Govt can't be seen providing support all the time: Goyal to service exporters

The minister called upon the industry to develop competitive advantage, focus on quality, and explore new destinations and services to promote exports. "The government also has priorities and limitations -- it can make focused and policy interventions, help the sector/industry in its nascent stages/start-up level, help them grow, check the unfair practices, but can't be seen providing support all the time," he said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday told services exporters that the government cannot be seen providing support all the time as it has priorities and limitations. The minister called upon the industry to develop competitive advantage, focus on quality, and explore new destinations and services to promote exports.

"The government also has priorities and limitations -- it can make focused and policy interventions, help the sector/industry in its nascent stages/start-up level, help them grow, check the unfair practices, but can't be seen providing support all the time," he said. He said this in a meeting, through video-conferencing, with office bearers of the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), and stakeholders representing various services sectors.

The stakeholders made several suggestions and demands during the meeting, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent lockdown, and the ongoing unlocking. Responding to various suggestions, Goyal said the services sector has large potential, but the same has not been harnessed fully.

Further, the minister exhorted the industry to see the current crisis as an opportunity, and not as a challenge. "The world is going to be different after COVID-19, as new norms are setting in, in terms of work, education, entertainment, health... There is no reason why the sector has so much import, when we have a large and varied skilled workforce," he added.

Services exports in April stood at Rs 1,25,409 crore and imports were Rs 70,907 crore. The Foreign Trade Policy provides tax incentives under Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) to several services sector.

Depending upon the nature of services, the government gives duty credit scrips or certificates. The scheme offers reward at 5 per cent or 7 per cent of net foreign exchange earned and covers service providers located in India. Currently, nine broad categories of services are there in the list, including professional, communication, construction, educational, environmental, tourism and transport.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)