Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said that his Ministry will select Dakshina Kannada district as a pilot for its plans to improve National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through district-level plans.
In an interaction with stakeholders here, Mr. Prabhu said that the Ministry would map out districts across the country and integrate them with State plans.
The integrated plans, he said, will help achieve the targeted GDP growth through which India would emerge a $ 5 trillion economy in the next eight years.
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He said the Ministry also has plans to make Mangaluru a hub of education and health tourism by tapping the existing vast resources in the region. Mangaluru would become a new growth engine with its many advantages, he added.
Mr. Prabhu said that he is engaged in extensive interaction with many countries and would engage in one with captains of Fortune 500 companies at Davos to bring them to India.
The Ministry has drawn up strategies for manufacturing, agriculture and exports sector to double the present economy from $ 2.5 trillion even as plans are afoot to encourage direct exports by farmers.
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Stating that his Ministry has plans to come up with an e-wallet to help exporters, Mr. Prabhu said, “We have recently set aside Rs. 8,450 crore to mitigate issues on export front.” Provisions for self-certification by traders are made in the recently announced mid-term export policy to remove bottlenecks in the export sector, he added.
Mr. Prabhu said he has asked the EXIM Bank to undertake a market research to help Indian traders to tap new and emerging markets upon which the focus is on. The Minister said he realised the vast potential for exports during his recent overseas visits to Latin America and South Africa in sectors as diverse as pharmaceuticals and jewellery. With every village in India having at least one jeweller, the Ministry is keen on promoting export of hand-made jewellery.
On problems of cashew industry, Mr. Prabhu said he has urged the Finance Ministry to waive 5% import duty on cashew kernels. With the retail trade policy in the making, traders can scout for gavernment business through the portal created for it.