Ministry of Commerce Workshop on Trade Reforms and FTA Opportunities
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organized a stakeholder workshop on Ease of Doing Business, Free Trade Agreement opportunities, and ongoing trade-related reforms at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on September 22, 2026. The event featured an interactive session with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Shri Jitin Prasada, along with representatives from industry associations, trade bodies, sectoral organizations, and senior officials from DPIIT and the Department of Commerce.
Key Government Initiatives Announced
Minister Goyal outlined the government's approach to strengthening export facilitation through both physical and digital mechanisms. He announced plans for integrated Commerce and Industry offices in major cities to provide businesses with a common point of access to multiple departments and agencies, eliminating the need for separate offices of every department in every location. Additionally, a network of approximately 1,000 trained local personnel with knowledge of regional languages is proposed to support exporters and prospective exporters at the district and State levels through industry chambers and regional associations.
A significant digital initiative announced was the Trade Connect platform, which is 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 will utilize digital and AI-enabled tools to help businesses identify potential export opportunities and infrastructure gaps.
Sector-Specific Impact and Industry Feedback
The roller chain and industrial components manufacturing sector reported substantial benefits from recent policy interventions, including a 15-fold expansion in the sector, fresh investments of approximately ₹500 crore, and the generation of around 5,000 new jobs. They attributed this growth to measures including Quality Control Orders (QCOs), Minimum Import Price (MIP) provisions, and higher import duties that have supported domestic manufacturing capacity.
Representatives from various sectors including pharmaceuticals, textiles, man-made fibres, copper, automotive and engineering, air-conditioners, logistics, MSMEs, and women entrepreneurs raised multiple issues. These included concerns about export competitiveness, trade documentation, regulatory processes, FTA utilization, logistics bottlenecks, domestic supply chains, standards and testing infrastructure, and regulatory certainty.
Industry specifically highlighted the need for greater interoperability between government systems and foreign trade platforms, including digital transmission and verification of Certificates of Origin under FTAs. They proposed extending such electronic processes to other FTA partners and called for further integration of the export cycle involving the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Customs, banks, and other stakeholders.
Workshop Content and Government Presentations
DPIIT officials presented 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). These presentations highlighted measures for simplification and rationalization of regulatory processes, digitalization, 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, covering ongoing measures relating to digitalization, documentation, and simplification of trade-related processes and procedures.
The workshop emphasized the importance of quality and adherence to international standards for strengthening India's export credibility, with industry associations and Export Promotion Councils encouraged to support awareness and compliance with destination-market standards.