Dr. Shashi Panja, Hon’ble Minister in Charge, Department of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises and Women & Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal today conferred EEPC India’s 38th & 39th Eastern Region Export Awards for the fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.
Dr Panja congratulated the winners and said that exporters from West Bengal achieved an export figure of US$3134.8 million during the financial year 2023-2024 which contributes 2.9 % to India’s Engineering Export kitty.
“The exemplary performance of the exporting community of the engineering sector in 2023-24 enabled the country to achieve an export figure of US$109.32 billion contributing 25% of total merchandise exports of US$437.06 billion. I take this opportunity to applaud the efforts of EEPC India in helping the exporters achieve this” the Minister said.
In his congratulatory message, Mr Vimal Anand, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India said that India’s engineering exports have shown remarkable resilience despite numerous global challenges during the year 2023-24 resulting in a positive cumulative export growth of 2.1%.
“The Eastern region achieved an impressive US$12.24 billion in exports of engineering products during the same period.States like Odisha and West Bengal have significantly contributed to this success, reflecting the infrastructure and innovation capabilities that have been developed in the region” he said.
In his welcome address, EEPC India Chairman Mr. Arun Kumar Garodia said that after two depressing fiscal years during the pandemic phase, engineering exports from India witnessed a remarkable comeback with an all-time high shipment of US$112.1 billion and the support from the government was exemplary.
“After a marginal decline in 2022-23, engineering shipment from India again increased in 2023-24 to US$ 109.3 billion and this growth story continued during the first quarter of the current fiscal. EEPC is once again taking a lead role in raising the brand value of Indian engineering before the world,” Mr Garodia said.
He stated that the Eastern region, led by Orissa and West Bengal, is an important contributor in Indian engineering exports with over 10 percent share and holds the potential to contribute more in future.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. B. D. Agarwal, Regional Chairman (ER), EEPC India said, “There has been steady increase in engineering exports due to the efforts of our member exporters from US$75.3 billion in 2019-20 to reach US$ 109.32 billion during last financial year 2023-24, registering a growth rate of 45% percent in last five years.”
Mr Adhip Mitra, Executive Director & Secretary, EEPC India congratulated all 67 award winners from the Eastern Region under various categories for fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 .
He noted, “It was not an easy milestone to achieve as the two aforesaid fiscal years saw unprecedented headwinds in global economic activities due to the emergence of COVID-19. However, our members were brave enough to combat all the adversities and delivered the best possible results.”
