On 13th September 2024, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), chaired the 3rd meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade (BoT) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He reaffirmed the Government of India (GoI)’s commitment to boost economic growth through robust partnerships with state governments.
- During the BoT meeting, he launched two new digital initiatives: Jan Sunwai portal and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), new online service portal of Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC).
Key People: Sunil Bharwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce (DoC) under MoC&I, Santosh Sarangi, Additional Secretary and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministers from 10 states, and other senior officials from the GoI and state/ Union Territory (UT) governments were present at the meeting.
Jan Sunwai Portal:
i.It is an online platform of DoC , which will be run by the DGFT. It is designed specifically to streamline communication between stakeholders and authorities.
ii.It facilitates a direct and transparent channel to address trade and industry-related issues. It provides on-demand video conferencing services, besides fixed video conference links for regular, scheduled interactions.
iii.The accessibility of the portal extends across various offices and autonomous bodies under the DoC such as:
- DGFT, Coffee Board, Rubber Board, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), and Export Inspection Corporation (EIC).
ERP Portal:
i.It will streamline all online services offered under ECGC such as filling forms, claims , reimbursements, grievance redressal, policy information, credit support, among others.
- It will facilitate faster and more efficient interactions between banks and exporters.
ii.This new portal will enable the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sectors to avail 90% insurance cover credit limit up to Rs 80 crore.
- Other than ERP portal, a revamped in-house SMILE-ERP system was also launched.
Other Key Highlights:
i.During the meeting, a session was organised which featured interactive presentations from the state governments of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu (TN), Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh (MP) and they showcased their achievements in export promotion and Ease of Doing Business (EODB), interventions, and on-going state-level initiatives.
- Also, states like Assam, Tripura, and Sikkim participated at the session, with main objective of enhancing export potential from the North East (NE) region.
ii.During the meeting, BoT was updated on new developments in e-commerce exports by officials from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC)that effective immediately, the benefits of schemes such as: Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL), and Drawback, will be extended to all exports via courier.
- Later, the benefits of these schemes will be extended to postal route. Thus, creating a more equitable environment for e-commerce exporters using both courier and postal mode.
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I):
Union Minister- Piyush Goyal (Constituency- Mumbai North, Maharashtra)
Minister of State (MoS)- Jitin Prasada (Constituency- Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
