Batting for sectors like leather which have been excluded from the subsidised export credit scheme in the Budget, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said he will take up the matter will with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee soon.
"Some of the sectors continue to get hurt, including leather... I am going to take it up with the Finance Minister," Sharma said when asked about exclusion of several sectors in the 2-percent interest subvention scheme. He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a CII function here.
The 2-per cent interest subvention scheme was to expire on March 31, 2010, but Mukherjee extended it for handicrafts, carpets, handlooms and SMEs for one more year. The original scheme covered leather, textiles, gems and jewellery exports.
He also called for continuation of tax sops to EoUs and Software Technology Parks for one more year from March 31, 2011. But the Budget is silent on it.
On overall exports, Sharma expressed hope that shipments would at least total $165 billion this fiscal. "I do hope our exports this year should not be less than $165 billion against $185 billion in FY09," he said.
There are more than 6,000 software units operating under the STPI scheme, and account for about 85-90 per cent of the software exports, which were nearly $47 billion in the last fiscal. Currently, there are 2,486 functional EoUs, which accounted for about 21 per cent of exports in FY09.