Lok Sabha Question No. 1186 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-11
Subject: District as Export Hubs Scheme
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G, Shri C N Annadurai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1186 ANSWERED ON 11/02/2025

## DISTRICT AS EXPORT HUBS SCHEME

1186.   SHRI  SELVAM G SHRI NAVASKANI K SHRI C N ANNADURAI

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  Districts  as  Export  Hubs  scheme,  objectives  and  the  year  of  its implementation;
- (b) the details of the measures taken by the Government under this scheme to identify and promote products with export potential in each district;
- (c) whether the Government has identified the products and services with export potential in each district;
- (d) if  so,  the  details thereof and along with the list of such products and services, Districtwise;
- (e) the  number  of  districts  in  the  country  have  been  successfully  on  boarded  under  the scheme;
- (f) the steps taken to increase in exports from districts identified under the scheme and the details of export growth during the last three years; and
- (g) the  details  of  mechanisms  in  place  to  monitor  the  performance  of  districts  under  the Districts as Export Hubs scheme?

ANSWER वाणिज्य और उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री णिणिन प्रसाद ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (f) The Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative was launched in August 2019 with the vision that each district in India holds economic potential for exports comparable to that of a small country. This initiative was designed to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country. The objective of DEH is to identify, brand, and promote products from each district, encouraging their sale in both domestic and international markets.

Under the Districts as Export Hubs initiative of DGFT, the export promotion activities are being decentralised to make the districts active stakeholders in boosting export growth of the identified products  and  services  from  the  districts  to  leverage  their  natural  competitive  advantages.  An institutional mechanism has been set up in all States/UTs by forming the State Export Promotion Committee (SEPC) and District Export Promotion Committee (DEPC) at the district level. The initiative  has  identified  export  potential  in  734  districts  across  the  country,  spanning  critical sectors like agriculture, toys, and GI products. District Export Action Plans (DEAP) detailing the existing  bottlenecks  in  the  supply  chain  and  identifying  possible  interventions  to  mitigate  the existing gaps for export of the above identified products and services have been prepared for 590 districts.

A  list  of  district  wise  products/services  with  export  potential  identified  under  the  initiative, (www.dgt.gov.in/CP/).

DGFT has been organizing  outreach  events  across  districts  in  collaboration  with  e-commerce partners,  government  stakeholders,  and  industry  associations  to  provide  training,  capacity building, and support for businesses, MSMEs, and small-scale exporters, helping them succeed in global markets under the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative.

In  Chapter  9  of  the  Foreign  Trade  Policy  (FTP)  2023,  facilitating  cross  border  e-commerce exports from India has also been emphasized. In light of this, DGFT Regional Authorities have been organizing "Outreach Events" under 'Districts As Exports Hubs to promote the products/services with export potential as identified under the Initiative. In 2024, as a result of collaborations  with  e-commerce  partners.  10  district  export  outreach  events  were  held  in Faridabad,  Moradabad,  Ludhiana,  Jodhpur,  Bangalore,  Ahmedabad,  Hyderabad,  Mumbai, Jamshedpur, and Varanasi from March to June. The second phase of these outreach events has been successfully  conducted in  Howrah, Jaipur,  Haridwar, Kanpur Nagar, Madurai, Mirzapur, Rajkot, Balasore, Jalandhar, Agra, and Meerut between October 2024 and January 2025.

DGFT  in  collaboration  with  the  Department  for  Promotion  of  Industry  and  Internal  Trade (DPIIT) has been working with the States/UTs and the districts to organize export sensitization and  promotion  workshops.  These  workshops  are  designed  to  equip  stakeholders  with  the necessary  knowledge  and  tools  to  navigate  global  trade.  Further,  various  activities  have  been undertaken to promote and enhance the visibility of products and services identified under the ODOP  and  Districts  as  Export  Hubs  (DEH)  initiative  both  within  India  and  internationally. Efforts  to  promote  these  products  at  the  international  level  include  engagement  with  Indian Missions  abroad,  virtual  buyer-seller  meets,  and  participation  in  international  exhibitions. Additionally,  several  such  products  have  been  included  as  part  of  gifting  during  the  G-20

meetings  held  in  India,  which  has  further  contributed  to  raising  the  global  profile  of  these products.

It  is  submitted  that  the  Districts  as  Export  Hubs  is  an  initiative  and  the  Directorate  does  not maintain specific export growth data to measure the direct impact of the export promotion efforts under this initiative.

(g) As  DEH has been running as an initiative the question of monitoring the performance of districts under this scheme does not arise

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