Exchange rate revision for Pound Sterling updates customs conversion rates affecting imports and exports under Customs Act authority.
Amendment to customs exchange rates substitutes Schedule-I entry for Pound Sterling, prescribing separate rupee equivalents for one unit of Pound Sterling for imports and exports, issued under the authority of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 and replacing the corresponding entry in Notification No.78/2022-CUSTOMS (N.T.).

Service sector competitiveness urged: leverage natural advantages, reduce subsidies, and secure greater market access through FTAs and policy alignment.
Service sector competitiveness should be strengthened by leveraging India's natural advantages, focusing on innovation, skilling and internationalization of higher education. Exporters and EPCs are urged to pursue ambitious export targets, explore markets in South America and Africa, and reduce reliance on subsidies, while the government will act as a non-intrusive facilitator. The Foreign Trade Policy release was deferred for alignment with the next financial year and FTA negotiations prioritise greater market access for services.

Extension of Foreign Trade Policy to preserve regulatory stability and allow further stakeholder consultations for exporters.
The government has agreed to continue the existing Foreign Trade Policy for an additional limited period in response to representations from export promotion councils and leading exporters, citing volatile global economic and geopolitical conditions and to permit further stakeholder consultations before issuing a new policy.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership impact: non-petroleum exports to the UAE increased markedly, signalling strengthened bilateral trade momentum.
India-UAE CEPA, effective 1 May 2022, is associated with a 14% year-on-year rise in India's non-petroleum exports to the UAE for June-August 2022 versus June-August 2021, compared with a ~3% rise in India's global non-petroleum exports for the same period; May was excluded as transitory and petroleum trade was omitted due to price-driven and inelastic demand effects. Sectoral gains span electrical machinery, gems and jewellery, cereals, sugars, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, spices, vegetables and essential oils, while non-petroleum imports from the UAE showed marginal growth.

E commerce import data requirement: courier declaration forms amended to require e commerce flag and transaction identifiers.
The Second Amendment Regulations, 2022 add a mandatory e commerce import (Yes/No) field to Forms D and E and amend Form HA B.1 to require, for jewellery exports meeting the specified criteria, disclosure of the e commerce operator or website, payment/unique transaction ID, and order number; the regulations commence on publication in the Official Gazette.

Export promotion of plant-based foods expands international market access through targeted trade facilitation and support.
APEDA facilitated the first export consignment of plant-based meat products from Gujarat, supported by local logistics, and is promoting expansion of vegan food exports to additional international markets while maintaining the conventional meat export market. APEDA's export-promotion measures include virtual trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, product campaigns, financial assistance for infrastructure and quality improvement, laboratory recognition for testing and residue monitoring, and digital trade facilitation platforms to ensure export compliance and market development.

Illegal export of endangered timber leads to seizure and detention under the Customs Act following document manipulation.
Authorities intercepted an export container found to contain red sanders-listed in Appendix II of CITES-concealed among declared electrical goods; examination revealed manipulated transport and exporter documents and counterfeit records, leading to detention of the timber and vehicle under the Customs Act, 1962 and initiation of further investigations into the falsified export attempt.

Climate finance and technology transfer urged to support sustainable productivity of small dairy farms and reduce farming emissions.
Request to International Dairy Federation to prioritise practical, cost effective interventions to improve productivity, sustainability, quality and profitability of small dairy farms in developing countries, including deploying a small expert team in India for farm level research and solutions aligned with global standards and emission norms; emphasises India's sustainable practices, the rapid adoptability of affordable innovations by smallholders, and urges developed nations to provide technology and low cost, long term climate finance under the polluter pays rationale to support mitigation in less developed countries.

Government support for automotive industry: backing PLI and semiconductor measures, urges localisation and reports of unfair import pressure.
Government commitment to support the automotive component industry through Production Linked Incentive schemes and semiconductor ecosystem support aims to strengthen domestic supply chains, improve quality and cost competitiveness, and reduce import dependence. The government pledges engagement on trade negotiations to expand market access and asks industry to report pressure to import from preferred suppliers, assuring that such reports will be taken seriously to ensure fair trade practices.

Government employee housing initiative expands officer welfare while boosting AI and data-driven measures to detect tax evasion.
Inauguration of a CBIC residential complex at Kharghar delivered 187 quarters across multiple unit types, completed rapidly and within budget, providing sustainable, cost-efficient housing to alleviate shortages for central tax personnel. The release underscores CBIC's focus on training and using Artificial Intelligence, data analytics and IoT for identification of fraudulent practices and large-scale tax evasion, credits data-mining tools for recoveries, and announces further multi-phase housing projects at Wadala and additional Kharghar flats for staff welfare and capacity planning.

