India Exim Bank – Strengthening Exports from Karnataka

EXIM Bank Research in its Paper has forecasts Karnataka’s merchandise exports to touch US$ 35.3 billion by FY 2025, from US$ 16 in FY 2020.

Further, EXIM Bank Research expresses confidence in the software and services exports from the State to reach US$ 150 billion by 2024-25, up from US$ 83.9 billion in 2019-20, as has been set by the Karnataka Government.

India Exim Bank has published a Study entitled ‘Strengthening Exports from Karnataka’, as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 glorious years of India’s independence.

Karnataka has been at the forefront of India’s economic growth, transitioning from a primarily agrarian State to emerge as the Silicon Valley of India. With a share of 8% in 2018-19, Karnataka was the 5th highest contributor to India’s GDP of ₹ 140.9 trillion, after Maharashtra (14.5%), Tamil Nadu (8.6%), Uttar Pradesh (8.4%), and Gujarat (8.1%).

As per the Study published by the India Exim Bank, merchandise exports from Karnataka in 2019-20 were valued at US$ 16.6 billion, and registered an average annual growth rate of 4.8%, during 2010-11 to 2019-20. Some of the major items exported by Karnataka include petroleum products, RMG cotton, iron and steel, electronic instruments, and electronic components. The State has a well-diversified export basket vis-à-vis the States such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and has a huge potential.

To achieve this target, Exim Bank Research provides a holistic outline for enhancing trade competitiveness, identifying focused sectors and products for attracting investments and for promoting exports, and strengthening the institutional capacity for exports, among others, towards catalysing export led economic growth in the State.

Exim Bank Research also analyses the status of trade enabling infrastructure in Karnataka and recommends strategies for plugging the existing gaps. This includes, amongst others, (i) development of ICDs; (2) focusing on urban city planning; (3) leveraging the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES); (4) improving the State’s investment potential and FDI attractiveness; (5) improving the level of export preparedness; (6) integrating into GVCs; (7) strengthening the ESDM facilities; (8) developing the AVGC sector; (9) increasing the efficiency of the State’s logistics sector; (10) development of Shared Container Depots; (11) providing incentives under Production Linked Incentive Scheme at the State level; and (12) making Karnataka a FinTech hub.