India's Export Promotion Mission: Challenges and Prospects

The Global Trade Research Initiative highlights key obstacles in the Export Promotion Mission approved by the Union Cabinet. While designed to boost India's export competitiveness, GTRI points out significant implementation and funding challenges that could delay benefits to exporters, especially MSMEs, amid global economic pressures.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has raised concerns about the implementation and funding of the recently approved Rs25,060-crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM). Despite being touted as a comprehensive framework to enhance India's export prowess, it remains largely a 'broad outline', facing significant execution challenges and financial shortfalls.

GTRI elaborates on EPM's operational structure, revealing two main pillars: NIRYAT PROTSAHAN and NIRYAT DISHA. The former aims at reducing trade finance costs for MSMEs, prioritizing sectors hit by global tariff hikes such as textiles and engineering goods. The latter offers non-financial help like export quality enhancement and logistics support. However, legacy programs like the Interest Equalisation Scheme are not seamlessly integrated.

Experts from GTRI have flagged procedural uncertainties and a lack of detailed guidelines as potential bottlenecks. They've highlighted that an efficient online system is pending development and have questioned the adequacy of the six-year financial allocation given the mission's ambitious goals. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade faces a steep learning curve, and delayed financial disbursements could hinder timely support for exporters.

(With inputs from agencies.)