Indian exports to grow 20 per cent this financial year end : Pillai

Mumbai, Nov 29 (UNI) Indian exports is expected to grow more than 20 per cent by the end of the current financial year, Gopal K Pillai, who was recently elevated to the post of Secretary in the Union Ministry of Commerce, today said.

Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the ongoing US-India Business Summit here, Mr Pillai said exports in October rose by 11.3 per cent from a year earlier to USD 9.62 billion while imports rose an annual 36.8 per cent to USD 15.83 billion.

Buoyed over it, the Centre has fixed the target of achieving USD 126 billion on the export front by the year-end thus registering a growth of 22.3 per cent, he added.

Mr Pillai said Nokia, which had started manufacturing its cellphones in India early this year has produced 15 lakh instruments so far and other cellphone companies that have evinced their interest in anchoring their bases in the country include Motorola, Samsung, Bell and Flextronics.

Expressing his happiness towards the progress at the electronics SEZ at Sriperumbedur in Tamil Nadu, he said that 17,000 people have got employment in the electronics hardware job there which was a significant achievement in itself.

Prior to it, addressing the 238-member US business delegation which is here under the leadership of US Under Secretary of Commerce, Franklin L Lavin, he urged them to neglect problems while doing their business in India as India is a 'developing economy'.

However, he promised to provide all possible to them from Government of India and organisations like CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI.

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