New Delhi: The central government is considering all kinds of measures to deal with the economic slowdown in the country. In this episode, the government can make a new announcement to boost the country's exports. According to an official, several rounds of meetings have been held between the Finance Ministry and the Commerce Ministry on this issue. In the proposal that is to be discussed, the government can extend the deadline to remove the tax benefits of units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The government had announced in the 2016-17 General Budget that only new units of income tax-related benefit SEZs will be received which will start functioning before 31 March 2020. For the gems and jewellery sector, the government is considering reducing the import duty on colored gems (stones) and polished diamonds. Currently, it is 7.5 percent. Apart from this, the government is also considering increasing the insurance cover for export credit from 60 per cent to 90 per cent from the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India.

This will enable banks to provide export credit at competitive rates. There is talk of implementing standard operating procedures for early approval of import and export consignments. Exporters have also demanded several other measures. This includes extending the benefit of the Goods Export Scheme from India to sectors such as non-basmati rice and textiles. Apart from this, there has also been a demand to provide interest subsidy to big pharmaceutical companies.

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