All Commodity Boards which are made EPCs by including them in Appendix-2 are needier ones where exports is a side job, while EPCs are high profile and prosperous EPCs whose top office bearers rub shoulder with the Prime Minister and with ministers of Finance, Commerce, External Affairs, etc. When I was the Export Promotion Advisor of Coir Board, coir exports was stagnating, did not have a godfather in Delhi, its dominance presence was in the State of Kerala. All these were disadvantages. But there was Hon'ble Jairam Ramesh, who helped Coir industry by including it in all the Schems of Foreign Trade Policy, he helped us to conduct a reverse Foreign Coir exhibition by granting funds from Market Access Initiative Scheme and getting us promoters, for the first time, the Chairman, Coir Board (the only commodity Board) was made a member of the high profile Board of Trade, etc. It was largely due to him that the Central Government gave us Rs 99 Cr as subsidy in the Rs 243 Cr Rejuvenation, Modernization and Technology Upgradation Scheme. He was the person who taught CB to make export a catalyst to soical change. His comitment to Coconut sector was similar. Cashew, Marine products, Spices, Rubber,Tea, Coffee were the other sectors for which he extended considerable help. He was there every Saturday morning in Kerala. His commitment to Kerala sectors knew no bounds. I have always met him whenever I have travelled to Delhi with a handful of problems and found solutions because of him.
