Set up foreign trade satellite office in BBN corridor: HP to Centre
Sensing the huge potential for exports promotion, the Himachal Government has urged the Centre to set up a satellite office of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial corridor.
The demand for the DGFT satellite office was raised by Industry Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan at the meeting of the Board of Trade in New Delhi yesterday. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal chaired the meeting.
Chauhan also urged the Centre to set up a satellite campus of NIPER, Mohali, in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park (BDP) at Una.
“Himachal’s exports have increased from Rs 500 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 20,414 crore in 2024-25, reflecting the significant expansion of the state’s industrial base, export-oriented manufacturing ecosystem and policy-driven efforts to promote the global market,” said Chauhan.
He said the setting up of a DGFT satellite office in the BBN industrial corridor would go a long way in strengthening export promotion and encourage import substitution.
He emphasised such institutions provide critical support to exporters, improve the ease of doing business, enhance research capabilities and promote the growth of the pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors in the region.
He apprised the board that high logistics costs continue to be one of the major obstacles to export promotion in hilly regions such as Himachal Pradesh.
The minister informed that the total number of Geographical Indication (GI) tags products from Himachal Pradesh are 17, displaying the state’s rich heritage and unique product identity.
“The ‘One District, Three Products’ initiative has been launched to encourage local entrepreneurship, value addition and market expansion of indigenous products,” he said.
Chauhan also 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.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal assured support for promoting GI-tagged products and ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) initiatives under the proposed Export Promotion Mission.
He further assured the Centre’s full support, handholding and facilitation measures for promoting local products on national and international platforms, including trade fairs, exhibitions, buyer-seller meets and export promotion events.
“There is an urgent need for improved rail and transport connectivity, logistics infrastructure and freight support mechanisms to enhance export competitiveness,” he said.
To strengthen the connectivity for both raw material and finished goods, he urged the Centre to expedite the Chandigarh–Baddi rail corridor which 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.
The Industries Minister further shared that detailed project reports (DPRs) for four proposed industrial clusters at Majhol village (Vaknaghat in Solan) Gheer-Lakhanpur (Nalagarh in Solan) Ogli village (Kala Amb in Sirmaur) and Beetan-Taliwal in Una district are currently under finalisation and would be submitted to the Centre. RD Nazeem, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries), also attended the meeting.
