addressed immediately,” Bhasin opined.
Yet another issue bothering the engineering exporters relates to the Quality Control Order, which is a non-tariff barrier for other countries. “But it is affecting us first. Our exporters are unable to import as their importers have not got sufficient time to register with BIS. A time period of six month needs to be given for importers to register. Further, at a time when exports are falling, perhaps this is not a right response at this juncture,” said Bhasin.
India’s engineering exports which accounts for over 21 percent of India’s total exports in December 2015 once again registered a fall of 29 percent to $ 4765.51 million from $ 6710.57 million during December 2014. Consequently, the cumulative value of engineering exports during April-December 2015-16 recorded a dip by over 14.9 percent to $ 45.32 billion from $ 53.26 billion the same period last year.
The other issues raised by the EEPC India chairman include demand for a technology upgradation fund to help the MSME sector catch up with the latest knowhow. Besides, the capital goods subsidy scheme is inadequate and the Rs 50 lakhs scheme of DIPP is also not adequate.
There is an urgent need for a National Shipping Regulator so that there is a transparent mechanism for levying of various shipping charges, the council said. Bhasin said, “At present, India is putting all eggs in one basket: this is the RCEP region. We must not ignore CIS, Africa and Latin America. We must have FTAs with some of these countries and regions and develop greater relations and diversify our exports to these countries. Further, we must also have our own warehouses in Latin America, so that we can lower our delivery time.”
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