Indian engineering exporters, aiming for a turnover of $100 billion by 2017, have relieved trade offer from Maldives. Maldives has opened up its economy and invited Indian investment in sectors like infrastructure projects, airports, ports, renewable energy, healthcare, tourism and education.
Mohamed Nasheed, President of Maldives, has said that the rise of Indian engineering export industry is the symbol and promise of the emergence of India as an economic super power. ?This has been possible by the opening up of the economy. Maldives can learn from India by opening the economy to the world??. The recognition of India?s engineering capabilities by Maldives will go a long way in helping companies scale up exports, said Aman Chadha, national chairman, EEPC India and RK Mutha, southern region chairman, EEPC India, in Male recently. They also stated their plans of doubling exports to $80 billion in the next five years and cross the target of $100 billion in the two years after that.
Mutha added that in 2007-08, exports from the South stood at Rs 25,754 crore ($6400 million)?19% of the total engineering exports. Of the 13,000 EEPC members, 2750 are from the South. Copper & allied products, commercial vehicles, passenger cars, automobile accessories & components, electric power machines, textile machinery and spares, industrial castings and similar products constitute the bulk of export items from the South.
Industry leaders have been encouraged by the performance of the engineering export sector, one of the biggest in the country?s export basket. Engineering exports, which were ?severely affected by the global financial crisis, are now reviving. In April 2009, it saw a negative growth of over 43%, which came down to single digit negative growth in October and posted a positive growth of 6.5% by the year-end?.