A number of export schemes, including the export processing zones (EPZs), are to be merged under the new Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development and Export (ASIDE) scheme. This has been proposed to promote exports from states by creating appropriate infrastructure.
The new scheme formulated and notified recently will bring export promotion industrial parks, EPZs, the critical infrastructure balance scheme and the export development fund for the north-eastern region and Sikkim under one umbrella, an official release said here today.
The new scheme is designed to encourage state governments and Union Territories to promote exports by creating appropriate export infrastructure.
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It will have 20 per cent of the total funds earmarked as central component while 80 per cent will be given to states.
Of the 80 per cent share of states and UTs, 50 per cent would be given on the basis of their export performance while the remaining 50 per cent would be on the basis of their export growth, it said.
In addition to this, a minimum 10 per cent of the scheme outlay would be reserved for expenditure in the north-eastern region and Sikkim, it added.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) has sought restoration of benefits under section 80 HHC of the Income Tax Act and 100 per cent tax exemption for export-oriented units.
In a letter to finance minister Yashwant Sinha, Fieo vice-president S K Saraf has said that the government