Export Promotion Council launched by Ministry of MSME

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has established an Export Promotion Cell that seeks to create a sustainable ecosystem for MSME development. This comes a week after the ministry released a strategy plan which proposed the formulation of a governing council to address challenges, and ensure efficient and effective delivery of MSME export-related interventions.

According to an official statement, the benefits for MSMEs are numerous. First, the council will help evaluate the readiness of MSMEs to export their products and services. Next, it will recognise areas where improvements are required in order to be able to export effectively and efficiently. Third, it will help integrate MSMEs into the global value chain.

MSME Minister Giriraj Singh said, “As per the information received from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the value of MSME related products is $ 147,390 million and the share of MSME related products in the country’s exports was 48.56 percent during 2017-18.”

To ensure efficient and effective delivery of all MSME export related interventions, the Ministry had proposed that the governing council will be chaired by Secretary, MSME Ministry, and co-chaired by the Development Commissioner, MSME Ministry. The council will comprise more senior officials and members from the MSME Ministry, Commerce Ministry, MSME Export Promotion Councils, Export Development Authorities, Commodity Boards, and other bodies.

The initial report had said that the lack of information about products and services in demand is one of the key problems for the sector. It also identified challenges like the working of the foreign markets,particular difficulties in accessing export distribution channels and in connecting with overseas customers.

The MSME Ministry’s plan also said that a lack of awareness on export promotion and assistance programmes offered by the government, and unfamiliarity with legal and regulatory frameworks of the exporting and importing countries were compounding the problem.

Now, an action plan which seeks to target $100 billion worth exports from India by 2020 has also been proposed.