Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday unveiled a seven-point action agenda, including faster implementation of labour and land reforms and improved testing infrastructure for exporters, with a special focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). He called on states, industry bodies and exporters to work together to tap a larger export market and maximise the benefits of India's free trade agreements (FTAs).
Addressing industry representatives at the Board of Trade meeting, Goyal said exports should become a "high-priority agenda" across all levels of government and industry. He urged states, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and industry associations to institutionalise regular meetings with exporters to identify and resolve bottlenecks.
Goyal said state governments should amend their labour rules to operationalise the four labour codes and undertake the necessary land reforms to effectively implement the Centre's policy initiatives. He also urged states to participate in the BHAGYA scheme and expedite the implementation of the labour codes by notifying the required state-level rules.
The third and fourth measures focus on MSMEs, aiming to improve product quality and reduce compliance costs. Goyal said MSMEs would receive support to access export markets and benefit from enhanced testing infrastructure to meet the quality standards of overseas markets.
He said the Centre would finance a substantial portion of the costs incurred by exporters—particularly MSMEs—for obtaining international certifications and complying with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT) and other regulatory requirements.