Noida notified as ‘town of export excellence’ for apparel products

NOIDA: In what comes as a big boost for the apparel industry in the city, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the ministry of commerce and industry, on Thursday notified Noida as a ‘town of export excellence (TEE)’ for apparel products.

Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said that with this Gazette notification, Noida will be eligible for many export promotion schemes of the central government, which include central assistance of States and market access initiative. “It’ll also provide support in strengthening infrastructure, simplifying rules and procedures, besides developing production infrastructure relating to design, R&D packaging, logistic support, etc. Since Noida is in the TEE category now, the ministry will also provide awareness and information about international marketing, which will pave the way for further export promotion in the district,” he said.

Lalit Thukral, the president of Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) said that the notification is a great achievement for the apparel industry here. “It’s the second big recognition for the city, after getting declared as ‘city of apparel’ by the state government. It’ll certainly accelerate the NAEC’s mission to develop Noida as a distinguished destination for apparel products,” he said.

“As per the present scheme of the centre, an area/cluster that realizes an annual export turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more will be notified as TEE. However, for TEE in handloom, handicraft, agriculture and fisheries sector, the threshold limit is ₹150 crore. Getting the TEE status means the city has immense potential for growth in exports of key items like handloom, agriculture, textiles, handicraft and fisheries. The DGFT notifies a town in this category to enable them to move up in the value chain and tap new markets,” he said.

When contacted, a joint secretary in ministry of commerce and industries said that at present, there are altogether 35 towns in India notified as TEE for their unique exportable commodity. “The TEE towns get benefits from many promotional programmes launched by the centre. One of such schemes is the market access initiative (MAI) to recognize export associations, under which financial assistance is provided for export promotion activities on focus country, focus product basis to different industry associations there. These activities include market surveys, setting up of warehouses, participation in international trade fairs, publicity campaigns, brand promotion, reimbursement of registration charges for pharmaceuticals and testing charges for engineering products abroad,” the officer said, asking to remain anonymous.