Context: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles announced initiation of work on Trade Connect ePlatform.
Trade Connect ePlatform
- It is an intermediary platform providing the facility to connect Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade.
- The ePlatform is expected to:
- Provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters.
- Provide information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends.
- Provide easy access of benefits under Free Trade Agreements.
- Provide access to sector specific events along with a facility to address trade related queries to officials in Government of India and associated entities to get expert advice.
- Anyone can get all the information for export promotion activities, including contact details of all resource persons.
- It provides a platform to the State governments and UTs for sharing State-oriented perspectives on exports.
- It also acts as a platform for the Government of India for appraising State and UTs about international developments affecting India’s trade and the role States and UTs can play in promoting exports.
- It remains an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with Industry bodies, Associations, Export Promotion Councils, and State/UT governments.
Significance
- To achieve the $2 trillion export target for year 2030.
- To internationalize the goods and services to help in improving the quality of the products and increase the size of the economy.
- The launch of the Trade Connect ePlatform is to increase the participation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and startups in exports, a move aimed at promoting exports with the involvement of small and medium traders.