Special attention should be paid to promoting India's exports in its economic policy in order to make trade more sustainable, and the foreign trade now accounts for 45% of India's GDP. Given the elements that contribute to a conducive environment for foreign trade, any export policy / strategy requires the active support of state governments. Therefore, states must actively participate in export promotion activities, and exports cannot grow without their active participation. The call of the Honorable Prime Minister of India to turn each district into an export hub focused on making districts active players in promoting the export of goods / services produced / manufactured in the district.

Previously, export promotion was only treated by the central government as an issue, without an active and credible mechanism to involve state or district stakeholders in the decision-making process to promote grassroots goods and services. Export promotion activities need to be decentralized to stimulate local production and make districts active players in promoting the growth of exports of local products / services. This will also help close existing gaps and bottlenecks in the export of identified products / services from the districts. The goal is to enable MSMEs, farmers, and small industries to benefit from export opportunities in foreign markets and shift the focus to district-led export growth for self-sufficiency and independence. It should attract investment in the district to boost production and exports and provide a district-level innovation / technology ecosystem to make exporters competitive. It should also help reduce transaction costs for the exporter at various stages of the export cycle and create jobs in the district. The district's focus should also provide platforms for a broad and global reach of the district's products and services through e-commerce and digital marketing.

The government has partnered with states and union territories to implement the Export Hub (DEH) initiative in every state in the country to unlock the export potential of agricultural and industrial products. In order for the country to develop the export potential of agricultural and industrial products, the government is working with the states and UT to implement the Districts as Export Centers (DEH) initiative in all districts of the country. The program will go a long way towards ushering in an era of socio-economic development in the region and responding to the wishes of the people, and will also stimulate micro, small, medium and large enterprises. A suitable industrial land bank was established and 6,000 acres of land purchased. The government expects this initiative to generate employment of 4.50 Lakh.

The program focuses on decentralizing the promotion of exports as diversity in India, bringing us new products in all counties that can be exported and can be promoted together with new products / services to increase production, export to increase, generate activity economic  and achieve the goal of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local and Make in India. The Department of Commerce, through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, is gradually working with state / US governments to achieve this goal.

In the initial phase, products / services were identified (GI products, agricultural clusters, toy clusters, etc.) with export potential in each district and institutional mechanisms in the form of State Export Promotion Committees (SEPC) at the state and district level . Level Export Promotion Committees (DEPC) are created at the district level  to support export promotion and  address export growth bottlenecks  in districts. DEPC finalizes a specific action plan to increase exports  in each district through district-specific export action plans. The state export strategy / policy and state agricultural plans are also  finalized by the states / UT. Districtwise export data is now  generated by ICEGATE / DGCIS to track the export performance of each district. Products / services with export potential have been identified in 725 districts across the country (including toy and agricultural conglomerates and GI products in those districts).

WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT?

Districts as Export Centers is the first  initiative of its kind by the Indian government, which seeks to promote exports, production and grassroots job creation, blaming the states and districts for the  growth of exports from the country's districts . Export promotion has never been a priority in  rural areas or in remote areas of the country. Through this initiative, the Government of India intends to contribute to the AtmaNirbhar Mission by significantly increasing production and exports from urban areas while focusing on generating interest and economic activity in rural areas of the interior and small cities of the country to attract new businesses to export.

Coordinated and synergistic efforts to promote trade and export  by the central government, state governments and district administration would improve production activities, promote the export of goods and services, support MSMEs and local artisans / artisans , would cover e-commerce links with Expand, GI districts. Promote products, improve logistics and agricultural sectors, and support employment opportunities in districts, resulting in far-reaching economic benefits, including investment, production, and export growth. The establishment of an institutional framework in the form of SEPC and DEPC will further consolidate export promotion and trade facilitation efforts through a one-stop shop to provide accessible information and assistance to exporters. The implementation of the district's export action plans will improve business infrastructure and logistics, as well as information dissemination among local businesses to increase exports and get started. The measurable objectives identified in the DEAPs will guide the various government agencies in both the Center and the State / UT to work together to solve the problems of the district's exporters. Core data related to the district was recorded as of September 2020. This will help monitor progress in export performance for states. In the next 3-5 years, double-digit export growth will be recorded in 500 districts of the country with significant export growth.