DGFT To Ink Pacts With Global E-Comm Platforms To Leverage 'Districts As Export Hubs' Initiative

The commerce ministry's arm DGFT will ink agreements with different global online platforms like Walmart in the next 15-30 days to provide training to MSMEs in identified districts in different areas, such as making digital catalogues and promoting exports through e-commerce mediums.

The capacity building session will allow MSMEs to learn about imaging, digital cataloguing of their products, and tax advisory, among others, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi told reporters here on Thursday.

The MoUs "will be signed in next 15 days to one month," he said.

The broad contours of these agreements include capacity building at the district levels, "where our artisans, weavers, aspiring exporters will be given details about e-commerce exports, hands-on demo about how it is done, how to do cataloguing, take pictures, and how to put those on e-commerce platforms," Sarangi said.

Last month, a similar agreement was signed with US-based Amazon to provide training to MSMEs in 20 identified districts.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is in discussions with various other e-commerce platforms like Flipkart/Walmart, eBay, Rivexa, Shopclues, and DHL Express to have similar collaboration in other districts of the country under the initiative.

DGFT deals with import and export-related issues of the country.

Under the collaboration, districts will be identified by various e-commerce platforms across India to undertake various capacity-building and outreach activities in collaboration with DGFT-Regional Authorities.

This will supplement DGFT's efforts to handhold, and promote new and first-time exporters and other MSME producers to export from India, thereby making substantial strides towards the goal of USD 1 trillion in goods exports by 2030.

According to the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India should target USD 350 billion worth of goods exported through e-commerce by 2030, and for that, the government needs to address the pain points of the sector by taking steps like formulating a separate policy.

India's current e-commerce export numbers remain far below their potential, and at present, e-commerce exports account for only USD 2 billion, less than 0.5 per cent of the country's total goods export basket, GTRI has said.