- In a practical way
Few things would help the country more in the present setting than the government realising its aim of raising export revenue to $40 billion by 2023. It is, after all, because we don’t earn enough that we always need to borrow. And then we celebrate when we are able to secure more loans to pay back old maturing loans. And whatever any government has been able to do for the people, increasing state revenue through taxes and exports has not been a part of it. Hence we remain a poor country dependent on outside forces and factors for our economic survival.
And while the government tries to get around increasing tax revenue, it is not so difficult to understand why exports have never got us much. It’s clearly not entirely about the currency, or the near 30pc squeeze of the rupee would not have raised exports by just roughly one percent. It must, therefore, be competitiveness. And that is why our basket of exports has remained pretty much the same over years, with little value addition to speak of. How many more people can wear our shirts and shorts, or eat our mangoes, if we just keep toggling the exchange rate?
So initiatives like a National Tariff Policy (NTF), Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF), National SME policy, etc, gracing the headlines is all very fine, but do they really attack the heart of the problem? Perhaps it is better to complement such moves with a parallel longer term perspective. That means first improving educational and vocational training facilities. The second step should incorporate phased expansion of manufacturing, etc, to increase production. The third should be identification and exploitation of potential markets. Then the measures the government is mulling will not run the risk of running out of steam and even hitting the vote bank. The government is spot on in identifying inadequate exports as one of the bigger problems. But turning around this trend will require digging in for the long haul.
