Govt to promote 12 service sectors to power up exports

The government has already approved ₹5,000 crore to promote 12 champion services sectors such as IT, tourism and hospitality domestically and globally

MUMBAI: The government is working on a strategy to boost share of services, which will grow faster than merchandise exports raising the total exports from the country, said commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu.

“In last few months, we are seeing exports registering growth. We are targeting to ensure that exports are not only traditional products, but new products are also added to the basket. We are focusing on services and have identified 12 services as ‘Champion Services',” Prabhu said after inaugurating Capindia event here.

He said that the government has already approved a Rs 5,000 crore to promote 12 champion services sectors such as IT, tourism and hospitality.

The decision, he said, will drive growth of the services economy in India. We have prepared an action plan for each of these sectors to promote them domestically as well as globally, the minister said.

Services sector will play a significant role in pushing the country's economic growth and the industry must focus on delivering services of global standards, he added.

Prabhu pointed out that the country's chemical sector has huge growth potential and it needs to create capacity to meet exports demand.

The country's chemicals industry is expected to more than double and touch $300 billion by 2025 from $147 billion now, according to Chemexcil.

The new industrial policy, which seeks to promote emerging sectors, will be released within a few months. The government will provide an enabling environment to the industry to increase the country's exports, he said.

Prabhu said the ministry is also formulating an agriexport policy, which was put in the public domain to seek stakeholders' views.

The aviation ministry is preparing a plan for providing air cargo support to agricultural hubs to promote farm exports and UAE and Saudi Arabia have shown keen interest in investing, he added.

“The chemical sector is expected to double to $300 billion by 2025, clocking an annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent. To achieve this, government is also working on a draft chemical policy that will focus on meeting the rising demand for chemicals and reduce imports,” chemicals export promotion council (Chemexcil) chairman Satish Wagh said on the sideline of 3-day Capindia exhibition here.

“The expo will help us tap immense opportunities for growth, which exist in the fields of speciality chemicals, polymers and agrochemicals industries as Make in India initiative further facilitates growth and investment,” Wagh said.