New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with heads of Indian Missions abroad along with stakeholders of trade and commerce on Friday with a view to expand export potential and increase the country's share in global trade, an official statement said. It added that exports have a huge employment generation potential, especially for MSMEs and labour-intensive sectors, with a cascading effect on the manufacturing sector and the overall economy.
"The purpose of the interaction is to provide a focussed thrust to leverage and expand India's export and its share in global trade. The interaction aims to energise all stakeholders towards expanding our export potential and utilizing the local capabilities to fulfil the global demand," the statement issued on Thursday said. The commerce minister and the external affairs minister will also be present during the interaction.
It will also witness participation of secretaries of more than 20 departments, state government officials, members of Export Promotion Councils and Chambers of Commerce, it added. The interaction assumes significance as the commerce ministry has fixed an export target of USD 400 billion for the current fiscal. The outbound shipments of the country are recording healthy growth rates.
The country's exports grew by 47.19 per cent to USD 35.17 billion in July on account of healthy growth in the outbound shipments of petroleum, engineering, and gems and jewellery. Imports during the month also rose by 59.38 per cent to USD 46.40 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 11.23 billion in July.
Exports during April-July 2021-22 rose by 73.86 per cent to USD 130.56 billion, as against USD 75.10 billion in the same period last year.
PTI
