India's MSME ministry plans export promotion cell

An export promotion cell is being planned this year by the Indian ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to coordinate with other departments and export promotion councils to raise shipments of products like khadi, leather and coir, and to identify clusters that can export directly or through aggregators, according to ministry secretary AK Panda.

The initiative will boost strategies for export from MSMEs, which contribute around 45 per cent of the overall shipments from India, according to an Indian news agency report.

While shipments from the Coir Board stood at ₹2,500 crore in 2017-18, the sector holds ‘tremendous potential’, he said. A ‘quantum jump’ in the exports by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission is also expected this year.

MSMEs account for about 85-90 per cent of leather exports, Panda said.

According to estimates, MSMEs contribute around 6.11 per cent to India’s manufacturing gross domestic product (GDP), 24.63 per cent to the GDP from service activities and 33.4 per cent to the manufacturing output.