Transaction costs weighing on India's export competitiveness: Anand Sharma

Transaction costs account for up to eight per cent of the export bill in India and this can be reduced to half by coordinated efforts by six ministries, including shipping and railway, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said today.

Addressing the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade, Sharma said 50 per cent of export costs could be reduced by dealing with 48 issues in the six ministries, adding that some agreement has already been reached in at least on 32 issues.

Detailing a strategy of engaging on the issue of reducing transaction costs, he said an experts team that interacted with different ministries to address the challenge has arrived at the conclusion that apart from incentivisation, export business has to be made simpler.

A task force set up under the chairmanship of the minister of state Jyotiraditya Scindia had examined six industries for redundancy and multiplicity, Sharma noted.
 
"In order to create a unified strategy for India, we need a synergetic approach between ministries of external affairs, commerce, mines, and petroleum to leverage our resources to the best extent possible," he said.

He also emphasised the need to leverage India's strength in innovation and other areas to increase the country's share in world trade.

The reconstituted board comprising captains of industry, bankers and trade bodies, have been tasked with identifying at least three thrust sectors in three regions with whom India has been trading within a period of three months.

The minister also emphasized the need for a national manufacturing policy to remove the uncertainty in the sector.

India, he said, also need to have a specific focused strategy towards Africa, the emerging economies of Latin America, and the mineral rich economies of Central Asia and a different strategy for Europe and America, he said.