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Unnion Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal chaired the third meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade in Mumbai on Friday.
The Board of Trade functions as a key platform for collaboration, discussion, and policy recommendations to bolster the growth of India's international trade. Bringing together representatives from the Industry Ministry, State Governments, industry stakeholders, and trade organizations, this advisory body seeks to shape a thriving trade ecosystem. Minister Goyal reaffirmed the government's commitment to drive economic growth through robust partnerships with state governments. The Minister emphasized that initiatives of the government are instrumental in guiding India towards a more transparent, efficient, and sustainable trade environment, benefiting the country's broader economic landscape. Goyal launched the Department of Commerce's Jan Sunwai Portal, designed to streamline communication between stakeholders and authorities, providing a direct and transparent channel for addressing trade and industry-related issues. This portal offers on-demand video conferencing services, in addition to fixed video conference links for regular, scheduled interactions. The portal's accessibility extends across various offices and autonomous bodies under the Department of Commerce, such as the DGFT, Coffee Board, Tea Board, Spices Board, Rubber Board, APEDA, MPEDA, ITPO, and EIC. Piyush Goyal also inaugurated ECGC's new online service portal, alongside a revamped in-house SMILE-ERP system. "These innovations mark a significant leap towards paperless processing and faceless service delivery, benefiting both exporters and banks. This transformation will not only streamline customer services but also enhance ECGC's core operational efficiency. Key outcomes include full automation of processes, business process integration, quicker claim disposals, enhanced operational control, and a meaningful reduction in the carbon footprint to support sustainability goals," the commerce ministry said. Discussions in today's meeting centered around critical initiatives aimed at fostering employment across states and enhancing the role of the Department of Commerce in promoting state-level economic growth. The session also featured interactive presentations from the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, showcasing their achievements in export promotion and ease of doing business (EODB), interventions, and ongoing state-level initiatives. Best practices for export promotion were shared across the board, providing valuable insights for peer states. The participation and suggestions from the states of Assam, Tripura, and Sikkim are expected to lead to higher export potential from the North East region. Notably, Ministers from 10 State Governments were in attendance for this important session. Secretary, Department of Commerce, Sunil Barthwal, Additional Secretary and Director General, DGFT, Santosh Sarangi and other senior officials also attended the meeting. (ANI)
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