Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday chaired a meeting with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and industry associations to review the progress of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) and discuss measures to accelerate India’s export growth.
The meeting focused on moving beyond individual organisational concerns and adopting a coordinated strategy to expand exports, tap new markets, promote new products and enhance the contribution of EPCs to India’s overall export performance.
Goyal urged export bodies to actively engage with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and submit focused, measurable and outcome-oriented proposals. He emphasised that EPCs, as India’s interface with global markets, must work closely with the government and leverage opportunities arising from India’s trade agreements.
To improve trade facilitation and provide greater predictability to exporters, the minister announced that a tentative schedule of statutory and facilitation committee meetings has been finalised and uploaded on the DGFT website.
Under the new framework, the Norms Committee, Policy Relaxation Committee, EPCG Committee and Exim Facilitation Committees will meet fortnightly on fixed days, while the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on SCOMET will convene every month. The move is aimed at ensuring time-bound disposal of cases, reducing pendency and expediting the issuance of meeting minutes.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said the success of the Export Promotion Mission would depend on the effective utilisation of various support measures by exporters. He highlighted initiatives such as export factoring, credit guarantees for e-commerce exporters, collateral support for export credit and assistance for emerging export opportunities, and called upon EPCs and industry associations to conduct focused outreach programmes with banks and other stakeholders.
The Commerce Secretary also encouraged EPCs to develop proposals under various EPM components, including export warehousing and logistics, certification support, trade intelligence and market access. Stressing the importance of identifying new markets and leveraging opportunities under India’s Free Trade Agreements, he called for wider participation in international trade events in high-potential regions.
Highlighting the District Export Hubs initiative, Agarwal urged EPCs to nominate focal points at the national, state and district levels and work closely with District Export Promotion Committees to identify products and districts with strong export potential. He said products such as GI-tagged goods, agricultural produce and local crafts could be transformed into significant export opportunities through sustained handholding, capacity building and market linkages.
Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) officials reiterated the need for a mission-mode, partnership-driven approach to the Export Promotion Mission, with a strong focus on facilitation, measurable outcomes, district-level export promotion, e-commerce exports and encouraging young entrepreneurs to enter the export ecosystem.
Additional Director General of Foreign Trade Lokesh H.D. informed the meeting that ten interventions under the Export Promotion Mission have already been rolled out, while the branding component is currently undergoing wider stakeholder consultations. He said several refinements had been incorporated into operationalised interventions based on industry feedback, including extending interest subvention benefits to small and micro exporters on identified tariff lines.
Meanwhile, Additional DGFT Abhinav Gupta reviewed the progress of the District Export Hubs initiative and the 90-day activation drive launched on June 1. He said a detailed activity calendar had been prepared, outlining the responsibilities of central and state government agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen export promotion efforts at the district level.
