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This platform, proposed on the lines of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will aid in moving towards the shift to digitisation of complete trade documentation
The project may take 2-3 years to take shape, as per the report
Earlier this month, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a digital public infrastructure, ‘BharatTradeNet’ (BTN), for international trade to further boost global trade
Following finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement in her Union 2025 budget speech last week for setting up BharatTradeNet as a unified platform for trade and documentation and financing solutions, a senior government official has reportedly hailed the proposal, saying that there is a plan to build a separate agency to implement this project.
This platform, proposed on the lines of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will aid in moving towards the shift to digitisation of complete trade documentation, while also allowing flexible operations of agencies involved, the PTI reported, citing director general of foreign trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Saranagi.
He also said that the project may take 2-3 years to take shape, as per the report.
Earlier this month, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a digital public infrastructure, ‘BharatTradeNet’ (BTN), for international trade to further boost global trade.
The announcement on establishment of this mission came with an outlay of INR 2,250 Cr to boost the country’s outbound shipments.
Saranagi highlighted that BharatTradeNet would enable the digitisation of over 30 trade documents, such as bills of lading, promissory notes, for secure electronic issuance, transfer, and storage, where required.
“We are ambitious to do something which is a UIDAI kind of programme in future, where the idea is to create a separate agency because we need a very strong IT team and system architecture team. They should have the awareness of a full trade ecosystem and how it operates. So we have suggested creating a Section 8 company for implementing this as it will have to interact with multiple agencies,” Sarangi was quoted as saying in the report.
The agencies mentioned are identified as Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), banking systems, multiple shipping lines, ports and airports.
This platform would primarily benefit exporters and importers as it would accelerate the pace of clearances and export credit access.
The report further elaborated that there are about 30 entities involved in trade documentation and financing arrangement currently, where each has its own portal and systems and the exporter or importer must fill up about 5,000 odd data points when it navigates through different trade and finance ecosystems.
According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India’s total exports, including merchandise and services, recorded a steady 6% growth in the first nine months of FY25, reaching $602.6 Bn.
In the first nine months of FY25, India’s total exports, including merchandise and services, grew by 6%, reaching $602.6 Bn.
