Govt plans Rs 10k cr scheme to develop 700 districts as export hubs

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry proposed a scheme of Rs 10,000 crore for developing 700 odd districts as export hubs in the country, which will later be part of the next foreign trade policy.

According to officials, the centre’s contribution will be approximately of Rs 10,000 crore and the remaining will be done by the respective states.Therefore, the scheme will have a larger outlay.

The contribution of the state can be between Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore.

The products and services having potential are identified in several districts of the country, under the 'Districts as Exports Hub' initiative.These include agricultural and toy clusters and products having geographical indications.

In the upcoming three to five years, the government aims at achieving a double-digit export growth with the help of 500 districts in India.

The merchandise exports of India increased to a record 38.91% on a yearly basis to $37.81 billion in December 2021. It has amounted to $301.38 billion in the period of April-December.

The District as Exports Hub does not have budgetary support and is still an initiative. A proposal has been sent to the Ministry of Finance for the launch of a new scheme.

An institutional mechanism is set for every district as a District Export Promotion Committee under the initiative.The main function of these committees will be preparing and executing district specific export action plans.The plans would be in collaboration with Centre’s and State’s relevant stakeholders.

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