New Delhi, September 22: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday announced a proposed network of about 1,000 trained local personnel, with knowledge of regional languages, to help exporters and would-be exporters at the district and State levels. He was speaking at a stakeholder workshop in New Delhi on Ease of Doing Business, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) opportunities and trade reforms.
The workshop, organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) at Bharat Mandapam, was followed by an interactive session with Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada. According to the ministry, it was the first such interaction with a regional industry association.
Local staff and integrated offices for export facilitation
The proposed personnel would be trained first and then deployed to give hands-on support to businesses, including through industry chambers and regional associations.
Goyal said the government wants to strengthen export facilitation through both physical and digital means. Instead of setting up separate offices of every department in every location, integrated Commerce and Industry offices are planned in major cities, so that businesses have a single point of access to several departments and agencies.
Trade Connect platform
Goyal also told participants about Trade Connect, a platform being developed to give exporters product-wise and HSN-code-wise information. This will include tariffs in destination countries, FTA opportunities and the procedure for claiming FTA benefits. The platform is also meant to use digital and AI-enabled tools to help businesses spot export opportunities and infrastructure gaps.
What industry told the minister
Representatives of the roller chain and industrial components sector said measures such as Quality Control Orders (QCOs), Minimum Import Price (MIP) provisions and higher import duties had helped the sector grow 15-fold. They reported fresh investment of about ₹500 crore and around 5,000 new jobs.
Participants from pharmaceuticals, textiles, man-made fibres, copper, automotive and engineering, air-conditioners and logistics, as well as MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, raised issues around export competitiveness, trade documentation, FTA use, logistics, domestic supply chains, standards and testing infrastructure, and regulatory certainty.
Industry asked for better links between government systems and foreign trade platforms, including digital transmission and verification of Certificates of Origin under FTAs. The proposal to extend such electronic processes to other FTA partners was noted for examination. Businesses also called for closer integration of the export cycle across the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Customs, banks and other stakeholders.
Documentation backlogs and sea-freight costs came up, as did rules of origin, import competition and testing and certification facilities. Goyal had what the ministry called a frank interaction with the representatives and directed officials to examine some of their suggestions.
Quality and standards
The session stressed quality and adherence to international standards. Industry associations and Export Promotion Councils were encouraged to promote compliance with destination-market standards and to help identify fraudulent, substandard or non-compliant manufacturing so that regulators can act.
DPIIT officials made presentations on Startup India, intellectual property rights, investment facilitation, the National Single Window System, industrial infrastructure and reforms at the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). A separate session covered recent FTAs and trade facilitation reforms, including digitalisation and simpler trade procedures.
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Source: Press Information Bureau release, 22 September 2026: Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal Interacts with Industry Stakeholders on Ease of Doing Business, FTA Opportunities and Trade Reforms Workshop.