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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026

 

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--Trade secy: Diversifying exports with FTAs help de-risk supply chains 
--CONTEXT: Trade secy Agrawal speaking at an event in Delhi 
--Trade secy: FTAs designed to give comfort for long-term investment in India 
--Trade secy: Need to cut cost of doing business, exports for long-term play

 

NEW DELHI – India's free trade agreements with other nations are helping diversify export supply chain and, thus, de-risking it, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Thursday. "See, exports, because you are looking at the market which is distant from you, it always looks risky," he said while speaking at an event here. "But when you diversify your export supply chain, your basket is wide enough, I think you are de-risking. So, what this free trade agreement does is to create an environment where our export supply chains can also be diversified."

 

India has steadily expanded its network of free trade agreements over the past few years, reaching nine FTAs spanning 38 countries. However, Agrawal acknowledged that beyond FTAs, to grow sustainably in every market over the long term, India needs to reduce the business cost of exporting.

 

"In that endeavour, if you look at all the trade facilitation and trade regulation activities, in government, what we have tried to do is try to make it faceless," he said. "We are moving in a direction where most of the services today in the commerce department are provided online, without any physical interface. And we are also trying to reduce the timeline in all services that we provide." 

 

He said cost competitiveness and ease of doing business will always be an ongoing agenda. Agrawal also highlighted that the FTAs concluded in the last five-six years are designed to provide comfort for long-term investment in India's global supply chain.

 

Answering a question on the lack of state-level export data, Agrawal said the ministry is trying to collect data in a state-specific manner and is engaging actively with states. However, he flagged that the task is not easy and may require disclaimers, as the source and components of the export product differ in most cases.  

 

"Many times, the product may have been manufactured in Punjab. It has been exported through Gujarat," he said. "So, the data will show that exports have taken place from Gujarat. Like Basmati rice, you grow it in Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP, but major exports happen from Gujarat and Maharashtra. So, how do you collect that data and how do you disseminate it?" End

 

Reported by Pratiksha and Shweta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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