Page 2 - Piyush Goyal

Govt may review 50 mn minor offence cases after Jan Vishwas Bill: Goyal

Minister says prosecutors may seek closure of minor cases under new law, as Centre pushes decriminalisation to reduce litigation, ease compliance and improve business climate

Ecommerce tariffs: India open to a longer extension of the moratorium

This will give businesses greater predictability, says Goyal

India, UK FTA may come into force in next 30 to 45 days: Goyal

The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), signed in July last year, is likely to come into force in the next 30-45 days, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Goyal held a bilateral meeting with Peter Kyle, UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last month in Cameroon. "The United Kingdom is also very pleased at the speed with which the India-UK Free Trade Agreement passed both Houses of Parliament... and we are also looking at a possible entry into force of the agreement over the next 30 to 45 days," he told reporters here. India and the UK, on July 24, 2025, signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) under which 99 per cent of Indian exports will enter the British market at 'zero' duty, while tariffs on British products such as cars and whisky will be reduced in India. The following are the other developments on free trade agreements that Ind

Parliament passes Jan Vishwas Amendment Bill to amend 784 provisions

Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to amend 784 provisions in 79 central laws for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further improve the country's business environment. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, was passed in the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal replied to a discussion on the legislation. The minister said the legislation will help citizens and MSMEs. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. These laws are administered by 23 ministries, including coal, commerce and industry, shipping, urban development, and transport. Out of 784, 717 provisions are being amended for decriminalising minor offences and 67 to facilitate ease of living.

West Asia crisis: More measures on anvil to support exporters, says Goyal

The government has announced measures to help exporters tackle the impact of the West Asia crisis and some more decisions are on the anvil, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. An US-Israel attack launched on Iran in February has disrupted movement of ships in the international waters. It has also pushed air freight and insurance cost for traders. To help exporters, the government has announced certain decisions through a relief package and "some more decisions are on the anvil, are under consideration at different levels and different ministries," he told reporters here. As part of relief measures, the government is looking at providing some freight subsidies. Last month, the government rolled out a Rs 497 crore RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme for exporters, who are facing disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. Goyal informed that during his bilateral meetings with trade ministers of other countries

India looking at preferential mkt access in US, ties 'very robust': Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India is looking at preferential market access for its products in the US and asserted that the country's relations with America are "very robust" with a deep strategic partnership across technology, defence, trade and investment. He said that India's trade pact with the US is "best" as compared to its competitor countries. "Our relations are very robust. We have a deep strategic partnership on several aspects, on technology, on defence, on trade and on investments, and our approach is that India should get preferential market access," Goyal told reporters here. The country, he said, is sitting on a "very sweet spot" in promoting trade with the US. "Being the world's fastest growing economy, India holds huge promise for investors who will continue to look at the India opportunity in greater numbers and greater value in the future," he added. On March 27, the minister held a meeting with the US Trade Representative Jamies

Lok Sabha passes Jan Vishwas Amendment Bill to change 784 provisions

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to amend certain provisions in different laws for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further promote ease of doing business and living. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, was passed with a voice vote. The bill proposes to amend 784 provisions of 79 Central Acts administered by 23 ministries. It seeks to decriminalise 717 provisions and amend 67 provisions to facilitate ease of living. It also seeks to rationalise more than 1,000 offences, removing outdated and redundant provisions, thereby improving the overall regulatory environment. Replying to the debate on the bill, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said it will help people and MSMEs. Amendments moved by Congress member K Kavya were rejected by voice vote.

WTO's MC14 concludes without declaration as countries 'ran out of time'

Ministerial ends without consensus on key issues including e-commerce tariffs and TRIPS, with talks set to continue in Geneva amid deep divisions among members

Piyush Goyal, Jamieson Greer discuss next steps in India-US BTA talks

India and the US discussed next steps in bilateral trade deal negotiations on the sidelines of WTO MC14, amid evolving tariff policies and global trade uncertainties

Piyush Goyal meets Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao; discusses trade

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao and discussed trade-related issues. The bilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon. "Met Mr. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China, on the sidelines of the #WTOMC14. Exchanged views on the MC-14 agenda and discussed bilateral trade matters," Goyal said on a social media post. The meeting is important as India's trade deficit with China crossed USD 100 billion during the 11-month period of this fiscal year. During April-February 2025-26, the country's exports to China increased 37.66 per cent to USD 17.54 billion, while imports rose 15.21 per cent to USD 119.55 billion. Trade deficit has widened to USD 102.01 billion from USD 91.03 billion in April-February 2024-25.

