A formidable agenda

Ministry of Commerce and Industry needs an urgent reboot

Few ministries in the Union government have a more full agenda, greater responsibility and a longer list of pending reforms than the commerce and industry ministry. The ministry, which is responsible for India’s trade policy, exports and domestic industrial policy, has not seen stellar results of late. Merchandise exports from India fell by a startling 15.6 per cent in 2015-16, and performance since then has been weak. This is at a time when global growth and demand are recovering and competing countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam are demonstrating strong export performance. Meanwhile, industrial output has also been weak. In