Govt to tap districts for enhancing exports: DGFT Santosh Sarangi

Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi on Friday said that the government will go to the districts to enhance exports.

Seventy districts in the country account for 80 per cent of the country's exports total exports, he told reporters at the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

In West Bengal, two districts - Darjeeling and Howrah have been identified for the purpose so far. Darjeeling for tea and Howrah for jewellery and engineering goods. Export plans for them have also been adopted, Sarangi added.

"Districts have a huge potential for increasing exports. Only 70 districts account for 80 per cent of the total exports of the country," he said.

DGFT, which is under the commerce ministry, formulates the country's trade policy and also implements it.

Sarangi said India has a huge potential for export of electronic items, white goods and processed foods and with the kind of growth rates which the country is clocking for the last 15 years, it can aspire to become a middle-income economy "very soon".

India's exports to GDP ratio is at 22 per cent now, which is lower than countries like Germany and Taiwan.

The series of FTAs which India has signed or is in the process of signing will give greater access to export markets for Indian goods, he added.