DGFT undergoing an overhaul to boost trade post-Covid pandemic

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is under­going an overhaul, with many changes being introduced to respond to the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has bro­ught to the trade scene, a senior official said on Wed­nesday.

“By the end of this year, we hope to complete the overhaul and many changes will be brought about to address the trade barriers and to ensure ease of doing business,” said Director General of Foreign Trade Amit Yadav.

He also suggested the DGFT portal be supplemented by the portal of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics to get a clear picture of the government policies and other import–export data and procedures. Exporters have for long been demanding that the DGFT portal be made more comprehensive and its online services more interactive and customer-focused.

Speaking at a webinar organised by the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), Yadav said industry consultations are going on to reduce import and accelerate exports. In the case of ventilators, there were shortages and now focus would be more on creating manufacturing capacities and exporting them, he said.

He added that several other electronics and hardware items are also on the government’s radar for augmenting domestic manufacturing and exports.