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New Delhi: Amid rising tensions in the West Asia region, the Indian government has formed an inter-ministerial group specifically monitoring the situation to assess any disruption to India’s trade and shipping.Addressing a post-Budget webinar, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was quoted by PTI as saying, “We have constituted an inter-ministerial group that meets on a daily basis and is closely monitoring developments in West Asia to assess any vulnerabilities in our shipping, logistics, exports or even critical imports, and we will coordinate with the inter-ministerial actions.”Giving more details about the functioning of the ‘Group’ at X, he said, “An ‘Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG)’ for Supply Chain Resilience has been created, comprising members from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to facilitate effective coordination, monitoring and follow-up.Assuring further stability, he said, “The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is strongly committed to enabling a stable and responsive business environment for our traders and exporters, protecting their interests and ensuring uninterrupted operations.”Goyal also gave contact information: 📧 Helpline contact: adg1-dgft@gov.in☎️ DGFT Helpdesk No.: 1800-572-1550, 1800-111-550The Union Minister also listed some measures taken “to facilitate business operations”.He revealed the three measures as follows:
- Procedural Flexibility in Export-Related Authorities
- Coordination with customs and port authorities to ensure smooth clearance
- Linkage with financial and insurance institutions to protect exporter interests
This comes as exporters have reportedly expressed concern that rising West Asian tensions following the joint US and Israel attacks on Iran could impact India’s trade.