US, France, Brazil & China on India’s List—Modi Govt’s T-20 Plan Explained

Every effort is made by the government to strengthen the economy through its continuous efforts. One of the major focus points is on increasing exports. For this purpose, the government has marked around 20 different countries where potential trade expansion exists. Target-20 (T-20) countries include Australia, Brazil, China, France and others. Subsequently, the government picked up six major areas of trade development which include trade in goods and services.

Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, disclosed this in writing in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Last month there was a meeting with commercial officials of Indian missions in these 20 countries to review how exports can be enhanced.

Which countries are included?

All 20 identified countries for trade expansion are:

Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA, Vietnam.

Focus will be made to increase trade with these countries, especially in the identified six sectors.

‘E-Connect portal’ makes trade easier

Solutions regarding multilateral trade cooperation as well as operational and logistical challenges were discussed and proposed at the meeting. Some measures easing Indian exports was proven to be most efficient.

One key step is to build a full service data analytics platform that will be useful for spotting new opportunities within the market. On top of that, an E-Connect Portal is being designed to deliver vital information to SMEs regarding market access.

Appeal by government for support on ODOP

The Ministry has reached out to Indian embassies across various nations to advocate for the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. Through this initiative, branding is enhanced, markets are diversified, and the earnings of farmers improves via increased exports.

What's the total number of startups that achieved this recognition?

In a different statement, Minister Jitin Prasada stated that 5,063 registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as active startups have been recorded as closed (struck-off/dissolved) by the corporate affairs ministry (MCA) as of December 31, 2024.

Even with this, the DPIIT has authorized 157,706 organizations as registered startups under the Startup India scheme as of that date. The government takes action to foster entrepreneurship, but for some reason many have ceased trading. In order to promote the success of startups in question, identifying these issues and addressing them will be crucial.