Maritime surveillance strengthened to protect seafood exports and ensure continuity amid shipping and freight challenges.
The release reports increased national seafood export volumes with state wise provisional data, notes modest freight cost rises and shipping route adjustments, and describes Government oversight measures including enhanced naval and aerial patrols, use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft systems, and coordination between the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to strengthen maritime domain awareness and surveil the exclusive economic zone to protect exporter interests.

EPCG scheme procedure simplification eases export obligation compliance and extends installation certificate timelines with uniform composition fees.
DGFT has simplified the EPCG Scheme by extending the timeframe for submission of Installation Certificates, introducing a simplified and reduced composition fee for Export Obligation extensions, and applying a uniform composition fee for Policy Relaxation Committee decisions on EO extensions and export regularisation; these steps are coupled with expanded automated, rule based processing to reduce manual intervention and speed compliance and service delivery.

Quality Control Orders ensure compliance in leather and footwear, with eased certification and targeted industry upscaling.
The Ministry announced implementation of two Quality Control Orders for leather and footwear effective 1 August 2024, committing to smooth and flexible QCO certification procedures; micro and small MSME units are exempt, imports of soles for exported footwear are exempt, and manufacturers may declare old stock before the effective date and sell declared stock until 30 June 2025.

Time Release Study shows reduced cargo release times and faster automated clearance after duty payment under pre payment verification.
The National Time Release Study 2024 provides a quantitative national assessment of cargo clearance times from arrival to customs release or carrier departure, compares current performance with prior periods to measure progress under the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan, and records reduced average release times at most ports with notable improvements at Integrated Check Posts and Air Cargo Complexes; it also notes near-instant automated release following duty payment under the Pre-payment Customs Compliance Verification initiative and documents that advance/facilitated/AEO bills of entry have materially lower release times than port averages.

Supply chain resilience urged through coordinated trade frameworks and partnerships to secure critical sectors and investment flows.
Emphasis was placed on bolstering Supply Chain Resilience through coordinated multilateral and plurilateral initiatives, promotion of the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, alignment of investment, trade, environment and energy policies, multimodal connectivity, public private partnerships, and investments in critical infrastructure to secure supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and green energy.

Export growth momentum continues, led by engineering, electronics and pharmaceuticals, supporting combined goods and services expansion.
Combined merchandise and services exports for June and for April-June 2024 are estimated to have grown relative to the prior-year periods, with services estimates provisional pending RBI data. Key merchandise drivers cited for June include engineering goods, electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, coffee and chemicals. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports increased for both the month and quarter, while merchandise imports also rose, widening the merchandise trade deficit and affecting the overall trade balance.

Pesticide residue control: public consultation launched on draft procedure for sesame seed exports to the USA.
The Department proposes a draft procedure for control of contamination of residues of pesticides in sesame seeds for export to the USA, modeled on the EU export procedure, and invites stakeholders and the public to submit comments and suggestions to the Department via the designated email channel before the stated deadline to finalize procedural requirements for export compliance and market access.

Monetary policy anchoring: preserve price stability and align demand management with long term growth prospects.
Monetary policy must act as the anchor of the economy by stabilising aggregate demand around productive capacity and preserving price stability. It should be forward looking given lagged data and uncertain transmission, adhere to an instrument-goal alignment, avoid time inconsistency, and use clear communication to anchor expectations. Policy risk assessment must weigh domestic strengths-domestic financing of investment, financial stability, fiscal consolidation, demographic dividend, and digitalisation-against challenges in skills, formal employment, infrastructure, exports, and climate transition.

Trade cooperation advanced through MoUs, customs coordination and sectoral collaboration to facilitate bilateral commerce.
India and Qatar agreed to finalise Memoranda of Understanding on food safety and exchange of pre-arrival information to enhance trade facilitation and customs control, to expeditiously remove impediments to bilateral trade, and to activate the Joint Business Council to implement private-sector proposals. The JWG identified priority cooperation sectors-gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, food processing and security, MSME collaboration, customs cooperation, and trade in local currency-and scheduled continued engagement with the next meeting in 2025.

Bilateral trade target with Russia prioritised alongside an FDI commitment under India EFTA to boost investment and industry ties.
The government seeks to grow bilateral trade with Russia and to secure significant foreign direct investment under the India EFTA agreement, emphasising that the FDI commitment excludes portfolio flows and requires industry partnership. National export and industrial competitiveness targets are supported by macroeconomic stability, reforms to ease doing business, strengthened product quality standards, increased investment in innovation and R&D, and measures to reduce compliance burdens. Large infrastructure and welfare initiatives are linked to employment, manufacturing competitiveness, and improved living standards, while sustainability efforts are encouraged in collaboration with industry.

Mutual recognition of organic certification permits single certification market access and organic logo use, streamlining export compliance across borders.
Mutual recognition of organic product certification permits reciprocal acceptance of accredited transaction certificates issued under each jurisdiction's organic regime, allowing products produced in conformity with those standards to be sold in the partner market as organically produced and to display the exporting jurisdiction's organic logo; the arrangement eliminates dual certification, reduces compliance costs, and facilitates export of major organic commodities.

Foreign exchange regulation reforms to simplify export and import compliance and empower authorised dealer banks, inviting public feedback.
Draft FEMA regulations and directions propose rationalising export and import rules to simplify compliance for small exporters and importers and to empower Authorised Dealer banks to provide faster, more efficient foreign exchange services. The Reserve Bank has published the draft texts and invited public feedback by a stated deadline via email using a specified subject line, as part of its developmental and regulatory policy measures.

Export Realisation Period clarified with authorised dealer extensions, advance payment conditions, project approval and caution-listing mechanisms.
The draft Regulations require exporters to submit an annexed Export Declaration Form and supporting documents to the Authorised Dealer within a prescribed period, mandate that the full export value be realised and repatriated within a specified realisation period subject to Authorised Dealer extensions or permitted reductions, regulate advance payments and their interest ceilings and refund obligations, require prior Authorised Dealer approval for deferred-payment and project exports, and provide for caution-listing of exporters who fail to realise export value after opportunity to be heard.

Ease of Doing Business: government commits to regulatory simplification and industry engagement to boost investment and innovation.
The central government committed to fostering a conducive business environment by advancing Ease of Doing Business, Start Up India support, Intellectual Property Rights facilitation, Free Trade Agreements, SEZs, GeM adoption and export promotion; convening broad industry stakeholders to solicit feedback on constraints affecting MSMEs, startups and sectoral investors and directing officials to examine and act on recommendations to promote investment, infrastructure provision, PPP mechanisms, technology and skills development and regulatory simplification.

Farmer protection measures expanded to extend registration validity and provide interest subvention, disaster assistance, and mechanization support.
The government will address Tobacco Board staffing shortages, consider waiving penalties for excess tobacco production, and extend registration validity from one year to three years with optional digital registration. Financial measures include promoting interest subvention under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, arranging interest-free higher education loans for farmers' children with extended repayment, and increasing assistance during natural calamities. Technical directives to ICAR-CTRI include mechanisation, alternatives to SOP fertilizer, residue-avoiding plant protection chemicals, and development of solar/electric curing barns.