Export promotion of Ladakh apricots via brand building and infrastructure to meet international phytosanitary and market requirements.
APEDA is advancing export promotion of Ladakh apricots under the "Ladakh Apricot" brand by providing technical hand holding on canopy management, strengthening packaging and transport protocols, pursuing a GI tag, and developing export infrastructure including integrated packhouses, cold storage, insulated transport and pre shipment treatment facilities to meet phytosanitary requirements, while organizing market linkage activities and trial shipments to establish international demand.

Export growth led by services partially offsets larger import-driven trade deficits in the recent trade period.
Combined exports in August 2022 and April-August 2022 rose year-on-year, led by services growth and modest merchandise export gains, while imports-especially merchandise and non-petroleum/non-gems categories-expanded more sharply, enlarging the merchandise and overall trade deficits; commodity-level patterns varied with strong export growth in select agricultural, chemical and electronic groups and sizable import increases in crude petroleum, coal and industrial inputs. Services data for August are provisional and some prior-period data have been revised.

Export growth in agricultural and processed food products accelerated, driven by promotion measures and expanded quality certification capacity.
India's agricultural and processed food products exports rose about 30 percent in April-July 2022 to USD 9.598 billion, achieving roughly 40 percent of a USD 23.56 billion annual export target. Growth was broad-based across processed fruits and vegetables, cereals (including basmati and non-basmati rice), dairy, livestock and miscellaneous processed foods, while cashew exports declined. The provisional DGCI&S data support the reported increases, which the government attributes to export-promotion measures and expanded quality-testing infrastructure.

Geographical Indication promotion enables targeted B2B export engagement and market access for agricultural products to new destinations.
The government organised a Virtual Networking Meet to promote export of Indian agricultural and food products with registered Geographical Indications (GIs), enabling B2B interaction between exporters and importers, identifying potential GI exports such as Basmati rice, mango and pomegranate, and emphasising GI value-addition, direct farmer linkages to export markets, and institutional initiatives to expand market access and importer confidence.

Rules-based trading framework: negotiations continue on trade commitments as India joins most IPEF pillars but seeks fair terms.
India joined IPEF declarations on supply chains, tax and anti-corruption, and clean energy, while the trade pillar remains under negotiation because commitments on environment, labour, digital trade and public procurement are still emerging; India cautioned that conditionalities must not discriminate against developing countries and will engage while awaiting final trade contours, concurrently firming its domestic digital privacy and data laws.

Indo-Pacific economic cooperation advances: focus on resilient supply chains, modern digital laws, and trade and skills partnerships.
India attended the inaugural IPEF ministerial, committing to a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific while assessing framework elements by national interest; priority areas include trade and investment cooperation, resilient supply chains among trusted partners, contemporary digital laws with strong data privacy, and upskilling to expand technology services and jobs across smaller cities.

International engagement urged to globalize Indian startups and attract investment, with government facilitating links and improving policy certainty
The Minister urged the Indian diaspora to promote India's business opportunities and support startups in reaching global markets, particularly via Silicon Valley, while describing the government's facilitation role in connecting Indian startups with US investors. The statement emphasises policy measures to improve the business environment-technology adoption, transparency, reduced red tape, and greater policy certainty-and infrastructure initiatives, including rural network connectivity, as mechanisms to accelerate innovation, attract capital, and expand export and market access.

Logistics Park to boost regional trade, cut logistics costs, improve export-import infrastructure and generate local employment opportunities.
The Chunar Logistics Park will provide a dedicated logistics facility for exporters, importers and traders in Chunar and adjoining areas, offering container handling, cargo storage with round-the-clock security and surveillance, and rail freight support to reduce logistics costs and transit times; services and capacity will be expanded in phases based on trade requirements and commercial viability, with government assistance and inter-ministerial cooperation facilitating the project.

Export promotion expands Manipur organic pineapple access to Gulf retail via Dubai in-store campaign, linking producers to exporters.
APEDA, in collaboration with Manipur Organic Mission Agency and Thayong Organic Producer Company, organized an in-store export promotion in Dubai for organically certified Kwe pineapples to create direct market linkages, promote processed and value-added forms for Gulf retail, and establish a Manipur platform connecting producers, processors and exporters to improve farmer price realization and expand North-Eastern horticultural exports.

Exchange rate determination: new customs conversion rates set for imported and export goods under Customs Act.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, under statutory authority, fixes conversion rates of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for use in the valuation of imported and export goods. The Notification supersedes the prior notification except as to past actions and implements new operative rates set out in two schedules-one showing per unit rupee equivalents with separate columns for import and export, and another showing rupee equivalents per one hundred units-establishing distinct rates for import and export valuation.