Ministry
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the Government of India's apex department for external trade and industrial policy. Through its Department of Commerce it writes and runs the Foreign Trade Policy, negotiates free-trade agreements and export-promotion measures; through the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade it owns overall industrial policy and foreign direct investment. It is the institution where India's trade strategy — tariffs, FTAs and export targets — is set.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi
- Departments
- 2 (Commerce; DPIIT)
- Total exports FY2024-25
- About US$825 billion (goods + services)
- Export vision
- US$2 trillion by 2030 (Foreign Trade Policy 2023)
Role
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry runs India’s external commerce and its industrial policy through two departments. The Department of Commerce writes the Foreign Trade Policy, negotiates trade agreements at the WTO and bilaterally, administers Special Economic Zones, and directs export promotion through bodies such as the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and the commodity export councils. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) owns overall industrial policy, facilitates foreign direct investment, and runs the internal-trade, startup and intellectual-property agenda, including the Make in India and Invest India platforms.
It is the seat where trade strategy is set: the tariff lines India offers or protects in a negotiation, the export targets it sets itself, and the industrial priorities behind flagship schemes are decided here, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance on customs and the Ministry of External Affairs on the diplomacy that carries a trade deal.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
Separate Commerce and Industry portfolios at independence
The trade and industry machinery of the state passed to the Government of India as distinct ministries.
- reference
Liberalisation opens trade and investment
The 1991 reforms dismantled much of the licence-permit regime and opened Indian trade and FDI to the world.
- reference
Ministry of Commerce and Industry re-created
The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry were merged into a single ministry administered through two departments (Commerce; industrial policy).
- reference
DIPP renamed DPIIT
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion became the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, adding internal trade to its mandate.
- reference
Foreign Trade Policy 2023 takes effect
The open-ended policy (no fixed end date) set a stated vision of US$2 trillion in goods-and-services exports by 2030 and shifted from incentives toward a remission-based regime.
- official
India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement signed
The ministry signed CETA with the United Kingdom; the Press Information Bureau states it gives duty-free access to about 99% of India's exports to the UK by tariff line, with bilateral trade put at around US$56 billion.
- reference
India–EU free-trade negotiations concluded
The European Commission announced conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement; ratification remained pending.
- official
India–US interim trade framework announced
The two governments announced a framework for an interim agreement. Per the White House, the US removed an additional 25% tariff tied to India's Russian-oil purchases and stated it would lower the reciprocal tariff on India from 25% to 18%.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Commerce and Industry?
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the Government of India's apex department for external trade and industrial policy. Through its Department of Commerce it writes and runs the Foreign Trade Policy, negotiates free-trade agreements and export-promotion measures; through the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade it owns overall industrial policy and foreign direct investment. It is the institution where India's trade strategy — tariffs, FTAs and export targets — is set.
- When was Ministry of Commerce and Industry established?
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry was established 1999.
- What does Ministry of Commerce and Industry do?
- Its remit covers Foreign Trade Policy and export promotion (Department of Commerce), Bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations (WTO, FTAs), Special Economic Zones and trade-facilitation infrastructure, Overall industrial policy and FDI (DPIIT), Internal trade, startups and intellectual-property policy (DPIIT).
- What is the latest on Ministry of Commerce and Industry?
- As of 2026-07-05: India–US interim trade framework announced. The two governments announced a framework for an interim agreement. Per the White House, the US removed an additional 25% tariff tied to India's Russian-oil purchases and stated it would lower the reciprocal tariff on India from 25% to 18%.