The Italian Govt. has announced an initiative named “Misura India,” to boost trade with India. To strengthen Italian exports to India by providing subsidised export finance and other trade finance instruments, the Italian government announced this new initiative. The initiative was administered by Italian export finance agency SIMEST, which is also a part of wider push to boost Italian trade with the Global South. The Italian govt. has also sanctioned £173 million of the funds which will be used towards providing extremely subsidised export financing at a modest rate of interest rate not higher than 0.6%, mainly intended for firms entering the Indian markets or starting joint ventures in the country. The remaining £259 million will be used to expand SIMEST’s existing trade finance instruments, including guarantees, trade credit insurance, and letters of credit. This is expected to help firms which already have a small presence in India expand further and access more working capital to strengthen existing contracts.
Govt. of Italy finalised the initiative on 31st July and will be applicable from 15th of September. The announcement also included support for exporters in Africa and Latin America, with an amount of £7.1 million and £1.3 million respectively. This initiative by Italian govt. is a plan of a wider effort to boost Italy-India trade relations and access new markets for Italian goods, including high-end fashion, food, and pharmaceuticals. This announcement can be a cornerstone with Italian imports to India steadily growing since 2021. Till now 773 Italian firms have marked their presence in India out of 6,000 EU firms, a remarkable presence which is poised to grow in near future.