Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal urged the heads of Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) to identify and name exporters whose products fail to meet international standards and are often rejected due to inferior quality.
The Minister also said the EPCs have not identified specific exporters hurting the reputation of ‘Made in India’ products in the world markets despite repeated reminders. “Quality will define the future of our exports,” he quipped.
Goyal also asked EPC heads to take steps to increase exports to $450-$500 billion next year. Ahead of the finalisation of the new Foreign Trade Policy, Goyal, in a mid-term review meeting with EPCs, said India’s exports of $197 billion in the first half of FY2021-22, was on the “right track”.
“Our exporters have made all of us Indians proud today,” said Goyal, setting the bar higher “if we can aim to scale $450-$500 billion exports next year,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
Referring to the government’s recent Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, Goyal said engineering goods segment has much more potential and textile exports should aim for $100 billion.
The Union Minister also said the government is negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with various countries and blocs including the UK, UAE, Oman, Australia, Canada, EU, Russia and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.
“Equitable, fair and balanced and to the benefit of the Indian exporters, you will have to raise whatever are your concerns,” he said, adding mostly issues are related to market access rather than tariffs.
Source : Timesnow News
