Govt to revive interest subvention scheme for exporters
17 Jul 2015
The government will soon come up with an interest subsidy scheme to exporters in a bid to reverse a continuous decline in exports, although the commerce ministry is not sure how far an interest rate support will prop up exports.
"The interest subvention scheme is to be announced soon, which will give encouragement to sectors that have high potential," commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a function in New Delhi today.
She, however, added that exports are largely suffering because of a lack of demand in overseas markets and partly due to changes in currency values, particularly the depreciation of the euro.
"So, the triggers for improving the export performance are not really happening," she said, adding that the ministry is discussing the matter with industry groups to find ways to push exports and explore new markets.
Interest subvention, she said, will make loans more affordable to exporters and will help boost shipments.
The 3 per cent interest subvention scheme ended on 31 March last year.
India's exports were in the negative zone during the past seven months.
The country's exports fell 15.82 per cent in June to $22.28 billion due to global slowdown and decline in crude oil prices that impacted shipments of petroleum products.
