Feisty businessman Rajiv Bajaj had another go at the Modi government on Wednesday — this time over the withdrawal of export incentives.

Bajaj had earlier strafed the present regime for their policies on the lockdown, saying they had flattened the wrong curve of GDP.

The latest jab came in an interview with a television channel with his claim that his company Bajaj Auto has lost Rs 300 crore because of the withdrawal of incentives under the government’s MEIS scheme.

“The government should provide export incentives to businesses that have scale to become global players," the managing director of Bajaj Auto said, while making an uncharacteristic self-serving plea.

Bajaj, however, welcomed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s observation on Tuesday at a CII event that 28 per cent GST rate on two-wheelers may be brought down, possibly to 18 per cent. Bajaj said this would reduce the price of motorbikes and scooters by Rs 8,000-10,000 per unit.

He was, however, scathing in his criticism of the merchandise export of India scheme (MEIS).

Government data showed that the auto and the pharma sectors have been the major beneficiaries of the scheme, with Bajaj Auto the third biggest beneficiary in 2017-18.

The top 10 companies that have obtained maximum disbursals during 2017-18 include JSW Steel (Rs 301.5 crore), Ford India (Rs 272.8 crore), Bajaj Auto (Rs 246.5 crore), Dr Reddys Lab (Rs 240.6 crore), Aurobindo Pharma (Rs 211.3 crore), Mylan Lab (Rs 192.9 crore), Hyundai Motor India (Rs 189.3 crore), Vedanta (Rs 180 crore), Lupin (Rs 155 crore), and Nissan Motor India (Rs 150 crore).

Under MEIS, the government provides duty benefits depending on product and country.

Rewards under the scheme are payable as a percentage of realised free-on-board value and the MEIS duty credit scrip can be transferred or used for payment of a number of duties, including the basic customs duty.

The cash-strapped finance ministry has decided to limit benefits to Rs 9,000 crore under it during April to December 2020.

The government data showed that in 2017-18, it had disbursed about Rs 31,000 crore to exporters under the scheme, which increased to Rs 34,750 crore a year later.

However, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on July 23, blocked the MEIS module from accepting new applications for shipping bills.