As per the export data available upto November, 2016, the India’s exports have registered a positive growth since September 2016 in US$ terms continuously with respect to corresponding month in the previous year.

The Government has taken following measures to promote the country’s exports:

(i)   The New Foreign Trade Policy (2015‐20) was announced on 1st April, 2015  with a focus on supporting both manufacturing and services exports.

(ii)   The Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 on April 1, 2015 with 4914 tariff lines  at 8 digit levels. MEIS aims to  incentivize export of merchandise which is  produced/manufactured in India. Rewards @ 2-5% under MEIS are payble  as a percentage of realized FOB value of covered exports, by way of  the  MEIS duty credit scrip, which are transferable and can also be used for payment  of a number of duties including the basic customs duty.   At present, 7914   tariff lines at 8 digit HS Codes are covered under MEIS scheme.

(iii)    The Government launched Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) in the FTP 2015- 2020.  The Scheme provided rewards to service providers of notified services who are providing service from India.

(iv)   The Government is implementing the Niryat Bandhu Scheme with an objective  to reach out to the new and potential exporters including exporters from Micro,  Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and mentor them through orientation programmes, counselling  sessions, individual facilitation, etc., on various  aspects of foreign trade for being able to get into international trade and boost exports from India. 

(v)    By way of trade facilitation and enhancing the ease of doing business,  Government reduced the number of mandatory documents required for   exports and imports to three each, which   is comparable with    international benchmarks. The trade community can file applications  online for various trade related schemes. Online payment of application fees    through   Credit/Debit cards and electronic funds transfer from 53 Banks   has been put in place.

(vi)   Interest Equalization Scheme on pre & post shipment credit launched to provide cheaper  credit to exporters.

(vii)  Further, the Government continues to provide the facility of access to duty free raw materials and capital goods for exports through schemes like Advance  Authorization, Duty    Free Import Authorization (DFIA), Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) and drawback / refund of duties.

This information was given by the Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Export incentives and trade facilitation measures strengthen merchandise and services exports through duty credit rewards and credit support. Measures to promote merchandise and services exports include incentive schemes under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 such as the MEIS (transferable duty credit scrip rewards based on realized FOB value) and the SEIS (rewards for notified service providers), access to duty free inputs and capital goods via authorisation schemes and refunds, interest equalization on pre and post shipment credit, the Niryat Bandhu outreach for new and MSME exporters, and trade facilitation steps reducing mandatory documents and enabling online filings and payments.