In order to provide guidance and assistance to an exporter, the Government of India has setup several institutions.

The institutional set-up for export promotion in India can be divided into six different tires:

Department of commerce

Advisory Bodies
Commodity Organizations Service Organizations Government Trading Organizations State Export Promotion Agencies

Tier level

Bodies

Responsibilities

Tier I Tier II

Department of Commerce Advisory Bodies

Frames trade policy. Coordinating discussion between industry and govt. for bringing in required changes.

Tier III
Tier IV

Commodity Organizations
Service Organizations

Assist the export effort of a specific product group.

Facilitate and assist exporters to expand markets. Handle export-import of specific commodity.

Tier V

Government Trading organizations

Tier VI

State Export Promotion Agencies

Facilitate export promotion from the states.

It is the primary government agency responsible for:

Evolving and directing foreign trade policy and programmes.

Maintaining commercial relations with other countries.

Supervising state trading. Initiating various trade promotion measures. Developing and regulating export-oriented industries.

The Department of Commerce consists of nine Principal Functional Divisions as mentioned below:Administrative and General Division Finance Division Economic Division Trade Policy Division Foreign Trade Territorial Division Export Products Division Export Industries Division Export Services Division Supply Division

Formulation of export strategies and planning. Monitors work relating to technical assistance, overseas investment by Indian entrepreneurs.

Trade policy division

Main Task is to keep aware of developments in international organizations like UNCTAD,WTO.

Development of trade with different countries and regions of the world. Handles matters pertaining to state trading , organizations of trade fair and exhibitions.

Export Products Division

Pays attention to the problems connected with production, generation of surplus, and development of markets for products under its jurisdiction.

Deals with problem of export assistance, cash assistance, export credits, export house, assistance to import capital goods.

Export Industries division

Responsible for the development of rubber, tobacco, cardamom and handles export promotion activites relating to textiles, woolens, handloom etc

1.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Responsible for execution of export-import policy announced by Government of India.

Issuing licenses and monitoring export obligations.

2.

Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Kolkata: This Directorate is the primary Government agency for collection, compilation and publication of the foreign, inland and ancillary trade statistics and dissemination of various types of commercial information. Also maintains a commercial library which is used by the . exporters, importers, research scholars and others.

3. Export Processing Zones/ Special Economic Zones:

Department of Commerce has set up seven Export Processing Zones / Special Economics Zones at various locations as listed below:Kandla Special Economics Zone, Gandhidham. Santacruz Special Economic Zone, Mumbai. Falta Export Processing Zone, Falta (West Bengal). Madras Export Processing Zone. Chennai. Cochin Special Economic Zone, Cochin. Noida Export Processing Zone, Noida (UP). Vishakhapatnam Export Processing Zone, Vishakhapatnam.

Board of Trade was set up on May 5, 1989 with a view to provide an effective mechanism to maintain continuous dialogue with trade and industry in respect of major developments in the field of international trade. The board of trade is headed by the Commerce and Industry Minister as its Chairman. The official members include Secretaries of Commerce and Industry, Finance (Revenue), External Affairs (ER). Textile, Chairman of ITPO, Chairman/MD of ECGC, MD, Exim Bank and Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India.

The other members include representatives from FICCI, CII, FIEO and various trade and industries sector, media and eminent personalities in the field of import and export trade.

To advice the govt. on policy measures for the preparation and implementation of both short and long-term plans

To review export performance of various sectors, identify constraints, and suggest measures to be taken. To examine the existing institutional framework for exports and suggest practical measures for reorganization. To review the policy instrument, package of incentives, and procedures for exports, and suggest steps to rationalize and channelize incentives to areas where they are most needed

There is an Export Promotion Board under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary to provide policy and infrastructural support through greater coordination among concerned ministries for boosting the growth of exports.

All ministries directly connected with facilitating foreign trade are represented on this Board by their Secretaries.

There are various commodity organizations, such as, Export promotion councils Commodity boards Autonomous bodies These organizations look at sector-specific exports.

At present there are 21 Export Promotion Councils (EPC's) whose basic objective is to promote and develop the exports of the country. Each council is responsible for the promotion of a particular group of products, projects and services. The present set up of EPCs covers following sectors:

Engineering Overseas Construction Electronics & Computer Software Plastics & Linoleums Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, & Cosmetics

Chemicals & Allied Products

Gems & Jewellery Leather Sports Goods Cashew Shellac Apparel Synthetic & Rayon Indian Silk Carpet Handicrafts Wool and Woolens Cotton Textiles Handloom Power loom

To offer professional advice to their members in areas such as technology up gradation, quality and design improvement, standards and specifications, product development, innovation, etc. To organise visits of delegations of its members abroad to explore overseas market opportunities. To build a statistical base and provide data on the exports and imports of the country. To organise participation in trade fairs, exhibitions and buyerseller meets in India and abroad

Commodity boards
In order to look after the issues related to production, marketing and development of commodities. The commodities which follows:Tea board Coffee board Coir board Central silk board All India handlooms and handicraft board Rubber board Cardamom board Tobacco board Spices board

Functions

Provide an integrated approach for production development and marketing of the commodity.

