India focuses export credit

Timely Availability of Export Credit is

Key to India’s Export Growth: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, Piyush Goyal, is holding a meeting in New Delhi on issues related to export credit with representatives of exporters’ organisations like FIEO, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), representatives of exporters’ organizations, Finance Ministry officials and heads of financial institutions.

Ministers of State for Commerce and Industry, Hardeep Singh Puri and Som Parkash, Commerce Secretary, Anup Wadhawan, Secretary MSME, Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, Director General of Foreign Trade, Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi and senior officials of the Department of Commerce are also attending the daylong meeting.

Timely and efficient availability of export credit is critical for any trade activity and is one of the key drivers that boost growth of export. This was stated by Commerce Minister in his opening address. The time has come when we should move away from subsidies to easy availability of cheaper credit to exporters, the Minister said.

Piyush Goyal informed that in the last few years the share of export credit has come down and this is a cause of concern especially for the MSME sector that suffers due to demand of collateral from lending institutions.

Commerce Minister informed that today’s meeting with stakeholders has been called to address this significant challenge and to redress the situation based on the inputs given by participating organizations and institutions.

Commerce Minister further said that in order to alleviate the burden on exporters and to make Indian exports competitive and on par with global best practices we have to first develop a framework with a stable policy that is internationally acceptable, consistent and robust and then look for solutions within that framework based on trust, integrity and due diligence. Greater transparency has to be brought into the work being done by Government organizations, export promotion councils and financial institutions.

The Minister informed that transparency will ensure that the genuine competitive advantages of India’s exports may be harnessed. The Minister hoped that outcomes of meeting with all stake holders will not only provide a vision for the export sector but will also give a road map for implementation and action by Government departments and financial institutions.

Piyush Goyal also hoped that the result of this meeting will lead to export credit tripling in the next five years and allow India to be on par with the rest of the world where credit is cheaper and interest rates are lower.

The meeting is being attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Financial Services, officials from RBI, State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Barclays Bank, Citi India, Bank of America, EXIM Bank, ECGC, Indian Banks’ Association, FIEO, EEPC, GJEPC, Laghu Udyog Bharati, FICCI and CII.