J&K Govt sets export target of Rs 10,000 cr in next 5 yrs

JAMMU : Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has set export target of Rs 10,000 crore in next five years by leveraging both the core and emerging areas of exports and through effective institutional mechanism, conducive strategies, trade infrastructure and marketing assistance.

This has been revealed in the Draft Jammu and Kashmir Export Policy, 2024 by the Department of Industries and Commerce, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR. Official sources told EXCELSIOR that as country is striving to become a leader in the international trade with export hub of USD 5 trillion economy, the J&K Government has decided to provide focused facilitation to exports from Union Territory in sectors where it enjoys competitive advantages.

“This factor taken together coupled with the need to give impetus to introduce best practices, provide for capacity building and enhance quality and competitiveness of exports, calls for developing a more conducive export ecosystem and putting in place a robust policy framework to improve export performance”, sources further said.
They said that vision behind the J&K Export Policy is to harness export potential of Jammu & Kashmir based on its strengths and key advantages and transform its economy into a competitive export led entity and make Jammu and Kashmir a “heaven for exports” in line with its globally acclaimed status as “heaven on earth”.
“The mission is to achieve an export target of Rs 10,000 crore in five years leveraging both the core and emerging areas of exports by providing an effective institutional mechanism, conducive strategies, trade infrastructure and marketing assistance aimed towards facilitating exports”, sources said.
As per the official document, the Export Policy will help in identifying potential sectors/products for promotion of exports from these sectors/products; facilitating substantial incremental growth of export of products identified in the focus sectors by enhancing value addition and quality competitiveness and help in laying emphasis on boosting exports of unique and world-famous handicraft and handloom products and agri-commodities with special focus on GI tagged products.

Further, the Export Policy will help in developing new focus areas in exports such as Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, IT & ITES, Biotechnology, Electric Mobility etc. The other objectives of the policy are to galvanize the districts as export hub by calling for an inclusive approach with focus on district-led export growth for boosting exports; encourage skill development and capacity building to improve competitiveness of the export units; promote innovation for export of new value added products; promote initiatives to enhance product quality and standards and support certification of products exported from the UT; promote entrepreneurship in the field of exports and facilitate whole-of-Government approach to improve export competitiveness of domestic exporters.

To achieve these objectives, the Government will formulate sector and product specific District Export Action Plans with specific hard and soft interventions, designed to be implemented in the medium and long-term for acceleration of exports. Further, the Government will revamp product-specific requirements pertaining to common facility center, processing center, raw material banks, skill development, design innovation, quality and standards etc in line with the product demand.

Apart from providing financial and other incentives to the export-oriented units to give them a head start for competing with other States and UTs, the Government will also address gaps in the existing scenario of exports from J&K with reference to the parameters mentioned in the Export Preparedness Index of NITI Aayog.

“The Government will also create a strong analytical database on exports and exporters in Jammu and Kashmir, promote Brand Jammu & Kashmir in domestic and international markets, improve visibility of exporters from Jammu and Kashmir in national and international platforms and augment and strengthen J&K Trade Promotion Organization (JKTPO) as the Nodal Agency to plan and execute strategies for ensuring sustainable growth of exports from Jammu and Kashmir”, read the document. The Export Policy shall come into effect from the date of its notification by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and will be valid for a period of three years or until a revised Export Policy is announced, whichever being earlier, the document further read.