Work on Trade Connect ePlatform to start soon: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal

Union Minister for Commerce Piyush Goyal said the work on the Trade Connect ePlatform—the intermediary platform that aims to facilitate connections between Indian exporters and entrepreneurs and various international trade stakeholders—will start soon.

Addressing the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade, the minister said the platform is expected to be operational within the next three to four months and will enhance collaboration and streamline trade processes.

"The ePlatform is expected to provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, easy access of benefits under free trade agreements (FTAs), access to sector-specific events, along with a facility to address trade-related queries to officials in Government of India and associated entities to get expert advice," a statement read.

The minister stressed the need to internationalise goods and services to help improve the quality of the products and also to have economies of scale. He assured that concerns raised by participants would be addressed, and suggestions from the meeting would be taken into consideration.

The Board of Trade meeting discussed key issues, including how to leverage FTAs, ways to encourage startups and MSMEs to go beyond borders and start exporting, and boosting exports from the services sector, which remains a key driver of export growth for the country.

The meeting focused on reviewing export performance to achieve the $2-trillion export target for 2030, the priorities identified in the new Foreign Trade Policy 2023, and the strategies and measures to be adopted to take export growth forward. 

Presentations were made on a variety of subjects such as India’s import/export performance, state export performance, PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan Multimodal Connectivity, leveraging FTAs for boosting export growth, foreign trade vision, trade facilitation measures undertaken by customs, convergence and expansion of Government e-Marketplace, reforms in the Indian patent system, and intervention to boost pharma exports.