Date:16/06/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/06/16/stories/2005061601890700.htm

Back To manage customs stations — Govt to set up Land Port Authority

Sankar Radhakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram , June 15

THE Government of India is in the process of setting up a national Land Port Authority in the country.

This organisation will have the responsibility of managing the land customs stations in the country, said Dr Christy Fernandez, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.

The authority is likely to be under the supervision of the Department of Border Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said Dr Fernandez.

It is expected to start operations in the current financial year itself, he added.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has identified several locations in the north-eastern States as bilateral trade points.

This is as part of its `Look East' policy to revive traditional trade routes between the north-eastern States and neighbouring countries such as Myanmar.

Three such bilateral trade points — at Pangsu in Arunachal Pradesh, Moreh in Manipur and Zokhawthar in Mizoram — are being developed for trade with Myanmar, Dr Fernandez said.

The Government is also trying to develop bilateral trade points with Nepal and Bangladesh, he said.

The objective of all these initiatives is to create a market for products from the North-East, he added.

The Commerce Ministry has earmarked 10 per cent of its budget for trade development initiatives in the north-eastern States. It has also created a dedicated export development fund for the region, Dr Fernandez said.

Besides helping create the infrastructure required for exports from the North-East, this fund will also be used to provide incentives to collective export-related initiatives by people in the region, he said.

The Commerce Ministry has identified agro products and cane and bamboo handicrafts as thrust areas for exports, Dr Fernandez said.