SRINAGAR: Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, today held an interaction with industry leaders representing various Textiles Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and Industry Associations.
The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) was represented by Prince Mallik and Arshad Mir, Members of the Committee of Administration, along with Rajesh Rawat, Additional Executive Director, EPCH.
The objective of the meeting was to bring together trade associations, export promotion councils, and policymakers to deliberate on current challenges, identify actionable solutions, and explore strategies to enhance India’s export competitiveness.
During the deliberations, Prince Mallik submitted several key measures to safeguard exporters and strengthen India’s trade resilience in light of the recent US tariff developments. The suggestions included: Introduction of a 30% Cost Equalisation Incentive to offset increased export costs, Enhanced benefits under the Interest Equalisation Scheme, Income Tax exemptions on export earnings, similar to the erstwhile Section 80HHC of the Income Tax Act, Extension of the export realization period from 180 days to 360 days without penal interest, A moratorium on loan repayments to ease liquidity stress on exporters.
Arshad Mir further emphasized the urgent need for the implementation of the Export Promotion Mission and proactive government intervention on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to protect the interests of Indian exporters.
The Minister gave a patient and encouraging hearing to all the issues raised by the representatives and assured appropriate consideration by the Ministry.