West Bengal to come out with its own EXIM policy: WB MSME Principal Secy

Kolkata, May 4 (KNN) After the new government is formed in the state, West Bengal will soon come out with a state level export-import policy.

"An EXIM strategy paper (for the state) has been submitted by Exim Bank during the last investment summit. We will shortly prepare the draft after consultation with the stakeholders," West Bengals MSME Principal Secretary Rajiv Sinha said in an interactive session with Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) members, according to a media report.

According to a study, West Bengal has a long international border and it occupies an important strategic location in the eastern part of India. Locational advantages suggest that it should play a crucial role in India’s pursuit for increased trade with other Asian countries.

As West Bengal is close to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and a number of other East and South East Asian countries, it has the potential to become a gateway for India’s ‘Look East Policy’.

State level export data published in the Economic Survey 2011-12 show that by total volume of exports, West Bengal rank 8th among the top 15 exporting states of India in 2010-11.