Rs 450 crore bonanza for export councils

The central government has decided to spend Rs 450 crore in three years to support various export promotion councils (EPCs) and export bodies.

S Ramasundaram, joint-secretary of the ministry of commerce, said the fund would be used under market access initiative (MAI) scheme. He was in Kolkata to inaugurate Plexconcil's new eastern region office.

The MAI fund would be spent on focus countries. "We have four focus programmes right now. They are Latin American Countries (LAC), CIS, Africa and Asean. We have also added Australia and New Zealand with Asean. Under MAI scheme, we will focus on these regions," he informed.

He said EPCs were expected to come up with long term plan to avail the scheme. "They must come up with comprehensive package for promotion of their items," he said.

MoC was planning to limit the MDA (market development assistance) scheme. However, Ramasundaram said allocation under MDA would not be hit. Industry watchers said the development would hit smaller councils as they were more dependent on MDA scheme.

Under the MAI scheme, exporters will be provided financial assistance in showcasing their products in various fairs abroad.

The participation charges will be highly subsidised and participants will be required to pay a very small amount. However, travel and accommodation cost will have to be borne by the participants themselves.