India to set up trade promotion bodies in 15 nations

The union minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, said on December 19 that the Indian Government is examining a proposal to set up trade promotion bodies in around 15 nations to promote exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from India. Mr Prabhu was speaking at the inaugural session of the 15th Global SME Business Summit in New Delhi. The growth of the SMEs is at the core of overall economic growth of the country. The Minister added that amid shifting trade regimes globally, establishment of new trade routes and improved participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) has become critical for the growth of an economy.

India’s high-margin and high-precision SME sector has endorsed India’s manufacturing and innovation expertise to the world. In fact, the concept of trade has been changing with large enterprises increasingly relying on outsourcing the manufacturing activities. This practice has proved quite advantageous to the MSMEs where they can participate in the exports through manufacturing of intermediate products. Mr Prabhu further stated that the Commerce Ministry is also working on a comprehensive strategy to boost the MSME sector by granting new patents in record time through new Intellectual Property regime to strengthen the IPRs of Indian MSMEs.

On October 1, Mr Prabhu led a meeting of inter-ministerial officials to discuss methods to drive export growth in gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, engineering products, electronics, security and defence, pharmaceuticals, agricultural commodity and marine products. The government is targeting a minimum export growth of 16 per cent through priority sector lending, improved promotions and infrastructure in fiscal year 2018-19. The plan to focus on the nine sectors comes as part of a broader strategy to double India’s exports by 2025. India recorded an over 14 per cent growth in merchandise exports to US$82.5 billion during the first quarter of 2018-19.