Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal Congratulates IIFT on 63rd Foundation Day, Highlights Its Role in Advancing India’s Global Trade and Policy Ecosystem

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, celebrated its 63rd Foundation Day today. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, extended his congratulations on the occasion through a message on social media. The Minister appreciated the institute’s continued excellence in shaping India’s international trade and management landscape and highlighted its role as a premier institution contributing to policy, research, and capacity building in global trade.

Commerce Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Rajesh Agrawal congratulated IIFT and commended the institute’s growth. He noted that IIFT has consistently contributed to India’s global trade ambitions through high-quality education, research, and policy engagement. He highlighted that its presence across four campuses—New Delhi, Kolkata, Kakinada, and GIFT City—reflects its evolving global outlook and commitment to excellence. He further stated that IIFT continues to play a vital role in building future leaders in international business and has undertaken several initiatives in recent years to strengthen the academic and research ecosystem, deepen alumni engagement, and expand to new campuses.

Chairman, National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, who was the Chief Guest, emphasized the importance of offering multilingual courses to expand the reach and accessibility of quality education across diverse regions of the country. Referring to the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, he noted that the education imparted by IIFT is increasingly relevant in preparing future leaders to navigate dynamic global business challenges. He appreciated IIFT’s expansion across Delhi, Kolkata, GIFT City, and Kakinada, reflecting its growing national presence.

Vice Chancellor, IIFT, Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi reflected on the institute’s journey and highlighted its recent growth. He underlined the institute’s rising academic and research stature through the successful organisation of five major academic and research conferences, including IIFT’s first Vice-Chancellors’ Conclave 2026 on Internationalisation of Higher Education in India. He also highlighted the launch of the Pitch Perfect Australia–India Business Compendium under IIFT’s Case Research Centre, aimed at fostering research-led innovation, experiential learning, and globally benchmarked case research.

A key highlight of the event was the launch of the new IIFT website to enhance user experience, accessibility, and digital engagement for students, faculty, researchers, and stakeholders.

During the event, IIFT felicitated Lt. Col. Trivedi Paragkumar, an IIFT student, on being conferred the Vishisht Seva Medal in recognition of his exemplary service and accomplishment.

The celebration also included classical cultural performances, followed by a ceremony honouring retired employees and staff members completing 25 years of service at the institute.

International trade education and policy research highlighted as IIFT marks its Foundation Day with new institutional initiatives. The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade marked its 63rd Foundation Day with official appreciation of its role as an autonomous institution in advancing India's international trade, management education, policy research, and capacity building. The commemorations highlighted its expanding academic and institutional presence across New Delhi, Kolkata, Kakinada, and GIFT City, along with campus growth, alumni engagement, and new academic initiatives. The event also emphasized multilingual course offerings, a new website for improved accessibility and digital engagement, major conferences, research-led innovation, student recognition, and acknowledgment of retired employees and long-serving staff.