HIMACHAL PRADESH RAISES KEY TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION ISSUES AT BOARD OF TRADE MEETING

Face2News/Shimla/New Delhi

The Board of Trade (BoT) Meeting was held at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. The meeting was attended by all Commerce & Industry Ministers of State and Ministers-in-Charge of Trade and Commerce from various States and Union Territories.

Representing Himachal Pradesh, Shri Harshwardhan Chauhan,  Industries Minister, along with Shri R.D. Nazeem, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries), actively participated in the deliberations of the Board of Trade meeting.

The Industries Minister expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of India and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry for launching the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA), a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening industrial infrastructure and promoting balanced industrial development across the country.

During the discussions, Shri Harshwardhan Chauhan, Hon’ble Industries Minister,highlighted key initiatives, priorities, and requirements of the State Government’s for strengthening trade, enhancing exports, accelerating industrial development and attracting investment to promote sustainable economic growth in Himachal Pradesh. He expressed his gratitude for reducing minimum eligibility requirement to 25 acres for hilly statesunder BHAVYA scheme for setting up plug and play facilities.

The  Industries Minister stated that such policy measures would go a long way in attracting fresh investments, generating employment opportunities, and accelerating industrial development in the State while fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The Industries Minister further shared that Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for four proposed industrial clusters at 1. Majhol Village (Vaknaghat), Solan District; 2. Gheer-Lakhanpur Industrial Area (Nalagarh Tehsil), Solan District; 3. Ogli Village, Kala Amb, Sirmaur District; and 4. Beetan-Taliwal Industrial Area (under PPP mode), Una District are currently under finalization and will be submitted to the Government of India shortly.

The Minister further shared that the State’s exports have increased from approximately Rs. 500 Cr. in 2003-04 to Rs. 20,414 Cr. in 2024-25, reflecting the significant expansion of the State’s industrial base, export-oriented manufacturing ecosystem and policy-driven efforts to promote global market access for Himachal Pradesh’s products.

To strengthen export promotion and encourage import substitution, he requested for a Satellite Office of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial corridor also satellite Campus of NIPER, Mohali may also be setup in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park (BDP) at Una.
 
To strengthen the connectivity for both raw material and finished good he urged the Government of India to expedite the Chandigarh–Baddi Rail Line Project at the earliest. He shared that the early completion of the rail corridor would make the Inland Container Depot (ICD), Baddi, fully operational, thereby significantly reducing logistics costs and improving export competitiveness for industries located in Himachal Pradesh.

It was also informed that total number of Geographical Indication (GI) tags products from Himachal Pradesh are 17, out of which seven new products have been added recently, further strengthening the State’s rich heritage and unique product identity.Further, in the meeting Hon’ble Industries Minister shared that the  Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh has recently announced in his budget speech “One District Three Products” initiative to encourage local entrepreneurship, value addition, and market expansion of indigenous products. On this Shri Piyush Goyal assured support for promoting GI-tagged products and One District One Product (ODOP) initiatives under the proposed Export Promotion Mission. 

The Industries Minister underscored the importance of import substitution and highlighted that the State Government is actively pursuing fresh investments, particularly in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park at Una, which is expected to emerge as a major pharmaceutical manufacturing hub also he shared high priority to export promotion in sectors such as:

• APIs/ Bulk Drug • Data Centers• AYUSH and wellness• Forest-based produce• Food processing
• Defence• EV

The Industries Minister further emphasized the need to encourage green and sustainable industries to maintain ecological balance while promoting industrial growth in the hill state. The Industries Minister highlighted the urgent requirement for world-class testing, quality certification and accreditation facilities in the State to help exporters meet international standards. He also stressed the need for graded incentive mechanisms to support exporters and enhance product competitiveness in global markets.

Taking note of these concerns, Shri Piyush Goyal and Chairman of the Board of Trade, informed the Board that separate interactions would be organized with Northern, Hilly, and Landlocked States to better understand their specific export-related concerns and formulate targeted policy interventions.