(a) the various Export Promotion Councils in the country indicating their respective Regional Offices and their role in the promotion of exports;
(b) whether the Government have taken any steps to stop favouritism, partiality and irresponsibility which are prevailing in various Export Promotion Councils in the country;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to protect the interests of the exporters of the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(SHRI OMAR ABDULLAH)
(a) There are 20 recognised Export Promotion Councils(EPCs) in the country. The list of
these EPCs alongwith their Regional Offices is given in the enclosed statement. Each EPC is
responsible for the promotion of a particular group of products, projects and services with
the objective to promote and develop the exports of the country. Their main role is to project
India`s image abroad as a reliable supplier of high quality goods and services. In particular,
the EPCs are charged with the responsibility of encouraging and monitoring the observance of
international standards and specifications by exporters, and keeping themselves abreast of the
trends and opportunities in the international markets with a view to assisting their members in
taking optimum advantage of such opportunities in order to expand and diversify exports.
(b) to (d) In view of the significant changes that have taken place in the international
trade environment in recent years, especially after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the
establishment of the WTO, it was felt necessary to restructure the Export Promotion Councils
with a view to making them more responsive to the needs of their members as well as to introduce
greater professionalism for improving the quality of the services being provided to their
members. The Government have accordingly prescribed a set of model bye laws for adoption by the
EPCs. Adoption of the model bye laws by the EPCs will lead to rationalisation of their administrative and election procedures thereby ensuring that real exporters have a more effective say in the management of the EPCs thus contributing to greater efficiency and transparency in their functioning.
With a view to giving greater attention to some important segments within an
existing industry group and also to provide coverage to commodities or sectors presently not
covered by any of the EPCs, a new vehicle viz. Export Promotion Forum (EPF) has been created.
Permission for creation of an EPF may be considered on fulfilling the prescribed conditions.
However, such permission shall be subject to :
(a) The members agreeing to build up a corpus of Rs.1.00 crore when the entity is
registered which should increase to Rs.3.00 crores within 4 years. The principal amount of the
corpus shall be maintained intact and the EPF shall manage its expenses from the interest
earnings, membership fees etc.
(b) The members of the EPF shall continue to be members of concerned EPC and shall continue to
pay the membership fee to the concerned EPC till such time as the EPF is not converted into an
EPC. (This will not be applicable to industry segments not covered under any EPC).
(c) The staffing structure should be purely professional and as far as possible, the staff
should be engaged on contract terms. The EPF shall meets its administrative expenses from its
own resources. No funding shall be provided to them by the Government for this purpose.
Subject to satisfactory performance on the basis of guidelines to be laid down
by the Department of Commerce, the EPF will be eligible to be converted in a full-fledged EPC
on completion of four years of its registration as an EPF. However, in the case of an EPC for
industry segments not covered under any existing EPC, there will be no minimum waiting period.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2127
FOR ANSWER ON 1.12.2000.
Sl. No. Name of the EPCs with Head office Regional Offices
1. Electronics & Computer Software Bangalore Export Promotion Council, New Delhi.
2. Engineering Export Promotion Council, Calcutta, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi Calcutta . Foreign Office- Chicago(USA), Duesseldorf(Germany), Singapore
3. Shellac Export Promotion Council,Calcutta. It has no regional office.
4. Council for Leather Exports, Chennai. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Calcutta and Chennai
5. Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceutical & Bangalore, Calcutta Cosmetics Export Promotion Council, Mumbai. 6. The Plastics & Lenoleums Export Calcutta, Chennai, New Delhi Promotion Council, Mumbai.
7 Chemicals & Allied Products Export Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi Promotion Council, Calcutta.
8. Overseas Construction Council of It has no regional office. India, New Delhi.
9. Gems & Jewellery Export Delhi, Jaipur, Surat, Chennai & Calcutta Promotion Council, Mumbai. 10. Sports Goods Export Promotion Jalandhar Council, New Delhi. 11. Cashew Export Promotion Council, Cochin. It has no regional office. However its Quality Upgradation Lab. & Technical Division is located at Quilon. 12. Export Promotion Council for It has no regional office. However,one man Handicrafts, New Delhi information centre are operating at Bangalore, Chennai & Calcutta. 13. The Indian Silk Export Promotion It has no regional office. Council, Mumbai. 14. Powerloom Development and Export Erode(Tamil Nadu) Promotion Council, Mumbai. 15. Wool & Woolens Export Promotion Ludhiana, Mumbai, Tirupur Council, New Delhi. 16. The Handloom Export Promotion New Delhi, Mumbai Council, Chennai. 17. Carpet Export Promotion Council,New Delhi Bhadohi 18. The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Surat, Chennai, Delhi, Calcutta Export Promotion Council, Mumbai. 19. The Cotton Textiles Export New Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta,Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Promotion Council, Mumbai. Coimbatore, Cochin, Tuticorn, Bangalore, Pithampur, Nhava Seva (JNPT) 20. Apparel Export Promotion New Delhi, Jaipur, Ludhiana,Surat,Mumbai Council, New Delhi. Chennai, Tirupur, Bangalore, Cochin, Calcutta.