PROJECT EXPORTS

Project Exports from India commenced with a modest beginning in the late 1970s. The nature of Project
Exports being undertaken reflects the technological maturity and industrial capabilities in the country.
Project exports are broadly divided into four categories:

Civil construction projects

Construction projects involve civil works, steel structural work, erection of utility equipment and include
projects for building dams, bridges, airports, railway lines, roads and bridges, apartments, office
complexes, hospitals, hotels, and desalination plants.

Turnkey projects

Turnkey projects involve supply of equipment along with related services and cover activities from the
conception stage to the commissioning of a project.

Consultancy services

Services contracts, involving provision of know-how, skills, personnel and training are categorised as
consultancy projects. Typical examples of services contracts are: project implementation services,
management contracts for industrial plants, hospitals, hotels.

Supply contracts

Supply contracts involve primarily export of capital goods and industrial manufactures. Typical examples
of supply contracts are: supply of stainless steel slabs, diesel generators, pumps and compressors.

Role of EXIM Bank

Project export contracts are generally of high value and exporters undertaking them are required to offer
competitive credit terms to be able to secure orders from foreign buyers in the face of stiff international
competition. Exim Bank plays a pivotal role in promoting and financing Indian companies in the execution
of projects. It has been closely associated with the growth of project exports from India by way of
providing finance, information and business advisory services. The bank supports Indian companies at all
stages of the project cycle from advance tender information, guidance in preparation of competitive bids
to providing financial facilities, including loans and guarantees. It extends funded and non-funded facilities
for overseas industrial turnkey projects, civil construction contracts, as well as technical and consultancy
service contracts. Exim Bank has in place a specialised cell to provide advance information to Indian
companies on projects being funded by multilateral funding agencies in various countries.

Over the past two decades, increasing number of projects have been executed by Indian companies in
North Africa, West Asia, South & South East Asia, CIS and Latin America. Destination of project exports
has undergone a change between 1999-00 and 2004-05, with the share of West Asia increasing from
28.4 per cent to 63.9 per cent, North Africa increasing from 9.1 per cent to 28.5 per cent, South Asia
falling from 41.5 per cent to 5.7 per cent, and South East Asia falling from 15.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent. In
2004-05, turnkey contracts had the major share (57.2 per cent), followed by construction contracts (36.4
per cent), and consultancy contracts (6.4 per cent).

RBI Rules

The Reserve Bank of India has simplified the procedures for project and service exports, such as
deployment of temporary cash surpluses and inter-project transfer of machinery and funds. Exporters will
now be allowed to use the machinery or equipment used for a turnkey or construction abroad, for
executing a contract in another country. Currently, exporters are required to dispose of the equipment,
machinery, vehicles purchased abroad or arrange their import into India after completion of the contracts.
If it has to be used for another overseas project, the market value should be recovered from the second
project.

Under the modified procedures, the RBI has permitted exporters to deploy their temporary cash
surpluses, generated outside India, in instruments such as deposits with overseas branches or
subsidiaries of a bank in India, a triple `A' rate short term paper abroad, including treasury bills and other
monetary instruments with a maturity or remaining maturity of one year or less

The apex bank has also permitted exporters to open, maintain and operate one or more foreign currency
account in a currency of their choice with inter-project transferability of funds in any currency or country.

PROJECT EPC – ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES:

• acts as the co-ordinating agency to facilitate quantum increase in project exports
• regularly collects, collates and disseminates technical and other information pertaining to
overseas markets and new project possibilities world-wide to member companies through
monthly magazine : GPO (Global Project Opportunities)
• joint ventures, technical collaborations & strategic alliances
• disseminating market information, trends & policy implications and publishing information on
commercial, technical and technological developments pertaining to project exports sector
• participating in major International fairs & specialized trade shows across the globe, organizing
buyer-seller meets in India and abroad besides B2B meets in focus countries
• offering technical, marketing & export assistance to Indian exporters
• inviting key resource personnel for fairs, seminars and lectures for exchange of information,
knowledge, ideas and strategies
• serving as a focal point between the government and the industry members, while focusing on
the overall growth and development of the Indian project exports sector

• co-ordinating the promotion of technical and/or economic co-operation between Indian project
exporters and foreign companies
a) by promoting technology transfer especially in sophisticated technology fields which would
encourage Indian companies to jointly bid for mega projects
b) by assisting in formation of consortia and/or joint venture arrangements to facilitate bidding for
or executing large projects

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