Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday hailed the Central Government’s decision to decentralise export process.
Centre has decided to allow the states to directly market their own products and services to other countries — a long standing demand raised by Punjab Chief Minister at various forums advocating direct trading system between a state and countries of its choice. Commending the proposal, which was presently with the Ministry of External Affairs for granting permission to the states for opening Trade Desks with other country, Badal said that an era of new trade regime would begin with this decision. He also urged the Centre to expedite the process in this regard so that the states would be immensely benefited. The Center has asked Indian embassies across the world to provide space to states to show their trade and commerce potential and facilitate exports. It is expected that Punjab’s farmers would be the biggest beneficiary of this proposal whose produce and its value added products would find new markets all across the world, thus bringing remunerative prices for the producers. SAD-BJP Government had been urging the previous UPA government also to introduce direct trading system between states and foreign countries for encouraging economic growth of the country, but issue had never been seriously take up by that Government.