'Govt to electronically connect 70 ports by 2010-end'

The government will electronically connect a total of 70 ports in the country by the end of next year, a move that will help embattled exporters to reduce transaction costs.

The Commerce Ministry is promoting the use of electronic systems with initiatives like EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) ports, electronic message exchange between Customs and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

"For e-trade, the DGFT is connecting ports and locations. It is 34 for now and we hope that by next year-end, at least 70 ports will be connected. All these locations will be EDI-enabled," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at an EEPC function here last night.

 

Exporters have to deal with different agencies, including the customs department, DGFT, various port authorities and state departments while sending a consignment abroad.

This adds to transaction costs which vary across sectors and range between 5 and 8 per cent of the freight-on-board value of the consignment.

The minister said the transaction costs can be reduced if there are lesser delays, faster movement of goods, simplified procedures (for completion of paper work) and on-line approvals (of applications for duty refund and other things).

India's exports, which grew by a mere 3.4 per cent to $168 billion last fiscal, have been plummeting since October 2008.

The Commerce Ministry has also awarded a 10-year e-governance contract to Infosys to develop an e-business portal, which will give businessmen easy access to government information.

The project, initially to be implemented in five states including Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, would be rolled out pan-India in the next five years, Sharma said.

"The government and industry will be connected through e-business. By 2015, the entire country will be covered, including all services," he said.

The project aims to create a customer-centric environment and providing the business community speedy access to information and services.