Govt mulls grading of services to push exports

The government is toying with the idea of introducing a delivery-quality based benchmarking for service providers as part of attempts to position India as a quality service providing hub.

This would be introduced under the proposed Services Export Promotion Council and the 'Served from India' scheme announced in the first-ever National Foreign Trade Policy.

The need for a grading, based on quality of delivery, is being felt especially in the case of services like healthcare, a field in which india has emerged as a preferred destination.

A grading of this kind would help prospective consumers, official sources said.

As a part of the proposal, the EPC may be allowed to issues certifications which would help legitimate and deserving players gain increased market access.

The government is also likely to identify certain services which need to be given a special push with regards to exports, as part of the 'Served from India' scheme. Legal and architechtural services are expected to be among those which may receive a special push.

India's services industry has been projected to achieve exports to the tune of 65 billion dollars by 2008. The IT-enabled servcies and business process outsourcing exports are expected to reach 21-24 billion dollars.