Govt working on ePlatform to facilitate international trade

The commerce ministry has commenced work on a Trade Connect ePlatform that will act as an intermediary connecting Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade, union minister of commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food and public distribution and textiles, Piyush Goyal, said on Tuesday.

Chairing the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade held at Bharat Mandapam in the capital, Goyal said the ePlatform is expected to be ready in 3-4 months’ time.

The ePlatform will help new and aspiring exporters by providing information on various regulations relating to markets, sectors, export trends, benefits under Free Trade Agreements and, sector specific events along with a facility to address trade related queries to government officials and associated entities. 

Goyal said the Board of Trade meeting itself provides an opportunity to deliberate on the key issues, including how to leverage the FTAs tour benefit, how to encourage the Startups/MSMEs to go beyond borders and start exporting, boosting exports also from the services sector which remains a key driver of export growth.

He said internationalization of goods and services will help in improving the quality of the products while and also bringing in economies of scale. Exports, he said, should become a people’s movement with the states, the centre and the industry playing the role of facilitators.

States, he said, should play a play a pro-active role in order to achieve higher exports and contribute to nation building. He also assured to address all the issues raised by the participants and consider all suggestions made by them at the meeting.

While talking about the potential of service exports, the minister emphasised that education, tourism and audio-visual services are areas with huge potential.

The Board of Trade meeting focused on reviewing the export performance against the backdrop of the $2 trillion export target for year 2030. The meeting discussed the priorities identified in the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and the strategies and measures to be adopted in order to take forward the export growth. 

The reconstituted Board of Trade provides a platform to the state governments and union territories for sharing local perspectives on exports, while acting as a platform for the central government to pass on information on international developments affecting India’s trade and the role states and UTs can play. 

The Board of Trade is also an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations and export promotion councils. 

The 29 non-official members also participated in the Board of Trade meeting.