Shri Piyush Goyal and H.E. Don Farrell, Minister of Trade and Tourism of Australia discuss IndAus ECTA (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement)

Nov 1, 2022 | Business


Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal in a virtual meeting with H.E. Don Farrell, Minister of Trade and Tourism, Government of Australia noted that the early implementation of IndAus ECTA is in the best interest of both the countries. Meeting was held to discuss the status of ratification of IndAus ECTA (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement), its early implementation and to deliberate upon way forward for a comprehensive IndAus ECTA.


During the meeting both the delegations reviewed and appreciated the progress made in ratification of the IndAus ECTA, which was signed on 22nd April, 2022.  


The Australian Minister informed that the IndAus ECTA as well as the amendments to the domestic regulation of Australia for resolving the issues related to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) had been introduced in the Australia Parliament and likely to be ratified shortly after the Joint Standing Committee on Treaty submits its report to the Australian Parliament. He further mentioned that the processes related to the ratification of the agreement will be completed in the following weeks.


Both the parties acknowledged the importance of initiating discussions for the comprehensive IndAus ECTA, as agreed under IndAus ECTA signed on 2nd April, 2022. 


They agreed to hold the annual Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting sometime early next year. In the meantime, experts from both the sides will have their first round of discussions, which will lay a roadmap for the Joint Ministerial Commission meeting.


Delegations noted that both nations share a special partnership based on mutual values of pluralistic parliamentary democracies, expanding economic strategic engagement and long-standing people to people ties. 


Meeting concluded with both the parties acknowledging the need to redefine their economic relations exploring the opportunities offered in trade and investment.




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Shri Piyush Goyal chairs the first meeting of the newly reconstituted Board of Trade

Sep 14, 2022 | Business


Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that exports have been one of the most defining features of the government’s efforts to make India a developed country by 2047, a vision articulated by PM Shri Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address to the nation this year. Shri Goyal said this in his opening remarks at the meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade in New Delhi.


The Minister said that global confidence in India’s prospects for growth were truly immense and called on the domestic industry to overcome all weaknesses when it comes to grabbing the plethora of growth opportunities available to the nation. The world is already looking at India as a super power, he added.


Shri Goyal highlighted that in the last few years there has been an attempt for foundational transformation in India which has hastened India’s march to be a developed nation. Calling for transparent, consistent, honest policies, the Minister said that government’s policies must be robust enough to deliver what was promised to the people.


Shri Goyal also spoke of the need to find ways to encourage people to comply and bring in transparency and ease of doing business. India should become an honest country, he added. Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Goyal announced that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will release the Logistics Policy on 17th September.


Stating that Trade is a strong pillar to achieve the five vows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of on 15th August, Shri Goyal expressed confidence that today’s meeting reflects the collective belief of all of us in working towards achieving a developed India.



Shri Goyal stressed on the need to enter into more FTAs with developed nations. He urged participants of the Board of Trade meeting to focus on the possibilities each sector has in FTAs.



Concluding his address, Shri Goyal said all the issues raised by the participants will be addressed and the suggestions made by them in the Meeting today will be considered.   


The Board of Trade meeting focused on export target setting, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) (2022-27), and the strategies and measures to be taken in order to take forward domestic manufacturing and exports. Board of Trade (BOT) has been constituted by merging Council for Trade Development and Promotion with Board of Trade vide notification No. 11/2015-20 dt 17th July 2019.  The Board of Trade, inter alia, advises the Government on policy measures connected with the Foreign Trade Policy in order to achieve the objectives of boosting India’s trade.


It provides a platform to state governments and UTs for articulating state-oriented perspectives on Trade Policy. It also acts as a platform to Government of India for appraising State Governments and UTs about international developments affecting India’s trade. It is an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations, export promotion councils, and state and UT governments.


There were 29 new non-official members who were also invited for the first time in this Board of Trade meeting.


During the Board of Trade meeting, presentations were made on a variety of subjects such as India’s Import/ Export Performance, restructuring of the Department of Commerce, FTAs and way forward, States export performance, District as Export Hubs, new proposed Foreign Trade Policy, trade remedial, trade facilitation measures undertaken by customs, Government e-Marketplace etc.


