The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today called upon exporters to explore newer markets to give a fillip to exports and maintain the economic momentum. He further said that the SEZs along with Export Oriented Units (EOUs) contribute about one-thirds of the country’s exports.

Vice President was speaking at the Award function. He presented Export Excellence Awards for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units & Export Oriented Units in Chennai today,

The Vice President congratulated all the award winners for their contribution in promoting exports and providing employment. He said the SEZs along with Export Oriented Units (EOUs) contribute about one-thirds of the country’s exports

The SEZs along with Export Oriented Units (EOUs) contribute about one-thirds of the country’s exports.

Naidu noted that there was a record achievement of 418 billion US dollars of merchandise exports in the just-concluded 2021-22 financial year. Besides, the services exports were about 250 billion US dollars. He said it was a remarkable achievement in spite of the pandemic.

Calling for continuing the same trend, the Vice President said the ambitious project of ‘District Export Hub’ announced by the Government of India in 2019 is expected to boost exports. Most of the 775 districts across the country are having the potential of becoming export hubs, he added.

Stating that the government was taking all steps to further increase exports through business and industry-friendly policies , ease of doing business and focusing on ‘local for global’, Naidu noted that Geographical Indication products were being given a fillip in this endeavour.

Pointing out that India is a young nation, he stressed the need to fully realize the potential of the demographic dividend. Calling for a special drive to provide employment to youth and equip them with necessary skills, he said “unless this is done, our demographic advantage might turn into a major disadvantage”.

Praising Tamil Nadu’s highly developed industrial manufacturing ecosystem, Naidu said the state has evolved into the largest hub for the production of automobiles and auto-components, textiles, leather products, light and heavy engineering, pumps and motors, electronic software, and hardware. The State continues to be a national leader in exports, he added.