Assistance to the States for Devlopment of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities Scheme

ASIDE stands for Assistance to the States for Development of Export Infrastructure and other activities.

"Exports have come to be regarded as an engine of economic growth in the wake of liberalisation and infrastructural reforms in the Indian economy"

A sustained growth in export is however not possible in the absence of proper and adequate infrastructure, as adequate and reliable infrastructure is essential to facilitate unhindered production, cut down the cost of production and made our exports internationally competitive. The role of the State government is critical from the point of view of boosting production of exportable surplus, providing the infrastructural facilities such as land, power, water, roads, connectivity, pollution control measures and a conducive regulatory environment for the production of goods and services. It is therefore, felt that coordinated efforts by the governments are  necessary for the development of infrastructure for exports promotion.

 The objective of the scheme is to involve the states in the export effort by providing assistance to the State Governments for creating appropriate infrastructure for the development and growth of exports. The states do not often have adequate resources to participate in funding of infrastructure for exports. The proposed scheme, therefore, intends to establish a mechanism for seeking the involvement of the State Government in such efforts through assistance linked to export performance.

The scheme shall provide an outlay for development of export infrastructure which will be distributed to the states according to a predefined criteria. The existing EPIP, EPZ, CIB schemes shall be merged with the new scheme. The scheme for Export Development Fund (EDF) for the North-East and Sikkim shall also stand merged with new scheme. After the merger of the schemes in respect of EPIP, EPZ, CIB and EDF for NER and Sikkim with the new scheme, the ongoing projects under the scheme shall be funded by the states from the

resources provided under the new scheme.