Requested Commerce Ministry to allow export of PPE kits: Gadkari

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said he has requested the Commerce Ministry to allow export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, as the country is producing it in large quantities.

Addressing a webinar on the occasion of International MSME Day, Gadkari, who also holds the portfolio of Road Transport and Highways, said, about two months ago India imported PPE kits from China via a special aircraft but now the country's industry and MSMEs were manufacturing lakhs of PPE kits per day.

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"Now, already I have requested the commerce ministry to allow export of PPE kits from India", the minister said, adding that it was being considered.

Stressing that PPE has export potential, he said that people are getting orders for PPE kits from Dubai, Canada, the US, and European countries.

Recently, Indian apparel export industry body AEPC had also urged the government to lift the ban on exports of PPE kits as its production has reached eight lakh units per day.

Gadkari also released the report of the GAME National Task Force for MSMEs, entailing industry wide recommendations to boost the units and entrepreneurial dynamism in India.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Kongkal Sangma, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Punjab Minister of Education and Public Works Vijay Inder Singla also spoke on the steps their states were taking to boost the MSME sector, which contributes about 48 percent of India's exports and provides employment to 11 crore people.

The recommendations from the report 'Improving Economic Dynamism and Accelerating MSME Growth' are likely to help MSMEs 'Survive, Revive, Thrive, and Sustain'.

The task force chaired by KP Krishnan, IAS (Retd), Former Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and co-chaired by Ravi Venkatesan, Founder GAME and Former Chairman of Microsoft India and Bank of Baroda presented the highlights of the recommendations.

The report covers the Central and state governments, private sector, and industry associations, and suggests short and medium term actions and long-term strategies that will create an environment where MSMEs can flourish.

The task force has also made a case for localised and simplified communication of government schemes, access to finance for first-time borrowers, an enabling business environment through simplification, digitisation and decriminalisation of compliances, strengthening MSME associations and creating dynamic local entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Following this, the government on Monday partially relaxed export norms permitting shipments of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) medical coveralls for COVID-19 with a monthly export quota of 50 lakh units.

In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said: "A monthly quota of 50 lakh PPE medical coverall for COVID-19 units has been fixed for issuance of export licence to the eligible applicants to export PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 as per the criteria to be separately issued in a trade notice".

All other items that are part of PPE kits continue to remain prohibited, it said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: Boosting Make in India exports, PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 have been allowed with a monthly export quota of 50 lakh.