By IANS,
Kolkata : India’s engineering exports are expected to remain flat this fiscal at $37.5 billion, a senior industry official said here Monday.
“We grew by about 15 percent in 2008-09 to $37.5 billion. At the end of this fiscal if we can sustain this figure that will be excellent,” Rakesh Shah, former chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) told reporters.
EEPC India is the apex body of engineering exporters in the country.
He attributed this flat projection to the ongoing economic slowdown, which has hit almost all industries.
In the April-July period, exports dropped 23 percent year-on-year, Rakesh Shah said.
Last fiscal, engineering exports in April-September grew by about 44 percent, but it dropped 21 percent during October-March due to the slowdown.
The 15 percent growth in revenue last fiscal was possible due to the 44 percent growth in the first six months of the fiscal, Shah said.
Anupam Shah, vice-chairman of the council, said: “The risk perception of exports is very high today.”
EEPC India has submitted a draft proposal to the central government asking for a corpus of Rs.500 crore to modernise the industry and make engineering units more competitive.
“The finance minister (Pranab Mukherjee) is actively considering this,” said Rakesh Shah.
EEPC has around 12,000 members.