Package to boost sagging exports
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 5 — The Commerce Minister, Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, today announced in the Lok Sabha a package of measures, including cheaper export credit, to boost sluggish exports in the country.

Under the package, finalised in consultation with the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the rate of interest on pre- shipment credit and post-shipment has been slashed by 2 per cent. Exporters will now have to pay 9 per cent in place of 11 per cent. The lower interest rates will, however, be applicable only till the end of March 1999, as according to Mr Hegde it is only a "special temporary facility."

The new package comes at a time when the country’s export performance in the first quarter of this financial year has shown an 8 per cent negative growth in dollar terms. The trade deficit has widened to $ 2100 million during the period as against $ 1400 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In a bid to avoid harassment to exporters, the government has decided to pay interest to exporters if the government dues by way of duty drawback or refund of terminal excise duty were delayed beyond two months. This would come into operation from September 1 and prescribed documents have to be furnished within 15 days of export or deemed export.

In the case of duty drawback, this period would be reckoned from the date of shipping bill and in the case of terminal excise duty the period would be from the date of payment of duty.

In a bid to reduce the cost to exporters and to help augment working capital it has been decided that manufacturer-exporters with a record of specified performance and over one year of unblemished export record would be permitted the facility of legal undertakings instead of bank guarantee to the Customs as security for import of duty-free raw materials.

Exporters who are permitted to give bonds to excise and Customs bond officers would not be required hereafter to give separate bonds for fulfilment of different obligations but only a single mother bond on an annual basis which would subsume all bonds required to be given for various purposes. This would save time and expenses of the exporters, Mr Hegde said.

The minister also announced a number of promotional measures and procedural changes as suggested by exporters.

This includes extension of the tax holiday for export-oriented units (EOUs) and export processing zone units (EPZUs) from the present five years to 10 years.

Mr Hegde said the EOUs would be permitted sub-contracting facility in domestic tariff area and private software technology parks would be given the benefit of the export promotion capital goods (EPCG) scheme.

Exports through courier would be permitted from EPZs and a special package for hardware electronics would be finalised shortly, the minister said.

Bio-technology and small-scale engineering industry to be specified would also be entitled to the benefit of zero duty EPCG scheme under Rs 1 crore threshold limit.

It was also announced that manufacturer-exporters of specified turnover would hereafter be permitted clearance of goods on the basis of self-certification.

In a bid to give a boost to export of processed foods, horticultural and floricultural products, it has been decided that the duty on mobile cooling equipment and other cold chain equipment would be suitably revised to reduce the cost of such equipment.

Mr Hegde hoped that these measures would help the exporting community achieve an export growth of 20 per cent this year.

Govt to unravel 'whole truth' about Rajiv killing
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 5 — In a categorical statement of its intent, the government today said it was determined to unravel the "whole truth" about the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, including aspects of "wider conspiracy" and involvement of foreign hand in it.

The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and the Urban Affairs Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani, assured the Lok Sabha that the government would go all out to punish the culprits inside and outside the country. "We will go into the depth of it to unravel the whole truth", Mr Advani stressed.

Earlier, initiating a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Jain Commission findings on the conspiracy angle behind Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the Deputy Leader of the Congress, Mr P.Shiv Shanker, said his party had no reservation in accepting the Jain Commission report but it was not possible to accept the action taken report in any form.

Mr P. Shiv Shanker rejected the (ATR) of the Government on the findings of the Jain Commission of inquiry saying it was a political efforts to close the ranks of the ruling party and divide the Opposition.

Mr Advani assured the House that the government was committed to getting at the truth of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination and suggested that an executive body with statutory powers should be entrusted to follow up the report of the Jain Commission. Mr Advani was of the view that another judicial commission at this stage would not be useful.

In his introductory remarks, Mr Advani said the government would carry out further investigations to unravel the conspiracy behind the assassination of the Congress leader. The investigations would cover both the domestic and external angles, he added.

Mr Advani pointed out while preparing the ATR the government had ensured that it did not, in any way, upset the order of the designated court which had awarded an unprecedented capital punishment to 26 persons.

Mr Shiv Shanker, in his nearly 100-minute emotional speech, alleged that the ATR was more of an attempt by the bureaucrats to save themselves and expressed anguish over the fact that no bureaucrat had been punished or indicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

In a veiled criticism of former Prime Minister Mr P.V.Narasimha Rao, Mr Shanker said governments at the Centre after 1991 did not want the Jain Commission to find out the truth and put hurdles in its smooth functioning.

He alleged that certain forces within, including the Congress, and outside were against Rajiv Gandhi since the day he became Prime Minister and they wanted to replace him.

He said the Congress only wanted to arrive at the truth behind the assassination but the ATR did not lead it anywhere as only general observations had been made in it. He said the Jain Commission, despite doing an exemplary job, had not been able to find the other side of the dark tunnel.

He said there were several loose ends in the follow up and there was a need to go into several angles, including role of the bureaucrats, politicians, the alleged links of Godman Chandraswamy with the CIA and Mossad, and efforts by some people to wind up the Jain Commission.

He said the file regarding the winding up of the Jain Commission should be gone into.

Opposing the setting up of a multi-disciplinary monitoring agency (MDMA) under the CBI to further probe the matter, he pointed out that the CBI had not tried to investigate a single bureaucrat.

The debate generated considerable interest in the Congress circles and senior members, including Mr Arjun Singh and Mr M.L. Fotedar were seen sitting in the visitors galleries.

Mr Jethmalani, who was seen taking copious notes of Mr Shiv Shanker’s speech, assured the House that the government would sincerely probe the wider conspiracy in the assassination of the Congress leader and a possible foreign hand behind the LTTE.

He said the Ministries of External Affairs and Home and other agencies would examine the commission’s finding that involvement of a foreign hand with the LTTE in the conspiracy could not be ruled out.

He said the government would consider examining the "conflicting evidence" given by the then Prime Minister, Home Minister and Home Secretary before the Commission which he said could entail their prosecution on charges of perjury and destruction of evidence.

He defended the ATR tabled in Parliament along with the final report on July 31, and said the government had fully accepted the findings of the designated court and the commission’s report exonerating certain people, including former Prime Ministers.

Mr Jethmalani said the relaxation and withdrawal of security cover provided to Rajiv Gandhi would be one of the aspects of the probe and opined that the security cover for the former Prime Minister should never have been withdrawn.