New FTP simplifies and merges all merchandise incentive schemes
Shakti Shankar Patra | The Dollar Business In a much needed simplification procedure, the Modi Sarkar has merged all existing merchandise export incentive schemes like Focus Market Scheme (FMS), Focus Product Scheme (FPS), Market Linked Focus Product Scheme (MLFPS), Vishesh Krishi & Gram Udyog Yojana (VKGUY) and Agri Infrastructure Incentive Scheme (AIIS) to come up with a single Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Part of the much-awaited and much-delayed Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) that was released at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday, MEIS, essentially, tells an exporter that a product, when exported to a particular country, will fetch a certain percentage of the FOB value. This does away with the need to keep a constant eye on ...
Government makes cosmetic changes to schemes for coir industry
Sachin Manawaria | The Dollar Business Farmers bring coconut fibre in bulk on boat for selling in Kollam, Kerala. The labour-intensive coir industry has now spread to 22 states in India. In a review meeting with Kalraj Mishra, Minister of MSME, the Coir Board has re-named its two schemes for the coir industry. The “Rejuvenation, Modernisation and Technology Upgradation (REMOT) and Coir Plan (General) scheme have been changed to Coir Udyanmi Yojana (CUY) and Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY) respectively. The Ministry said that the changes will help stakeholders understand the schemes better. The Coir Udyanmi Yojana (CUY) is a credit link subsidy scheme aiming to integrate and develop coir units, and provides 40% as government subsidy, 55% as bank loan ...
Indias export value of grapes to EU registers 23% growth in three years
The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz The Unit Value Realisation (UVR) of export of fresh grapes from India to European Union (EU) has increased by around 23% during the last three years. India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Parliament last week that the UVR of grape exports to the EU market has grown from $1.62 per kilogram in FY2011-12 to $1.78 per kilogram in FY2012-13, and to $1.99 per kilogram in FY2013-14. Grape exports to EU in quantitative terms have increased to around 72,307 tonnes in FY2013-14, up sharply from around 28,945 tonnes in FY2011-12. This has partly to do with the changes in EU, where grape production is on the decline due to unfavourable weather conditions, shrinking margins and policy changes. According ...
The last FTP scored just pass marks. A 40% target-achievement wont do this time!
Steven Philip Warner | @TheDollarBiz Policies cannot be judged unequivocally by outcomes. Under such ambiguity, let us say that in many-a-case, failure becomes the twin of a noble impulse, and criticism is the outcome of bold decisions at a macro-level. But there is an indicative measuring rod. A number that has a soul to appraise performance vis-a-vis promise. When FTP 2009-14 was released, the-then policymakers had set a target of crossing the $500 billion mark in India’s exports by FY2014. The target therefore called for $315 billion in incremental annual exports. By FY2012, it had become profoundly certain that India’s FTP lacked punch – perhaps some real big incentives in the form of credit scrips or drawbacks ...
