Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

17-December-2012 16:34 IST

There is no evidence or exporters’ feedback that exports from engineering sector has been shrinking due to constraints faced by the engineering sector on account of scarcity of raw materials.

The fall in external demand due to the global economic crisis in major engineering exports markets of the country, primarily USA and EU, is the main factor behind the idle capacity in this sector rather than shortage of raw materials. Accordingly, the Government’s efforts have been to provide support measures to the engineering sector to improve their competitiveness in global markets. Various initiatives such as expanding the list of engineering tariff lines in the Focus Product Scheme and the Market Linked Focus Product Scheme as well as widening the list of markets in the Focus Market Scheme, lowering transaction costs through the use of information technology etc. are the main instruments by which the Government is attempting to enhance competitiveness of Indian engineering exports.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Dr. D. Purandeswari in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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DS/RK

Government export support measures for engineering sector: expand focus schemes and reduce transaction costs to boost competitiveness. Government assessment attributes reduced engineering exports to weakened external demand in major markets rather than raw material scarcity, and describes policy measures to improve competitiveness by expanding tariff-line coverage under the Focus Product and Market Linked Focus Product Schemes, widening markets under the Focus Market Scheme, and reducing transaction costs via information technology.