Supply Chain Resilience advances with new IPEF action teams and subcommittees to strengthen regional supply chains and crisis response.
The IPEF Supply Chain Council adopted a one year work plan and established Action Plan Teams for Semiconductors, Critical Minerals (focused on batteries) and Chemicals, with a Healthcare/Pharma team to follow once chaired; these teams will produce recommendations for cooperative measures to strengthen resilience in identified critical sectors. Two sub committees-Logistics and Movement of Goods, and Data and Analytics-were created to improve regional logistics, trade facilitation and analytical exchange on supply chain exposures. The Crisis Response Network ran an emergency tabletop exercise addressing a chemical disruption to enhance immediate coordination.

Bilateral economic cooperation to be advanced through ministerial commission and business engagement, promoting investment and strategic partnerships.
Shri Piyush Goyal will co-chair the India Australia Joint Ministerial Commission to pursue enhanced bilateral economic engagement, operationalise the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, and promote business-to-business engagement and strategic partnerships across sectors such as critical minerals, manufacturing, education, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism and space. He will also meet leading CEOs, industry leaders and pension fund representatives to highlight investment opportunities and bilateral synergies.

Review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement urged to address industry injury and asymmetries and be expedited.
Ministers focused on review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement to address industry injury and asymmetrical tariff liberalisation, urging the AITIGA Joint Committee to expedite negotiations and ensure the revised agreement is commercially meaningful, trade-facilitative and user-friendly; India also requested Joint Committees on Services and Investment to review implementation.

Export facilitation via digital platforms and compliance cuts to streamline SME access and reduce transaction costs.
The Department of Commerce deployed interconnected measures to facilitate exports by SMEs: the Trade Connect e-Platform links exporters with officials and banks to improve guidance; a self-certified electronic eBRC system with bulk generation and API integration reduces compliance costs and expedites refunds; ICEGATE expansion enables non-IT/ITES SEZs to access RoDTEP benefits; pricing-slab and charge caps on the GeM portal lower transaction costs; and establishment of ECEH and overseas market hubs aims to expand market access for small exporters.

Market access expansion: APEDA promotes Indian agricultural and processed food exports through pavilion, MoU and buyer-seller meetings.
APEDA established a pavilion at World Food India 2024 to expand market access and promote Indian agricultural and processed food exports through sectoral showcases, a Memorandum of Understanding with an international retail partner to promote horticulture in Middle Eastern markets, and an app-based Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet facilitating B2B appointments between Indian exporters, farmer producer organisations and international buyers, complemented by sector knowledge sessions and a GI Product Gallery to enhance international market linkages.

IPR enforcement: strengthened public private collaboration and capacity building emphasized to tackle piracy and e commerce counterfeiting.
Enhanced IPR enforcement and capacity building was the primary focus, with right holders and experts addressing piracy and counterfeiting in physical and online markets. Discussions prioritized strengthening enforcement through public-private collaboration, practical methods for identifying counterfeit goods, and contributions to the NACIN Palasamudram IPR training facility. The World Customs Organization outlined global enforcement initiatives and customs' role in capacity building, while on-site displays demonstrated authentication techniques to support enforcement efforts.

IPR enforcement strengthened through Customs capacity building, inter-agency coordination, technology use and dedicated training facilities.
Enhancement of IPR enforcement focuses on strengthening Customs' role, augmenting officer capacity, leveraging technology, and fostering inter-agency and stakeholder collaboration to devise unified strategies against IPR violations. A central operational measure is a new Immersive Training Centre and IPR Study Centre providing technology-enabled, case-based training for Customs and stakeholders; conference themes include capacity building, e-commerce enforcement challenges, and development of a National IP database to support practical IP administration and enforcement.

Trade balance shows widening deficit as imports outpace exports, driven by stronger import growth and mixed export performance.
Estimated trade aggregates for April-August 2024 show total exports of USD 328.86 billion and total imports of USD 375.33 billion, producing a widened trade deficit versus the prior year driven by stronger import growth. Services exports registered notable estimated growth, generating a services surplus that partially offsets the larger merchandise deficit. Sectoral contributors to export growth include Engineering Goods, Chemicals, Electronic Goods, Textiles and Pharmaceuticals, while non petroleum and non gems imports rose more sharply, affecting trade composition.

Sustainable agriculture financing: tailored credit, priority sector support to collectives and value chain solutions to boost resilience.
The address identifies structural constraints-low productivity, fragmented holdings, rainfed dependence, inadequate processing and mechanisation, and climate impacts-and proposes five financing approaches: support to Farmer Producer Organisations (with RBI priority sector lending treatment up to specified limits), value chain financing, warehouse receipt financing to stabilise prices, targeted credit for technology adoption via scheme convergence, and blended public private capital. It also stresses digital enablers such as the Unified Lending Interface to improve credit access and reduce loan turnaround times.

Removal of floor price on basmati rice restores market-driven exports while APEDA will monitor contracts for pricing and transparency.
Removal of the floor price on basmati rice exports eliminates the minimum export pricing requirement and restores market-driven pricing for the GI-designated commodity, while APEDA will monitor export contracts to deter non-realistic pricing and ensure transparency. The change follows an earlier temporary floor price introduced in response to domestic supply concerns and misclassification risks, later rationalized and now withdrawn after stakeholder representations, shifting regulatory focus from price control to contract oversight and trade compliance.

