According to the 5th edition of Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP), India has emerged as the best-performing country in the South Asian region in terms of trade facilitation.
- India has been positioned at the forefront of global trade facilitation efforts, with an impressive score of 93.55% in 2023 vis a vis 90.32% in 2021 after evaluation of 160 economies(countries) and 60 trade facilitation measures.
India’s Performance on Trade Facilitation:
i.India has progressed by achieving a perfect score of 100% in four key areas;
- Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation, and Paperless Trade.
ii.India has shown improvement in the “Women in Trade Facilitation” component, increasing the score from 66.7% in 2021 to 77.8% in 2023.
- This indicates India’s commitment to gender inclusive and empowering women in the trade sector.
iii.The 2023 survey reveals that India has not made any notable implementation in terms of “Wildlife Trade Facilitation.”
Previous year scores
| Year | Score |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 63.44% |
| 2017 | 67.74% |
| 2019 | 78.49% |
| 2021 | 90.32% |
| 2023 | 93.55% |
Trade facilitation score
| Parameters | 2023 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency | 100% | 100% |
| Formalities | 100% | 95.83% |
| Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation | 100% | 88.89% |
| Paperless Trade | 100% | 96.3% |
| Cross-Border Paperless Trade | 66.67%. | 66.67% |
Key points:
i.India’s continuous efforts towards improving the trade ecosystem for MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) has helped India in improving its score in UNTF(United Nations Trade facilitation) survey since 2017.
ii.The overall score of India has been greater than many developed countries including Canada, France, United Kingdom(UK), Germany etc.
iii.India is the best performing country when compared with south and south-west Asia region(64.30%) and Asia and the pacific region(66.76%).
Digital initiatives:
Indian Customs’ digital initiatives such as Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade (SWIFT), Pre-Arrival data processing, and e-Sanchit, particularly Turant Customs which aims to create a paperless, contactless, and faceless trade environment.
About Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation:
i.The survey covers WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) with 60 trade facilitation measures categorized into eleven sub-groups.
ii.The survey is fact-based rather than perception-based.
iii.A three-step approach to data collection and validation is generally followed over a 6-month period every 2 years.
About United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP):
Executive Secretary- Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
Established- 1947
Headquarters- Bangkok, Thailand
