Nath to look at export performance

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has convened a meeting of all export promotion councils next month to review the export performance for the current year.

The meeting, scheduled for December 11, will also discuss alternatives to the existing duty entitlement passbook (DEPB) scheme "" a popular duty neutralisation scheme. The government had in the foreign trade policy, unveiled in August this year, said the existing scheme would continue until a new scheme was introduced.

A note ,circulated by the commerce and industry ministry to the councils, said the export performance was being reviewed in the context of the new foreign trade policy and the objective of doubling India's percentage share in global merchandise trade by 2009.

The ministry has decided to explore options to the existing DEPB scheme, which covers over 52 per cent of Indian exports value-wise, in consultation with exporters.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has invited organisations to undertake a detailed study on an alternative to the scheme. The new scheme should be based on the global best practices in export promotion schemes followed by developed and developing countries and be WTO compatible.