Gadkari added that there is a clear need for special focus on rural, agricultural and tribal areas of the country and policy must be directed towards creation of employment in these areas. NEW DELHI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asked the Commerce Ministry to allow exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, as the country has ramped up its capacity significantly over the last two months.
Gadkari was speaking at the launch of a report on the need for structural reforms in the Indian economy for an ‘atma nirbhar’ country, launched by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) on Thursday.
“In March we imported PPE kits from China,” Gadkari, who is the minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) said. “More than five lakh PPE kits are being manufactured by MSMEs each day. I have requested Piyush Goyal to export PPE kits to different parts of the world because we have got excess capacity,” Gadkari said.
Export of PPE kits has not been allowed by the government yet, even as the industry is kee on the same. The government will take a call on exports after looking at the domestic requirement at a time when India has become the sixth most affected country by Covid-19 cases, with almost 290,000 positive cases.
The directorate general of foreign trade on May 16 allowed the export of non-medical or non-surgical masks of all types (cotton, silk, wool, knitted), after it had banned their exports in March in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.
“We need sustainable growth, we need to create jobs. We are identifying more areas where we can look at import substitution,” he said.
Gadkari added that there is a clear need for special focus on rural, agricultural and tribal areas of the country and policy must be directed towards creation of employment in these areas.
Source: indiatimes.com
