Amazon India would help MSMEs export their products to Amazon customers globally under its flagship e-commerce exports programme.
Key Highlights
- DGFT has signed an MoU with Amazon India under its Districts as Export Hubs Initiative.
- Amazon will help MSMEs in selected districts under its Amazon Global Selling programme.
- DGFT is in talks with other platforms like Flipkart, E-bay, etc. for more collaborations.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amazon India for capacity building to boost exports from the country.
In a press release, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry mentioned that DGFT and Amazon would conduct workshops, capacity-building sessions, and training for MSMEs in a phased manner.
The pact aims to leverage the reach of the e-commerce giant under the ODOP- Districts as Export Hubs initiative. DGFT-Regional Authorities, along with Amazon India have identified 20 districts to develop as export hubs.
Amazon India would help MSMEs with third-party services like cataloguing, tax consultation, inter alia and help MSMEs selected from 20 districts to export their products through Amazon under its Amazon Global Selling programme.
The programme, launched in 2015 helps businesses use the e-commerce platform to sell their products globally and helps them get the documentation for exports in place.
The pact is in sync with the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, which aims to use e-commerce as one of the avenues to increase India’s exports.
Incidentally, the share of products from the MSME sector in all India exports has declined from 49.4% in 2020-21 to 43.6% in 2022-23. This was against the backdrop of the merchandise exports from India increasing from USD 422 billion to USD 447.46 billion from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
To reverse the trend, DGFT along with other government institutions has launched several export-oriented schemes.
DGFT’s Districts as Export Hubs Initiative
Districts as Export Hubs is an initiative by DGFT to supplement the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme announced in 2019 by the Prime Minister of India.
The initiative aims to help businesses in the MSME sector by reducing exporting costs for businesses by providing the requisite ecosystem, and handholding them through the export cycle.
Under the initiative, District Export Promotion Committees (DEPCs) would be created in each district, headed by a District Magistrate to formulate an action plan to boost exports from the district. It will also support exporters from the district to help them align with quality standards and handhold producers and new businesses in the export industry.
The initiative also aims to leverage e-commerce platforms to provide global reach to MSMEs from various districts. Consequently, DGFT has been in consultation with various platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, E-bay, Shopclues, etc. for collaboration to help MSME producers help with exporting their products.