Ministers from states made interventions in the meeting, giving their state-specific suggestions, and also expressed their support to the central government initiatives in promoting the external trade.


The inaugural ceremony saw the participation of Ministers of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash and Ms. Anupriya Patel, Commerce Secretary, Shri BVR Subrahmanyam, Revenue Secretary, Shri Tarun Bajaj, Director General of Foreign Trade, Shri Santosh Sarangi, Secretary Dpt of Financial Services, Sanjay Malhotra, Member Customs, Rajiv Talwar and other senior officials and members of Indian industry.


The meeting was attended by Various State Ministers and other senior officials of key line ministries and States, all major trade and industry bodies, Export Promotion Councils and industry associations.




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Shri Piyush Goyal to visit San Francisco and Los Angeles from 5-10 September to attend the first ever in-person Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)

Sep 2, 2022 | Business


The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal will visit San Francisco and Los Angeles in the United States of America from 5th to 10th September 2022 to attend the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum conference and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial meeting. He will also interact with eminent business persons, US officials  and industry leaders during the visit to fortify the partnership between the two nations and strengthen trade and economic ties.



India and the United States (US) enjoy a comprehensive global strategic partnership covering almost all areas of human endeavor, driven by shared democratic values, convergence of interests on a range of issues, and vibrant people-to-people contacts. Regular exchanges at the leadership-level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. The outcomes emerging from these visits have been instrumental in further strengthening the multifaceted ties between the two countries.



The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) was launched jointly by USA and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022 at Tokyo. India joined the IPEF and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the launch event along with US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and other leaders from partner countries. Previously, virtual Ministerial Meetings were held immediately after the launch on May 23 and thereafter from July 26-27, 2022.



The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partner countries with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chains (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Pillar IV).  The meet would focus on strengthening economic cooperation and enhancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.



India is committed to a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific Region and would work towards deepening economic cooperation among partners for growth and prosperity of the region. The framework is inclusive and allows flexibility to partner countries to associate with pillars based on their respective priorities.



The Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with US Secretary of Commerce, USTR and Ministers from other IPEF partner countries on the sidelines of the IPEF Ministerial.



During the visit, the Minister would interact with the CEOs of multinationals, Indian diaspora, startup community including venture capitalists and academia to propel existing trade and investment relations between Indian and US business communities. The visit would focus upon emphasizing the attractiveness of India as the most preferred investment destination with a number of government interventions such as Gati-shakti, Startup India, Investment Corridors, measures undertaken for ease of doing business and improving investment climate.



Shri Goyal will hold discussions upon the need and potential for closer industrial collaborations and further expand partnerships and establish trade and investment linkages across priority areas. Curated interactions with the startup ecosystem and the Indian diaspora that would help in empowering and mentoring their growth and expansion are also on the agenda. The Minister will also launch Institute of Chartered Accounts of India’s (ICAI) representative offices in USA



Shri Goyal is expected to interact with globally renowned technology, entrepreneurship, and academic communities in the Bay Area, specifically, in the Silicon Valley to undertake focused discussions with American companies looking to invest or expand in India across sectors – Electronics (including Semiconductor), Technology, FinTech etc.



The Minister is to engage with the vibrant Startup community in San Francisco to explore greater partnerships with the Indian startup ecosystem, mobilize global capital for India’s domestic markets, and encourage mentorships by experienced global business leaders for Indian entrepreneurs.




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Shri Piyush Goyal reviews the progress of Government e Marketplace

Aug 28, 2022 | Business


Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles,  Shri Piyush Goyal, reviewed the progress of Government e Marketplace (GeM).




Among many other things, various functionalities of GeM, as well as timeliness in procurement and delivery were reviewed in detail. It was noted that more than 95% of all the physical order deliveries since Apr’22 happened on time, in cases where online fulfillment and payment was done via GeM.


While consistent improvement was observed in the on-time delivery across all transaction types (Direct Purchase, L1, Bids / Reverse auctions) via GeM, the Minister shared specific suggestions to revise thresholds and add features to further accelerate delivery timelines as well as provide more flexibility to government buyers to choose products as per their delivery needs.


Shri Goyal suggested bringing in end to end online fulfillment and payment for all transactions by buyers on GeM and to improve monitoring of delivery against timelines.



