NEW DELHI: Making India’s export policy more state-centric, the government has asked all states to come up with their exclusive export policy and said is considering incentivising states to boost India’s goods and services exports, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu said.
“We are thinking of ideas whereby we can incentivise the states which promote exports. I’ve mooted this idea before the states and asked them to give their ideas on this. States being well aware of their responsibility in this area, it has been decided that all states should have an export policy,” Suresh Prabhu said after his meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion (CTDP), including states’ representatives.
The minister argued that the shift in export strategy is driven by the fact that even when the Centre is responsible for the country’s foreign trade, the actual sourcing is done at the state and local levels.
“India needs to incentivise states to promote exports. The idea of incentivising states has just been mooted; we have not worked out any package. States are feeling responsibility because they will only be benefiting from increased exports,” the minster added.So far, 14 states have already prepared their export policy, including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir.
The minister said there are three other states — Goa, Delhi and Sikkim — which are about to start preparing theirs. He said the government would make districts as the operative unit as part of a revamped strategy for boosting exports.
“We have decided to make the district as the unit for exports, rather than the state. We have asked the states to appoint at least one nodal officer at the district level, which is the closest to the local market,” he added.According to him, the ministry is already in the process of preparing a strategy whereby 40 per cent of the GDP should come from global trade and half of that from exports.
‘Will consider if Apple gives a concrete proposal’
The government is awaiting a concrete proposal from iPhone maker Apple to set up a manufacturing unit in India, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu said. “We are waiting for a good proposal from Apple... If the proposal comes, we will examine it. We are always open for that,” Prabhu told reporters here on Monday. Last week, Nick Amman, director of government affairs, and Priya Balasubramaniam, global vice-president - operations, Apple Inc, met the minister where he asked them to give a concrete proposal