NITI Aayog organised a thematic workshop on “Inclusive Trade for Growth & Prosperity” which highlighted the need to enhance and widen domestic outreach, ownership and implementation of New Delhi Leader's Declaration (NDLD) outcomes in the areas of inclusive trade for growth and prosperity, and resilient supply chains. The thematic workshop was organised as a follow up to New Delhi Leader's Declaration (NDLD) under India's presidency G20 Summit which emphasised on adopting strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive trade for growth and prosperity for all.

Shri BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO NITI Aayog, in his keynote address highlighted the need for a non-discriminatory and inclusive trading system which facilitates trade as an engine of growth and prosperity. Further, he emphasized the need for India to integrate into global value chains (GVCs) and adapt swiftly to emerging trading systems.

Dr. Arvind Virmani, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog, addressed the first session titled ‘Mapping Global Value Chains’, and highlighted the need for strengthening key areas such as labour-intensive supply chains, institutional factors for policy framing and simplifying taxation system, and integrating payment, refund and export credit system especially for MSMEs. Dr. Virmani also recognised the need to address various anti-dumping issues and the need to foster FTAs with potential partners.

The session on ‘Mapping Global Value Chains’ focused on strengthening logistics for efficient supply chains, exchange rate management to enhance competitiveness, utilising strategic intervention from MNCs, provision of cumulative Rules of Origin, identification of potentially competitive segments, transparent & traceable GVCs, mapping startups and integrating industrial policy with trade policy to name a few.

The second session on ‘Promoting Inclusive Trade for Growth’ was chaired by Prof. Ramesh Chand, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog. The session highlighted the key points including – strengthening capacity and infrastructure development of LDCs; reducing non-tariff barriers; mobilizing resources for scaling up aid-for trade, particularly for MSMEs in developing and least developed countries; digital inclusion in three areas namely infrastructure, skills and data ownership; standard setting; technical advancement; transparency; and incorporating climate principles into trading systems.

The concluding session of the Workshop ‘Addressing challenges to Inclusive Trade’ was chaired by Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh, Ex DDG, WTO. He drew attention towards enhancing traditional exports of India; increasing female labour force participation in trade; state/district level integration into the supply chain and trade (promoting Districts as Exports Hub); facilitating integration of MSMEs in GVCs; logistics and financial support, access to information for MSMEs; climate resilient agriculture with promotion of Nutri cereals and accelerating services exports; document digitalization with respect to trade; and strengthening focused skill development including reskilling & upskilling.

NITI Aayog is organising a series of thematic workshops on key agendas of New Delhi Leader's Declaration (NDLD) to devise actionable strategies and plans that can be implemented to provide impetus to growth and prosperity of the country. Other thematic workshops are focused on topics of SGDs, Roadmap for Tourism, Digital Public Infrastructure, India and African Union Cooperation, Data for Development, Women Led Development, etc.

Inclusive trade frameworks advance non-discriminatory market access and MSME integration into global value chains to boost resilience. The workshop promoted a non-discriminatory, inclusive trade framework to integrate India and its MSMEs into global value chains through simplified taxation and payments, logistics and exchange rate measures, cumulative rules of origin, traceability, and alignment of industrial policy with trade objectives. It recommended capacity building for LDCs and MSMEs, reduction of non tariff barriers, mobilisation of aid for trade, digital inclusion across infrastructure, skills and data ownership, and measures for gender inclusion, district export facilitation, climate resilient agriculture, trade document digitalisation, and targeted reskilling.