Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath on Thursday announced a package of wide ranging measures to counter the negative impact of rupee appreciation on India's exports.

The package includes five per cent enhancement of Duty Drawback rates, reduction in the rate of interest on pre-shipment and post-shipment credit for exporters to 6 per cent from the current 9 to 11 per cent and Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency accounts to be made interest bearing.

He said scheduled commercial banks may be mandated to meet 15 per cent export credit disbursement target.

The Notification of Service Tax Exemption / Refunds for exports announced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2007 would be done without further delay.

The minister said arrears of Terminal Excise Duty & Central Sales Tax reimbursement would be cleared by June 30, 2007 and the Ministry of Finance will be requested to provide additional funds, if necessary.

A Committee is also being set up to assess job losses due to rupee appreciation and loss of export orders, Kamal Nath said.

While agreeing with exporters that rupee appreciation was currently a major problem, Kamal Nath exhorted the exporting community to look at it also as an opportunity to enhance their competitiveness and to look at new markets.