Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal directed officials to identify priority sectors where clearly defined import substitution strategy can be pursued alongside the efforts to boost exports.
The sectors and products would be shortlisted in consultation with the ministries dealing with those products, the minister said at a review meeting on the Plan of Action for achieving $ 2 Trillion export target by 2030–31and Export Promotion Mission (EPM).
India is targeting $ 2 trillion in total exports by 2030–31, comprising $ 1 trillion in merchandise exports and $ 1 trillion in services exports. The Department of Commerce has developed a structured Export Monitoring Framework, which breaks down the national target into sector-wise actions across engineering goods, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and services, according to a statement.
He also highlighted the need for an IT-enabled monitoring platform to facilitate regular tracking of progress, with an automated escalation mechanism for review at the levels of Secretary and Minister.
Emphasising effective implementation of EPM, the Minister stated that the benefits of all schemes must reach exporters at the ground level, particularly genuine and first-time exporters and MSMEs.
He also highlighted the need to focus on Overseas Warehousing and Logistics as well as Testing, Inspection and Certification components of EPM, which are critical for enhancing the global competitiveness of MSMEs.
The minister stressed that agricultural exports and Micro and Small Enterprises should remain a key focus across all components of the EPM.
He further directed that Market Access Support should be extended beyond Export Promotion Councils to include other field-level organisations engaged in promoting exports. In addition, Goyal emphasised the need to develop a rolling three-year calendar of trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, reverse buyer-seller meets and trade delegations to provide greater predictability to exporters and Export Promotion Councils.