RBI should have given special push to engineering exports: EEPC

MUMBAI: Engineering exporters' apex body EEPC India today said the Reserve Bank should have given a special dispensation of interest rates to exports.

In its mid-quarter monetary policy review, the RBI kept short-term lending rate unchanged at 7.75 per cent, and the cash reserve ratio ( CRR) at 4 per cent.

"RBI should have given a special dispensation of interest rates to exports, which are key to maintaining stability on the external sector parameters like current account deficit," EEPC India chairman Anupam Shah said in a statement.

As the outlook for global growth remains uneven and modest, it has become difficult for exporters to stay competitive in the face of weak demand, he said.

"While the exports did pick up from the second quarter of this fiscal, it is doubtful whether the growth could be sustained. The trend from November is again becoming weak making it imperative for the government and RBI to support the exporters by way of lower interest rates," Shah said.

Besides, if the long-standing demand of lending priority sector status to the exporters is met, it could bolster exports again and cushion the country from slippages in the current account, he added.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com