Government widens scope of Transport and Marketing Assistance scheme, adds dairy products

The government on Friday widened the scope of the Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agriculture products by including dairy products in its purview and increasing the rates of assistance.

Enhanced assistance under the revised scheme is expected to help Indian exporters of agricultural products to meet rising freight and logistics costs, the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. Under the TMA, the government reimburses a certain portion of freight charges and provides assistance for the marketing of agricultural produce. It was launched in 2019 to boost exports of such commodities to certain countries in Europe and North America.

The scheme has been extended till March 31, 2022.


“Now the Department of Commerce has notified revised TMA for specified agriculture products scheme for exports effected on or after April 1, 2021 up to March 31, 2022. The existing scheme will remain in operation for exports effected up to March 31, 2021,” the ministry said.

Dairy products, which were not covered under the earlier scheme, will now be eligible for assistance, it said adding that rates of assistance have been increased, by 50% for exports by sea and 100% through the air.

The scheme was introduced to provide assistance for the international component of freight, to mitigate disadvantage of higher freight costs faced by the Indian exporters of agriculture products.

It was initially applicable for exports effected during March 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 and was later extended up to March 31, 2021.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will shortly notify the procedure for availing assistance under the revised scheme.