New Delhi, Mar 11 (KNN) The global economic crisis, sovereign debt crisis in Europe and economic slowdown in developed economies have adversely impacted demand for our exports, according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“Exports declined by 6.9 per cent during the first half of 2012-13 as compared to 2011-12, weakening is witnessed in engineering goods, petroleum products, gems and jewellery, textiles, electronic goods, cotton yarn and handloom products,” an official statement said.
In the wake of persistent economic slowdown which had adversely affected trade, a number of measures were announced on June 5, 2012, as part of the Annual Supplement to Foreign Trade Policy.
In May 2011, a strategy paper for doubling exports by 2013-14 was released as part of a plan of action by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In addition, a strategy paper released by Ministry Of Commerce and Industry to achieve the target includedthe technology upgradation fund scheme for the MSME engineering industry; as 40 per cent of India’s engineering exports came from the SME sector which was exporting low value products.  
Currently, out of the country’s total export of chemicals, 60 per cent is through small and medium sectors and 40 per cent through thelarge sector. Hence, the action plan includedupgradation of skills for SMEs who are manufacturers and exporters of chemicals.
In the international market, Indian exports compete with the exports of many countries including China, which is the main competitor for electronic goods, with its state of the art infrastructure, manufacturing competiveness due to lower factor cost and pricing power.
However, Indian export of electronics hardware can increase if we increasedthe export of high value added items and products embedded with Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); and also diversify the export basket, according to the strategy paper.
In the meantime, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has undertaken a mid-term review and detailed discussions with all the Export Promotion Councils and other stake holders.
To give a boost to India’s export, 102 new products have been added to the Focus Product Scheme (FPS) while five new markets and one special market have been added under FPS.
Some additions have also been made to Market Linked Focus Products Scrip (MLFPS) and VisheshKrishi Gram UpajYojana(VKGUY).
Also worth mentioning is the Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme that has been introduced with effect from Jan 1, 2013 whereby incremental exports made during the period January-March 2013 over the period January-March 2012 to specified countries would be eligible for benefits.
Besides, the Two percentInterest Subvention Scheme has been widened to include 134 sub-sectors of the Engineering Sector with effect from January 1, 2013. The validity of the scheme has been extended till March 31, 2014.(KNN/Gunj)