Export benefits via courier now eligible under duty drawback and related schemes, boosting e commerce export competitiveness.
Exporters may claim Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL for courier-mode exports from 12 September 2024 following amendments to the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010 and an explanatory circular. To process these claims, customs clearance for scheme purposes will be performed on the Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) at notified International Courier Terminals while physical handling remains at courier terminals, with live trials planned before full implementation.

Courier export benefits extended: Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL claims now processed via ICES for clearance.
CBIC amends the courier regulations to provide expressly for Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL, requires that courier exports claiming these benefits be processed via Shipping Bills filed on ICEGATE and processed on ICES, and directs custodians at International Courier Terminals to register on ICEGATE for goods registration and message exchange while customs clearance and payment processing occur on ICES.

Extension of export benefits to courier shipments equalises access for e commerce exporters alongside new digital trade portals.
The Board emphasised state-centre coordination for export promotion and announced two operative measures: launch of the Department of Commerce's Jan Sunwai Portal and ECGC's online portal with SMILE-ERP to enable paperless, faceless, automated processing across department bodies; and immediate extension of RoDTEP, RoSCTL and Drawback benefits to exports sent via courier, with postal-route expansion planned, to equalise benefit access for e commerce exporters.

Organic export promotion through retail partnerships expands market access for certified Indian organic products in international hypermarkets.
A memorandum creates a commercial partnership to promote certified Indian organic products by securing dedicated shelf space under the National Programme for Organic Production, implementing promotional campaigns, Buyer Seller Meets, B2B meetings and exposure visits for Farmer Producer Organizations, Farmer Producer Companies and cooperatives, while the export promotion authority facilitates producer connections to the retail chain to expand international market access.

Trade facilitation expands exporter market access via a single-window digital platform linking MSMEs to trade information and FTAs.
The Trade Connect e-Platform is a single window digital initiative to centralise near real-time trade information and connect exporters-particularly MSMEs-with government entities, export promotion bodies and trade experts. It offers Product and Country guides, a Trade Agreements and Tariff explorer to surface FTA benefits, e commerce guidance, educational modules, supplier discovery and expert advisory services, and is designed to reduce information asymmetry, lower trade costs and broaden market access through integration with existing government digital marketplaces.

Export target policy urges roadmap, R&D funding access, industrial smart city use and EV ecosystem adoption to boost competitiveness.
The auto component sector is urged to adopt an export led roadmap combining organic growth, global outreach and technology upgrading to meet a long term export target. Key operational measures include leveraging national research funding to promote public private academic R&D partnerships, utilising industrial smart city initiatives for manufacturing and export infrastructure, capturing electric vehicle ecosystem opportunities, engaging in Free Trade Agreement negotiations and educating customers to prefer OEM products to boost competitiveness, investment attraction and domestic scale.

Market access enabled export facilitation of Indian pomegranates, implementing SOPs and phytosanitary protocols for international shipment.
APEDA facilitated the first consignment of Indian pomegranates to Melbourne under the Australia market-access framework, implementing an agreed work plan and Standard Operating Procedures. The shipment complied with import protocols through irradiation treatment and packing at an Australia approved packhouse, and was cleared in Melbourne and showcased at an international exhibition. APEDA's coordination with government departments, laboratories, exporters and growers is presented as the mechanism to streamline supply chains and support exports of perishable horticultural produce.

Export promotion of Indian spirits under Make in India advancing market entry and farmer-linked supply chains abroad.
APEDA will promote Indian alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage exports under the Make in India initiative, emphasising market development through promotional events, trade participation and coordinated product launches to expand market access. The initiative includes facilitation of consignments such as a single malt whisky shipment to the United Kingdom following participation in an international exhibition and highlights domestic value-chain linkages by sourcing six-row barley locally to support farmer incomes through backward linkages.

Finance and growth: strengthen markets, green and digital instruments to mobilise investment for infrastructure, skilling and MSMEs.
Achieving India's aspirational growth requires mobilising finance through higher investment rates financed mainly by domestic savings and supplemented by external resources, while safeguarding external debt sustainability and improving capital efficiency (ICOR). Households will remain primary net lenders as corporate borrowing revives and the public sector continues net borrowing to support fiscal roles. Sectoral priorities include private led infrastructure finance, expanded formal credit for MSMEs, blended instruments for skilling, sovereign and market green bonds plus disclosure frameworks for climate finance, and digital finance innovations such as UPI and CBDC to broaden inclusion.

SCOMET export controls updated; Department of Defence Production now licensing authority for Category six military exports, streamlining exclusions.
SCOMET List updated to reflect multilateral regime changes and national policy amendments; DGFT authorised the Department of Defence Production as licensing authority for Category six military end use exports, streamlined exclusions, and introduced facilitative measures including strengthened e licensing, liberalised General Authorizations for specified dual use and related items, and policies for repairs, repeat orders, stock & sale and intra company transfers within the Foreign Trade Policy framework.