Export promotion offices to open in 10 missions abroad: Prabhu
New Delhi, June 15: The Department of Commerce will soon open 10 offices in Indian missions abroad to boost export promotion activities, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday.
Making this announcement at a review here of the sectoral export promotion plans prepared by various ministries, he said a conference of heads of Indian missions abroad has been scheduled in end-June to discuss trade promotion measures, according to a Commerce Ministry release.
The Minister stressed on branding of Indian products and export credit as important focus areas for export promotion, it said.
He also emphasised that efforts should be made for getting priority sector lending status for export credit and directed the ministry's Logistics Division to work upon measures like bulk cargo transportation to reduce freight costs.
Prabhu suggested each ministry and department should set targets for increasing exports in 2018-2019 and directed that inter-ministerial meetings be held quarterly to resolve difficulties and assess the progress across sectors.
Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia noted that although exports have grown in the past year, a quantum jump is required in this direction.
She stressed that branding is a major issue cutting across all sectors and Brand Equity Foundation is formulating a proposal to support line ministries for branding export products.
Director General Foreign Trade Alok Chaturvedi said that the Department of Commerce is preparing a "100 Billion Additional Exports Strategy" which will be released shortly.
Indian merchandise exports in 2017-18 grew by 9.8 per cent over the previous year, while services exports were up by 17.8 per cent.
As per Commerce Ministry data on Friday, the country's trade deficit in May at $14.62 billion, widened marginally over the excess of imports over exports at $13.84 billion recorded in the same month last year, on account of a higher import bill due to oil prices.
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EC hands over probe into gherao of seven judicial officers in Bengal's Malda to NIA
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission of India on Thursday handed over the probe into the gherao of the seven judicial officers in West Bengal's Malda district to the NIA, following a Supreme Court directive.
Observing that West Bengal was the "most polarised state", the Supreme Court delivered a stinging indictment of the state administration after seven judicial officers engaged in SIR exercise were held hostage by protesters in Malda district and directed a CBI or NIA probe into the incident.
In an April 2 letter to the National Investigating Agency, the poll body referred to the apex court's order and directed it to probe the Wednesday incident.
Talking to PTI, a top official of the poll body said the NIA team would reach West Bengal on Friday.
Slamming the state administration for its "complete failure" and inaction over the "deplorable" gherao and attack on the officers during the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voters list, the court also asked the EC to "requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections".
West Bengal will have a two-phase poll -- on April 23 and 29.
The Supreme Court further said the incident was a "brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers" but also amounted to a challenge to the authority of this Supreme Court.
The top court gave the order after it took suo motu cognisance of a letter from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court detailing a harrowing night where the judicial officers, including three women and a five-year-old child, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water.
The incident occurred during the SIR exercise in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district, and as per the order, seven judicial officers were gheraoed by "anti-social elements" at a BDO office starting at 3:30 PM on Wednesday.
The officers were rescued by security forces around midnight on Wednesday after they were gheraoed over the alleged deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said.
