Market Access Initiative and Market Development Assistance Scheme for Indian Textile Industry

Name of the scheme: Market Access Initiative (MAI)

The scheme:

• MAI Scheme is an Export Promotion Scheme which is envisaged to act as a catalyst to promote India’s export on a sustained basis.
• The scheme is formulated on focus product-focus country approach to evolve specific market and specific product through market studies/survey.
• Assistance would be provided to Export Promotion Organizations/ Trade Promotion Organizations/ National Level Institutions/ Research Institutions/Universities/Laboratories, Exporters, etc., for enhancement of export through accessing new markets or through increasing the share in the existing markets.

Assistance under the scheme:

Under the Scheme the level of assistance for each eligible activity has been fixed.

• Financial assistance for carrying out marketing projects abroad
• Assistance for building capacity for exporters, export promotion organizations, etc.
• Assistance on reimbursement basis to exporters for charges/fees paid by them for fulfilling the statutory requirements in the buyer country
• Assistance for conducting studies
• Assistance in developing projects leading to substantial improvement in market access

For the financial year 2016-17, 32 proposals of various textiles Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) worth Rs 36.60 crore for participation in/organization of National and International textiles fairs, exhibitions were approved by Department of Commerce for Textiles sector under MAI scheme.

Name of the scheme: Market Development Assistance (MDA)

The scheme:

• Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme is to support/assist exporters/EPCs to undertake export promotion activities for their product(s) and commodities through Focus export promotion programmes in specific regions abroad viz. FOCUS (LAC), Focus (Africa), Focus (CIS) and Focus (ASEAN + 2) programmes.
• The incentives under this Scheme are primarily given to develop the already accessed markets abroad.
• The utilization of scheme is administered by the E&MDA Division in the Department of Commerce

Nature of assistance:

Assistance would be provided to participate in Trade Fairs/Exhibitions such as travel expenses by air in economy class and/or charges of the built up furnished stall, subject to an upper ceiling as given below:

• Focus Latin American Countries (LAC) – Rs. 2,50,000
• Focus Africa, Focus CIS, Focus ASEAN – Rs. 2,00,000
• General areas – Rs. 1,50,000

Exporting companies with an f.o.b. (Free on Board) value of exports of up to Rs. 30 crore in the preceding year will be eligible for MDA assistance for participation in BSMs/fairs/exhibitions abroad.

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