Goyal meets Eli Lilly Prez; discusses steps to strengthen 'Make in India'

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly International, discussing India's growth trajectory and the company's expanding presence in the country.Sharing details of the meeting on X, Goyal said on Friday that the discussions focused on Eli Lilly and Company's increasing operations and investments in India, and ways to further strengthen the 'Make in India for the world' initiative."Held a meeting with Patrik Jonsson, Executive VP and President, Lilly International, USA. We discussed the India growth story, Eli Lilly & Company's expanding operations and investments in India, and the steps to further strengthen Make in India for the world," the post read.Earlier in the day, Piyush Goyal held a virtual meeting with Harry Theoharis, Greece's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He highlighted that the discussions revolved around deepening cooperation between India and Greece."Held a virtual ...

India's trade remains steady despite West Asia conflict: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister brought attention to India's comprehensive export growth and said that the government is focused on strengthening its competitive advantage in the global market

India well placed to handle fuel supply risks amid West Asia crisis: Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India is well-placed to deal with any situation on crude oil and fuel, as the West Asia crisis disrupts gas shipments and shipping routes, and highlighted that the government has ramped up kerosene production to provide an alternate option for the common man. Speaking at the CNBC-TV India Business Leaders Awards 2026 ceremony, Goyal said the government plans to come up with some "concrete agenda" next week to support exporters. "On crude oil, on fuel, we are pretty well placed. We have good stocks in hand. There's been absolutely no disturbance of any sort on the crude or the fuel front, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel," Goyal said. He said that India has ramped up kerosene production so that, in the event of any delays in LPG supplies, there will be an alternate cooking medium for the common man. "Incidentally, we are also covering through imports from diversified sources the requirements of LPG and LNG," he said. "The shipping times were

India-UK free trade agreement to come into force in a month: Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the India-UK free trade agreement will come into force in about a month and will be the fastest trade pact approved by the UK Parliament

West Asia war updates: India says no fuel shortage; Trump warns on Hormuz

India said there is no fuel shortage; oil prices remained volatile as Donald Trump warned Iran against mining the Strait of Hormuz. Here are the top updates at 9 am (IST)

'Absolutely no shortage of fuel': Goyal amid uncertainty in energy supply

Goyal said the government is closely monitoring the evolving situation and taking necessary steps to ensure the uninterrupted availability of fuel across the country

Looking to help exporters on insurance front amid West Asia crisis: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the government is looking to extend help to exporters on the insurance front to help them deal with the ongoing West Asia crisis. He said an inter-ministerial group is keeping tabs on the developments on a daily basis and is interacting with exporters. The Customs department has come out with norms for dealing with export cargo returning to Indian ports due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions in maritime routes amid the West Asia crisis. "Similarly, we are looking for developing some new schemes like insurance support... We are consulting ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) and other departments on that," Goyal told reporters here. He said the government is looking at ways to help exporters whose goods have been shipped but are facing problems. The government is monitoring the situation 24 hours, he added. Exporters are facing issues due to a joint attack launched by the US and Israel on Iran. I

India got best trade deal with US among competing nations: Piyush Goyal

India has secured the best trade deal with the US compared to its competing nations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, noting that the two countries share a "very powerful" relationship. He said that the US is the world's largest economy - USD 30 trillion - and nobody can wish it away. "It has been a fantastic journey. We have the best of relations. You would have observed that through the last year, President Donald Trump has always had the best of things to say about India as a country, and about Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. We have fantastic relations with our counterparts there. "Even within your family, sometimes you can have one or two misunderstandings. It's a part of the course. I think it's a very, very powerful relationship that the US and India share. And we got the best deal amongst all the nations with whom we compete," Goyal said when asked about the trade relations with the US. He was speaking at Raisina Dialogue 2026 here. The ministe

Farmers' earnings may come under pressure if West Asia exports stay stuck

Centre says India is sitting on 36.5 per cent more fertiliser stocks as on March 6, compared to last year; farmers fully insulated from global shocks

Will formalise ways to give comfort to Indian exporters, says Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal says the government is formalising steps to support exporters facing disruptions from the West Asia crisis, with an inter-ministerial group tracking risks and logistics challenges