Friday, April 7 2006 16:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India's booming exports will not just earn valuable foreign exchange, but could also generate more than two crore jobs by 2009-10 across the country.

According to a study by Research & Information System for Developing Countries, released by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today, if India achieves 150 billion dollar exports target by 2009-10, total additional jobs created would be 1.36 crore.

Of this, 81.57 lakh jobs would be direct incremental employment, while 54.61 lakh jobs would be in indirect jobs created through backward linkages and in logistics.

However, if exports cross 165 billion dollars by 2009-10, 2.1 crore incremental jobs could be created. This would include 1.24 crore direct jobs and 86.32 lakh indirect jobs in export-related sectors, the RIS study projected.

The total employment in export sectors by 2009-10 would jump to 2.95 crore or 3.69 crore depending upon whether exports touch 150 billion dollar or 165 billion dollars.

"It is only with a multi-pronged, multi-dimensional efforts that we can address the massive challenge of finding jobs for millions of our unemployed youth. Export-oriented production has a huge potential for generating jobs," Nath, who released the report while announcing the annual supplement of the Foreign Trade Policy, said here.

India's exports have already crossed 100 billion dollars in 2005-06 and the government has set a target of 120 billion dollars in 2006-07. With an annual growth rate of about 25 per cent, the country's exports may well cross this target.

The study said in 2004-05, exports created 14.85 lakh incremental direct jobs. This brought the total number of jobs generated by exports to 90.06 lakh, corresponding to the 80 billion dollars of exports during 2004-05.