They act as a link between Indian exporters and importers aboard.

They formulate and implement quality improvement systems, research and development programmes. They act as an interface between the international agencies such as the ITC, FAO,UNIDO etc.

Apart from Export Promotion Councils & Commodity Boards some other Commodity organizations include:MPEDA, Cochin : The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) a statutory body, is responsible for development of the Marine products industry with special focus on marine product exports. APEDA, New Delhi: The Agricultural and Processed Foods Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) , is also a statutory body which serve as the focal point for agricultural exports, including the export of processed foods in value added form.

Arrange exports where bulk handling and long term contracts are advantageous.

Facilitate exports of difficult to sell items.

Organize production to meet export demand.

Undertake imports of such commodities where bulk procurement is advantageous.

SERVICE INSTITUTES

Indian institute of foreign trade Indian council of arbitration India trade promotion organization National centre for trade information

Export-credit guarantee corporation

Export import bank of India Indian institute of packing Federation of Indian export org.

IIFT was set up in 1964 by the Government of India as an autonomous organization which is engaged in following activities :Training of personnel in modern techniques of international business. Organization of research in areas of foreign trade. Conducting marketing research, field surveys, commodity surveys, market surveys. Dissemination of information arising from its activities relating to research and market studies.

Organising various trade fairs and exhibitions. Establishing durable contacts between Indian suppliers and overseas buyers. Assisting Indian companies in product development and adaptation to meet buyers' requirements. Organising Buyer-Seller Meets and other exclusive India shows with a view to bringing buyers and sellers together Organising seminars/conferences/workshops on trade-related subjects. Encouraging small and medium scale units in export promotion efforts. Conducting in-house and need-based research on trade and export promotion.

National Centre for Trade Information has been set up as a company registered under section 25 of Indian Companies Act, 1956 on 31st March, 1995. The company has a Board of Directors for administration of its affairs Establish linkages with trade promotion bodies, regulatory bodies. Publish papers, periodicals having a bearing on trade and commerce. Maintain liaison with trade & commercial bodies of different countries. Disseminate information on countries & products to trade & industry.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd (ECGC), was established in the year 1957 by the Government of India to strengthen the export promotion drive by covering the risk of exporting on credit Provides a range of credit risk insurance covers to exporters against loss in export of goods and services. Makes it easy to obtain export finance from banks/financial institutions. Provides information on credit-worthiness of overseas buyers. Provides Overseas Investment Insurance to Indian companies investing in joint ventures abroad .

The Export Import Bank of India was setup by an Act of Parliament in September, 1981 and commenced its operation in March, 1982. It is wholly owned by the Government of India. It was set up for the purpose of financing, facilitating and promoting foreign trade in India

The primary objective of the Export-Import Bank of India is to provide financial assistance to importers and exporters and function as the top financial institution. Some of the services of the bank include: overseas investment finance, export credit, finance for export oriented units and agricultural & SME finance.

Export Inspection Council, either directly or through Export Inspection Agencies, renders services in the areas of: Certification of quality of export commodities through installation of quality assurance systems (In-process Quality Control and Self Certification) in the exporting units as well as consignment wise inspection. Certification of quality of food items for export through installation of Food safety Management System in the food processing units. Issue of Certificates of origin to exporters under various preferential tariff schemes for export products.

Govt. of India in collaboration with the industry setup the IIP in 1966. The main objectives of the Institute are to: Undertake research on raw materials for the packaging industry. Keep India in step with international developments in the field of packaging. Organize training programmes on packaging technology. Stimulate consciousness of the need for good packaging Organize consultancy services for the industry.

The Indian Council of Arbitration set up under the Societies Registration Act, promotes arbitration as a means of settling commercial disputes. The Council, a non-profit service organization, is a guarantee institution of the Department of Commerce. The main objectives of the Council are to:

Arranging arbitration of disputes in international trades through its constitute members. Maintenance of panels of persons to act as arbitrators . Collaboration with international organization in matters concerning International commercial arbitration.

FIEO represents, directly or indirectly, over 100,000 exporters across India. FIEO's, interest and objectives cover the entire gamut of India's International trade with special focus on exports. its functions are:Arranging round table conferences of business interests in India with trade missions and others business teams on a visit to India. Projecting Indian goods abroad through various advertisements, exhibition etc. Maintaining overseas liaison with ITC, WTO, IMF etc. Inviting business interests and economic and trade missions from abroad specially for a tour of industrial and commercial centres of India .