India aims to grab nearly 10 per cent share of the projected global $2 trillion e-commerce market, launches initiatives to enable exporters, including Trade Connect e-platform and e-commerce export hubs
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Tuesday that the government is planning to expand India’s share in global e-commerce exports to $200 billion by 2030. Barthwal, in a press briefing, highlighted the growing international e-commerce market and with India’s focus on increasing its manufacturing capacity, e-commerce exports offer a huge opportunity of growth for the country.
Currently, nearly $5 billion is the contribution of e-commerce to India’s exports while the global e-commerce market is about $800 billion. The international e-commerce market is projected to increase to $2 trillion.
“We want that at least 10 per cent of the share of that $2 trillion market should be with India and we are expecting that in the next five years, we should be able to reach that $200 billion mark,” said Barthwal.
He also mentioned the steps taken by the commerce ministry to achieve the target. He highlighted that in the first 100 days of the Modi 3.0 government, the ministry has held meetings with the exporters to understand their problems and find solutions for the same. Additionally, the ministry introduced a ‘Trade Connect e-platform', which is a “fast, accessible, and transformational” single-window initiative that will help exporters add newer markets.
“Our focus should be to identify the opportunities in the world market. The launch of this platform will enable India to increase its market share in the world and the international opportunities will be showcased on the platform,” said union minister of commerce, Piyush Goyal at the launch event on September 11.
Moreover, small businesses and entrepreneurs will also be able to access the platform, learn about the free trade agreement (FTA) benefits that will help in expanding their trade internationally, added Goyal.
Another initiative in alignment with the $200 billion India’s e-commerce export target is building e-commerce export hubs to connect small and medium enterprise exporters to the global market.
“These hubs will require regulatory framework. We are starting a pilot project based on expressions of interest,” said the commerce secretary. Following the success of the pilot project, the hubs will be launched in major cities that are close to airports, he added.