NEW DELHI: The cabinet on Wednesday cleared the ‘25,000-cr Export Promotion Mission and ‘20,000 cr additional collateral-free credit to support exporters grappling with global trade uncertainty. Priority support is being given to sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, and marine products hit by US tariffs. The mission, which was announced in the budget, is spread over six years and seeks to help exporters get better access to credit and innovative finance tools, while also aiming to address the logistics cost disadvantage. The scheme also aims to help exporters tap new markets and deal with branding and warehousing issues overseas.
It also approved high royalty for four critical minerals – graphite, caesium, rubidium and zirconium – to get more interest from bidders in the proposed auction of blocks. Tenders have been issued for the auction of nine blocks of these critical minerals, five of which are for graphite.Over Rs 25k-crore export promotion scheme gets Cabinet approvalThe Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a Rs 25,060 crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM), spread over six years, seeking to provide a cushion to several labour-intensive sectors hit by global tariffs, while also aiming to address the oft-repeated concerns over access to export credit and logistics as well as support market access and warehousing efforts. Besides, the Cabinet approved Rs 20,000 crore additional credit support for eligible exporters, including MSMEs, through credit guarantee scheme. The scheme, to be implemented through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company, will aim to provide additional working capital of up to 20% of the sanctioned working capital limit for exporters through collateral-free support. The scheme is valid up to March 2026.
The long-pending Export Promotion Mission, announced in the Budget in Feb, also got the green light at a time when some of the exporters hit by US tariffs are demanding govt support. Govt identified leather, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products as priority sectors in the wake of recent developments. After the Cabinet meeting, I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described the mission, which will be implemented through two sub-schemes – Niryat Protsahan (Rs 10,401 crore) and Niryat Disha (Rs 14,659 crore) – as “very comprehensive”. As part of Niryat Protsahan, or export promotion, the focus will be on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs through a range of instruments such as interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for e-commerce exporters, and credit enhancement support for diversification into new markets. While govt was silent on the rate of subvention, Vaishnaw said: “Different sectors will have different requirements, different geographies will have different requirements… there are special requirements for new and higher risk markets so there might be a higher subvention for that, let the details come.” Under Niryat Disha, funds will be used for non-financial enablers such as assistance for international branding, packaging, and participation in trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and trade intelligence and capacity-building initiatives. “EPM consolidates key export support schemes such as the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) and Market Access Initiative (MAI), aligning them with contemporary trade needs,” the commerce department said, adding that the measures will help sustain export orders, protect jobs, and support diversification into new geographies. Go to Source
