The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organised a stakeholder workshop on Ease of Doing Business, Free Trade Agreement opportunities and ongoing trade-related reforms at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, today, followed by an interactive session with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Jitin Prasada.

During the interaction, Shri Goyal outlined the Government’s approach to strengthening export facilitation through physical and digital mechanisms. He said that instead of establishing separate offices of every department in every location, integrated Commerce and Industry offices are envisaged in major cities to provide businesses with a common point of access to multiple departments and agencies.

He had a frank interaction with industry representatives and directed officials to examine some of the suggestions made by industry.

The interaction was the first such interaction with a regional industry association.

The roller chain and industrial components manufacturing sector highlighted the positive impact of recent policy interventions in strengthening domestic manufacturing. The industry reported that measures including Quality Control Orders (QCOs), Minimum Import Price (MIP) provisions and higher import duties have supported significant growth in the sector, contributing to a 15-fold expansion, fresh investments of approximately ₹500 crore and the generation of around 5,000 new jobs. The industry appreciated these interventions for supporting domestic manufacturing capacity, encouraging investment and creating employment opportunities.

The Minister also announced a proposed network of approximately 1,000 trained local personnel, with knowledge of regional languages, to support exporters and prospective exporters at the district and State levels. These personnel would be trained and subsequently deployed to provide handholding support to businesses, including through industry chambers and regional associations.

Shri Goyal also informed participants about the Trade Connect platform being developed to provide exporters with product-wise and HSN-code-wise information, including destination-country tariffs, FTA opportunities and procedures for availing FTA benefits. The platform is also envisaged to use digital and AI-enabled tools to help businesses identify potential export opportunities and infrastructure gaps.

The workshop brought together representatives from industry associations, trade bodies and sectoral organisations, along with senior officials of DPIIT and the Department of Commerce. Discussions focused on ongoing EoDB reforms, trade facilitation measures, opportunities under India’s FTAs and challenges faced by industry in accessing markets and navigating regulatory and procedural requirements.

Presentations by DPIIT officials covered key initiatives relating to Startup India, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), investment facilitation, the National Single Window System, industrial infrastructure and reforms relating to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). The presentations highlighted measures relating to simplification and rationalisation of regulatory processes, digitalisation, reduction of compliance burden and improvement in approval and service delivery mechanisms.

A dedicated session on recent FTAs and trade facilitation reforms provided industry with an overview of opportunities and obligations arising from India’s trade agreements. The session also covered ongoing measures relating to digitalisation, documentation and simplification of trade-related processes and procedures.

Representatives from sectors including pharmaceuticals, textiles, man-made fibres, copper, automotive and engineering, air-conditioners and logistics, along with MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, raised issues relating to export competitiveness, trade documentation, regulatory processes, FTA utilisation, logistics, domestic supply chains, standards and testing infrastructure and regulatory certainty.

Industry representatives highlighted the need for greater interoperability between government systems and foreign trade platforms, including digital transmission and verification of Certificates of Origin under FTAs. The proposal to extend such electronic processes to other FTA partners was noted for examination. Industry also highlighted the need for further integration of the export cycle involving the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Customs, banks and other stakeholders.

The interaction also covered logistics and trade-process bottlenecks, including documentation backlogs and concerns relating to sea-freight costs. Sector-specific issues relating to rules of origin and imports, export quality and regulatory processes, import competition, testing and certification infrastructure, and regulatory certainty for MSMEs were also raised.

The importance of quality and adherence to international standards for strengthening India’s export credibility was also emphasised. Industry associations and Export Promotion Councils were encouraged to support awareness and compliance with destination-market standards and assist in identifying instances of fraudulent, substandard or non-compliant manufacturing for appropriate regulatory action.

The interaction reaffirmed the Government’s emphasis on Government–Industry partnership in addressing practical barriers to trade, strengthening domestic manufacturing and supply chains, and facilitating greater participation of Indian enterprises in global markets.

The workshop was part of the Government’s continuing efforts to strengthen the Ease of Doing Business framework, facilitate trade and enable Indian industry to effectively utilise opportunities arising from India’s expanding network of Free Trade Agreements.

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Abhishek Dayal/Abhijith Narayanan/Anushka Pandey

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