Exports between April and November 2006 totalled $80 billion, with a record growth rate of approximately 39%.

Employment generation in the export sector is seen as the highest priority and the Annual Supplement of the Foreign Trade Policy implemented in April 2006 sought to achieve the objective of employment generation by identifying special focus areas in labour intensive sectors which would generate additional employment opportunities.

Major initiatives taken in 2006 for the promotion of labour intensive exports included ‘The Focus Product and Focus Market Scheme’, introduced to give additional impetus for the penetration of strategic markets in labour intensive sectors such as fish and leather products, sports goods and toys, and handloom and handicraft items. The scheme allows duty credit facility at 2.5% of the FOB value of exports of specific products and notified countries.

According to a study by RIS (Research & Information Systems for Developing Countries) commissioned by Ministry of Commerce & Industry in 2006, the export sector generated incremental direct employment of 1.4 million compared with the previous year, bringing the total employment generated by the export sector to nine billion.

It is hoped that exports will reach $150 billion by 2008-09 and that, as a result, 13.6 million new jobs will be generated.