Question : District Exports Hub Initiative

(a) whether the District Exports Hub Initiative is going to be a part of the new Foreign Trade Policy and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has taken inputs from various State Governments regarding this initiative and if so, the details thereof;
(c) the list of districts proposed to be selected from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra under this initiative;
(d) the kind of goods that are likely to be eligible from a district to be included in the District Export Plan;
(e) whether the Government will provide any manufacturing, branding, marketing and export subsidy to the products selected under the initiative; and
(f) if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)

(a) : Yes, Sir.
(b): Government has held a number of consultations with the States/UTs to take forward the initiative to promote exports from Districts. A national level workshop was held on 09.12.2019 with all States/ UTs to synergize the efforts of the State/ UT Governments with the Department of Commerce. The workshop sensitized and informed the States/UTs about the work to be done and sought suggestions on achieving the goal of developing Districts as Export Hubs. Thereafter, a number of virtual meetings have been held from time to time with the State/UT governments to implement the Districts as Export Hubs initiative. A meeting was held by Commerce and Industry Minister with the ministers of State Governments on 27.08.2020.

(c) to (f): All 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and 36 districts of Maharashtra are covered under the Districts as Export Hubs initiative. The District Export Promotion Committees (DEPC) have been formed to finalise the products/services and to detail the needs of districts such as manufacturing, branding, marketing etc. for their inclusion in the District Export Action Plans, based on stakeholder consultations.
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