The Minister also emphasized on the need to bring all public procurement on the completely online and transparent portal viz GeM for achieving  economies of scale and bringing about Social Inclusiveness by promoting Micro and Small Enterprises.


GeM’s initiatives for tight monitoring and anomaly detection in procurement, including use of AI-ML to detect and report potential collusion and fraud were reviewed. Shri Goyal suggested strong legal and punitive actions against buyers and suppliers against such activities.


In addition to detecting anomalies, GeM also plans to use AI-ML to make proactive feature simplifications and product suggestions to buyers to ensure informed decision making and savings in public spendings.


Significant technical upgrades have been planned by GeM to enable cutting edge use cases and improve user experience on the platform. Several other initiatives by GeM, including MSME inclusion and Har Ghar Tiranga campaign were appreciated by the Minister.


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Shri Piyush Goyal interacts with Export Promotion Councils and representatives of Industry associations, stresses on a ‘Whole of Govt’ approach to boost exports

Aug 6, 2022 | Business


Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile Shri Piyush Goyal reviewed the Export scenario in his interaction with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and representatives of Industry associations at New Delhi today.


Shri Goyal emphasized on a ‘Whole of Govt’ approach to boost exports. The Minister said this would require exporters, EPCs, Govt Agencies & Indian Missions abroad to work together.


Recognizing the crucial role played by EPCs and Industry, Shri Goyal remarked that EPCs & Industry Associations are key to realise “Local goes Global: India makes for the World”.


Speaking to EPCs and Industry representatives, Minister stated that the ball is in our court and we have to be ready to take on global competition. He said that Government is doing its best through various measures to support Indian exporters to compete globally. Enumerating initiatives taken, he highlighted that with Gati Shakti, government is improving connectivity and logistics. Government is also negotiating to sign more FTAs with important trade partners. This will have a direct impact in providing a level playing field in international markets, he added. He emphasized that everybody will have to work hard to achieve true potential of India in terms of global trade.   


Expressing confidence that we are on track to meet expectations of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Goyal said that the country touched highest ever merchandise exports of $ 422 billion and all-time total exports of $ 667 billion – an increase of 34.5% over FY 21. By July’22, exports have reached $156 bn (19% higher) – Engineering goods exports $38 bn (8% higher); Readymade garment (22% higher). Agri exports grew by almost 20% till July’22, driven by rice, marine products & sugar.


Stating that the Government has been increasing its international engagement, the Minister underlined the importance of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). In this context, he urged the industry representatives to study FTAs and identify the areas which have competitive advantage. He hoped for an agreement on a multidimensional partnership with UK this year.  Minister also appealed to representatives from the industry to take advantage of PM Gati Shakti, PLI, NSWS, EoDB reforms to improve export competitiveness wrt to other manufacturing powerhouses. 


Har Ghar Tiranga campaign–


Commerce and Industry Minister urged all the stakeholders in the export ecosystem to take the message of Har Ghar Tiranga to every nook and corner of the country. He urged industry to unite and work together to keep our flag flying high and make this campaign a grand success. Textile Secretary Shri U P Singh informed that the Ministry is working with a select group of private companies to supply 6 crore flags to state governments and Department of Post by 12th August. He said 5.12 crore flags have already been produced.


One District One Product (ODOP)


During the interaction today, Minister launched the ODOP catalogue of over 300 products. He appealed to the people to use ODOP portal and buy products from there. This will directly help Indian artisans and families and also help revive dying arts of India. He mentioned that PM has repeatedly asked the nations to use these ODOP products as festival gifts and cooperate gifts, and PM himself uses these products for gifting purposes.


Master Database of all Associations/EPCs– Shri Goyal asked all stakeholders to prepare a database of the industry associations/EPCs over the country along with their members, employees & other basic details. 


Presentation was made on National Single window system. This scheme is being run by Ministry of Commerce and Industry to facilitate ease of doing business. Since its inception last year, 10k approvals have already been given under it.


In his initial presentation Commerce Secretary Shri B V R Subramanyam said that all stakeholders in the export ecosystem worked really hard last year and achieved the target 9 days ahead of scheduled end of the year. He said that everyone will have to contribute to keep the momentum going.


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