EEPC targets 20 per cent growth in engineering export this year

Kolkata, Aug 2 (UNI) Engineering Export promotion Council(EEPC), the apex body for export of engineering goods, has targetted 20 per cent growth in export to 23 billion dollars during the current fiscal, EEPC Chairman Rakesh Shah here today said.

Talking to newsmen here, Mr Shah said during the last fiscal (2005-06), India's export of engineering items was to the tune of 19.18 billion dollars.

Mr Shah said, " Seeing the buoyancy in engineering export, we have fixed a 20 per cent higher target to 23 billion dollars, " and claimed that this was in line with the 125 billion dollars target for overall merchandise export in 2006-07, as announced by the Union Commerce Ministry.

Keeping in view the present trend of India's engineering export during the first quarter of the current fiscal, Mr Shah said the Council members were confident of achieving the target.

He said in April, 2006, alone, engineering exports to the tune of 5.5 billion dollars of engineering goods took place from India. This showed a growth of 25 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Referring to the outcome of his recent meeting with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Mr Shah said the Union Minister had urged exporters to increase their export target to the excess of 125 billion dollars by 2010 by almost doubling India's merchandise exports in three years from 63 billion dollars in 2005-06.

But the minister had assured all support from the Centre to enable exporters to achieve the targetted result, he said.

Incidentally, Mr Shah informed that India's exports of engineering goods grew by 24.61 per cent in dollar terms in 2005-06. In rupee terms India's export of engineering goods was valued at Rs 84,943.73 crore during April-March this year, which was 22.78 per cent higher than the value of export (Rs 69181.67 crore) during April-March 2004-2005, Mr Shah informed.

Regarding EEPC's future programmes to give further boost to export, Mr Shah said after sending a 100-member Indian delegation to the global export conference in Cairo from November 23 to 26, the Council was organising a four-day India Engineering meet in New Delhi from January 22 next year.

" More than 450 prospective buyers across the globe have confired their participation in the gala event, " the EEPC chief said but expressed strong reservation about the government policy of seeking permission from the Ministry of External Affairs a mandatory affairs in case of iniviting foreign delegates by any organisation or corporate agency.

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