What could help boost India's exports

India's exports could witness a significant improvement in coming years if the government adopts proactive measures like easy availability of trade finance, improvement in marketing and boosting infrastructure sector, research firm Dun and Bradstreet says.

"India's exports have registered significant improvement over the years. As the economy (global as well as Indian) improves and industrial production picks up there is a definite possibility of India improving its position," Dun & Bradstreet India head economic analysis Yashika Singh told PTI.

Singh further said measures like tax refunds for exporters, marketing facilities and easy availability of trade finance are likely to give India cost advantage over other nations, which in turn would boost exports.

The exports figure for India stood at around $153 billion for 2009, which is lower than what was seen in 2008, as demand from the country's major trading partners saw a decline consequent to the global economic crisis.

The country witnessed an upsurge in exports in the last two months and in December it grew to $14.6 billion, up 9.4 per cent over November, indicating that demand is stabilising.

Although the country's exports moved to positive terrain during November and December 2009, the economy is yet to recover from the losses caused by their continuous 13-month fall, Commerce and Industry minister Anand Sharma had said.

"Development of export infrastructure like better air connectivity for smooth transportation of cargoes, development of ports, simplifying customs procedures as well as reduction in transaction cost are crucial for ensuring sustainability of this growth," D&B's Singh said.

Elaborating on other measures, Singh said trade agreements with other nations would help in expansion and diversification of the export basket and market.

Meanwhile, India in August announced tax refunds for exporters to explore new markets in Africa and Latin America.

"In addition to tax refunds, measures like improvement in exports marketing facilities, easy availability of trade finance, inclusion of new markets under Focus Market Schemes and simplification of export procedures can be initiated by the government to boost exports growth," Singh said.

However, given India's domestic demand, a large part of the incremental output will find its way in the domestic market. Therefore, improvements in rankings will happen only over a period of time, Singh said.