New Delhi: Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal has called for a major push to expand India’s economy and boost job creation through increased exports, stressing stronger collaboration between the Centre and the states to drive export diversification and growth.
Chairing the fourth meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade (BoT) in New Delhi, he said India had demonstrated resilient economic performance despite global volatility and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to accelerating exports.
Goyal announced that the newly-launched Export Promotion Mission will include targeted schemes to support landlocked states in enhancing export competitiveness, with the commerce ministry working closely with relevant agencies to identify timely solutions to emerging challenges. Highlighting the importance of quality assurance, he said India’s reputation as a reliable exporter depends on maintaining the highest standards across all products and consignments to strengthen global confidence.
The minister urged states to share best practices — especially in ease of doing business and single window systems — to encourage efficiency, healthy competition and improved facilitation for exporters. Reviewing progress on earlier initiatives, Goyal reported rapid expansion of the Trade Connect ePlatform, launched in September 2024, which integrates services from multiple institutions and has recorded over 62 lakh visits and 18 lakh registered users, along with major gains in digital ‘certificates of origin’ and MSME support tools. He also highlighted a 96% grievance-closure rate through the Jan Sunwai video-conferencing module.
Goyal noted that the extension of the RoDTEP scheme until March 31, 2026 gives predictability to exporters and said India’s trade diplomacy had advanced significantly with key FTAs concluded in the past two years, including the India-EFTA TEPA and the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The Export Promotion Mission, he added, will create a system-driven framework linking government, industry and academia for long-term export growth.
Senior officials echoed the focus on digital reforms. Commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal stressed the need to strengthen last-mile connectivity between exporters and government systems, while DGFT Ajay Bhadoo underlined efforts to make all trade-facilitation services paperless, particularly through the Trade Connect ePlatform and digital certificates of origin, to reduce costs and help MSMEs tap opportunities from FTAs and shifting global demand.