Under the Ubharte Sitaare Programme (USP), an Alternative Investment Fund, christened “Ubharte Sitaare Fund”, co-sponsored by India Exim Bank and SIDBI with a contribution of ₹ 40 crore each has been successfully registered with SEBI in July 2021. The corpus of the Fund is ₹ 250 crore with a green shoe option of ₹ 250 crore. The Fund would invest by way of equity, and equity like products in export-oriented units, both in the manufacturing and services sectors, across the country and facilitate rising stars in the export market to attain greater heights.
Speaking on the occasion, the hon’ble Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the efforts taken by the government to provide a boost to the MSME sector in the country including the launch of the Production-Linked Incentive scheme. She noted that the USF would make investments in export-oriented small and mid-sized companies by way of equity and equity-like products, and thereby help script a new paradigm of growth in exports. The initiative would play a catalytic role in contributing to the growth of the identified companies and would also have downstream benefits such as growth and diversification of India’s exports, impetus to brand India, and employment generation.
Ms.Sitharaman also released India Exim Bank’s study titled ‘Indian Sports Goods Industry: Strategies for Tapping the Export Potential’ (study and its summary attached for your perusal). As per estimates by India Exim Bank, there remains an untapped export potential of US$ 227.4 million in the sports goods industry. If realized, it could help exports from the sector reach the US$ 500 million mark and the study discusses ways to improve competitiveness of the industry.
During the event, Smt. Harsha Bangari, Deputy Managing Director, India Exim Bank, highlighted that India Exim Bank has developed a robust pipeline of over 100 potential proposals and supported several companies across a diverse range of sectors.
We have also attached the talking points by Ms. Bangari on the various facets of the Ubharte Sitaare Programme and the Fund Launch.
Also attached are the photos of the launch. Captions for the photos are:
Caption for Photo 1: Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister lighting the lamp along with Ms. Harsha Bangari, Deputy Managing Director, India Exim Bank, Shri Siddharth Nath Singh Hon’ble Minister for MSME and Export Promotion, Government of Uttar Pradesh and SIDBI’s Chairman & Managing Director, Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann
Caption for Photo 2: Exchange of agreement between Ms. Harsha Bangari, Deputy Managing Director, India Exim Bank and Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI on the launch of Ubharte Sitaare Fund in the presence of Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister and Shri Siddharth Nath Singh Hon’ble Minister for MSME and Export Promotion, Government of Uttar Pradesh
We request if you can kindly carry a story on the launch of the fund as well as on the Exim Bank study highlighting the export potential of sports goods industry in India in your esteemed publication.
About Ubharte Sitaare Programme:
Ubharte Sitaare program includes a mix of structured support, both financial and advisory services through investments in equity / equity like instruments; debt (funded and non-funded facilities); and technical assistance (including advisory services, grants and soft loans) to Indian companies. India Exim Bank and SIDBI, the two leading financial institutions, based on their extensive desk research and the outreach activities, are understood to have developed a pipeline of over 100 potential companies including those in the state of Uttar Pradesh across various sectors such as pharma, auto components, engineering solutions, agriculture, and software.