Under the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative the government has constituted State Export Promotion Committees (SEPC) and District Export Promotion Committees (DEPC) in all 36 States and Union Territories to bolster district level export competitiveness. Draft District Export Action Plans (DEAP) for 590 districts have been prepared and 249 of these have been formally notified by the respective DEPCs. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the initiative is designed to identify district specific products and services with export potential and to address bottlenecks to export growth.\n\nExamples of products identified include ceramic and tiles and potato in Sabarkantha in Gujarat, minerals agro-processing glass and tiles in Aravalli in Gujarat, and the banana and brinjal clusters in Jalgaon in Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh products have been identified across all 52 districts including onions and pharmaceuticals in Indore and oranges in Agar Malwa. Chhattisgarh districts feature rice maize mango and Bastar iron craft while Jharkhand districts were mapped for bamboo craft forest produce and vegetables.\n\nData relating to exports has been made publicly available through the government portals niryat.gov.in and dgciskol.gov.in to assist exporters and analysts. The DEH exercise has identified geographical indication products agricultural clusters and toy clusters across the country and a consolidated list is accessible on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade website. Institutional mechanisms at the state and district levels are expected to facilitate export promotion resolve logistical and regulatory issues and coordinate outreach events to build awareness and respond to exporters concerns. The initiative aims to create new exporters and to help existing manufacturers scale up and find buyers in overseas markets.\n\nThe scheme is intended to empower MSMEs farmers and small-scale industries to access international markets. The Minister of State informed Lok Sabha of the progress.