In India’s 12 steps to boost exports, 4 Dubai-style mega shopping carnivals

Niramala Sitharaman said India would launch four mega shopping festivals like the ones organised in Dubai. These shopping festivals would be held at four locations across the country.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a slew of steps by the government to promote exports that have been adversely affected due to the slowdown in global growth. Sitharaman’s announcements come against the backdrop of merchandise exports declining by 6% to US $ 26.13 billion in August compared to a year ago.

Sitharaman, who announced new schemes to incentivise and encourage exporters, said India would launch four mega shopping festivals like the ones organised in Dubai. These shopping festivals would be held at four locations across the country.

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These festivals would be held on specific themes such as gems and jewellery, yoga, tourism and textiles and leather. The first of these festivals would be held in March 2020.

The Gulf emirate organises several events such as the Dubai Food Festival and the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival. The shopping festival has been on for a little more than two decades and had been originally launched to increase Dubai’s retail trade. It was later promoted as a tourist attraction.

At Saturday’s news conference, the steps announced by Sitharaman focused on the exports and the realty sector including support for incomplete projects that were not getting loans from banks.

Sitharaman said there is a clear sign of revival of industrial production and inflation has been kept “very much” below 4 per cent.

The government has mandated the Reserve Bank of India to keep the retail inflation in the band of 2-6 per cent.

“We see clear signs” of improvement up to July 2019 inspite all worries on industrial production front in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, she said.

Sitharaman also informed that she will be meeting heads of public sector banks on September 19, a day before the GST Council meeting in Goa, to access the credit flow scenario to the economy.