‘Punjab Has Potential to Double Its Exports By 2023’: Exim Bank

By 121 News

Chandigarh 29^th Mar, 2019:- S Prahalathan, Chief General Manager, EXIM Bank, India, said that Punjab has very good prospects to revive its exports, and be amongst the top 10 exporting States in the country.

S Prahalathan said further that besides, agriculture and allied industries, should the latent potential in textiles and automotive industries are captured, Punjab's economy is bound to see a northward movement.

Exim Bank apart from financing, facilitating India's trade and investment has also been supporting various States in the country to identify new horizons for exports. In the process the Bank has been conducting state-level Studies to assess the opportunities various Indian States have. Some of these Studies have been done in conjunction with the State Government.

Bank is currently undertaking a preliminary Study to identify the export potential of Punjab. Exports from Punjab have registered a negative annual average annual growth of 4.4 percent between 2013-14 and 2017-18. According to the latest figures exports stands at US$ 5.7 billion.

S. Prahalathan based on a detailed analysis opines that with an enabling export ecosystem, the State could almost double its exports to US$ 10.3 billion by 2022-23, should it grow in tandem with India's expected export growth. India has set a target to double its merchandise exports by 2024-25.

The broad contours of this enabling environment would inter-alia include improvement in institutional and export infrastructure in the State, whilst adopting a focused approach on select sectors.