Commerce ministry ropes in e-comm players to propel districts as export hubs

This collaboration will boost the Indian government's 'Make in India' initiative as it aims to enable MSMEs to sell their products globally.

In its push for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and as part of efforts to boost e-commerce exports from the country, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the commerce and industry ministry is tying up with the e-commerce players such as Amazon. The collaboration is likely to leverage the 'Districts as Export Hubs' initiative and promote e-commerce exports from the country.

The DGFT has signed a contract with Amazon India, which will co-create capacity building sessions, training, and workshops for MSMEs in districts identified in accordance to the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

This collaboration seeks to link local producers in rural districts with global supply chains. This will boost the Indian government's 'Make in India' initiative as the collaboration aims to enable MSMEs to sell their products globally.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Santosh Sarangi (additional secretary and director-general of DGFT), Chetan Krishnaswamy (vice-president for public policy at  Amazon), and Bhupen Wakankar (director of global trade at Amazon India), read a government statement.

Under this initiative, various e-commerce platforms will identify districts for capacity-building and outreach activities in collaboration with DGFT-Regional Authorities and will focus on educating MSMEs about e-commerce exports. The capacity-building sessions will cover essential aspects such as imaging, digital cataloguing of products, tax advisory, and more.

Under the deal with Amazon India, some 20 districts have been indentified for these sessions, the press release further said.

More partners

The DGFT is looking to onboard more partners and is in discussion with prominent e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart/Walmart, eBay, Rivexa, Shopclues, Shiprocket, and DHL Express, for similar collaborations.

This collective effort is poised to strengthen DGFT’s commitment to support, promote, and guide new and first-time exporters, as well as other MSME producers, towards realising the ambitious goal of achieving $1 trillion in goods exports by the year 2030, the press release said.