Calcutta, Jan. 12: The ministry of commerce and industry will soon approve the project proposals submitted by the Bengal government.

?We have been assessing the proposals. Some of these are in the pipeline, the approvals of which will be given soon, Union commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said at a function organised by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC).

The projects are related to leather complex, vegetable and flower exports, regulatory market for the northeast zone and industrial clusters, said Nath. The total outlay will be around Rs 200 crore.

On exports, Nath said, ?In the next fiscal, we will exceed the set target based on the robust growth which we are experiencing in the current year. By the end of the fiscal, we will achieve an export figure of $70 billion.?

Nath said despite an appreciating rupee and rising petroleum prices, India has been able to achieve around 25 per cent growth in exports. A similar pace should be sustained in the next fiscal also, he added.

In the first nine months of 2004-05, India?s exports crossed $53 billion, a growth of more than 23 per cent over the previous year.

Gems and jewellery, engineering goods, ores and minerals, project goods, tea, textiles and leather goods are showing high growth.

The government has fixed an export target of $88 billion for the next fiscal, $104 billion for 2006-07, $125 billion for 2007-08 and $150 billion for 2008-09.

?The economy has witnessed a paradigm shift in the post-liberalisation era. The mindset of people also need to change suitably,? said Nath.

He said earlier it was the onus of the government to bring about a radical change and provide for R&D in an industry. But, with the change in the economy, industries should undertake such activities themselves and organisations like EEPC should assist them.