New Delhi, April 16 (KNN) India’s pharmaceutical sector could get access to export incentives if the Commerce Ministry succeeds in securing higher budgetary allocations for the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme, said Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The government had left out sectors such as iron and steel, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, which is now India’s fifth largest exports contributor, from the RoDTEP scheme notified last August and made effective from January 2021.

Goyal said,“We are trying to get higher budgetary allocations. When we get that, we will take pharma in. Our efforts are ongoing for this, you should also strive for the same,” he said in an interaction at the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association conclave.   

The three major sectors were omitted due to ‘resource constraints’ amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which left him with limited choices at the time of finalizing the scheme, Goyal added.  

There could be some pluses and minuses, and if some faced difficulties. I am sorry about that. But I didn’t have a choice – within a limited budget, I had to implement the full RodTEP scheme,” he said. (KNN Bureau)