Context:

In a digital initiative to promote ease of agricultural exports from India, the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation has launched digital initiatives by Export Inspection Council (EIC).

About the Initiatives:

• EIC launched the flagship project of Digital India initiative to keep pace with changing dynamics of the world.
• Portal: Three portals have been developed to reduce transaction time and cost in an effective and transparent manner:
  • For Safe Food Export Traceability
  • Single Laboratory for Accreditation and Approvals
  • For Monitoring Export Alerts from importing regulators.
• Safe Food Export Traceability: The complete export food chain has been integrated into this digital platform. Primary production, chain catch, aquaculture pond, dairy farms and apiaries are all linked. Processing units, testing laboratories, official controls and exports have complete traceability.
• Single Laboratory for Accreditation and Approvals: The initiative will provide a unified approach to all stakeholders like accreditation bodies, regulators and laboratories by bringing them on a common platform, which will provide simplified procedures for granting joint certification.
• Export Alert Monitoring Portal: The Export Alert Monitoring portal aims to monitor non-compliances raised by the importing countries. The portal will enable monitoring of alerts and action taken by multiple organisations involved in initial certification in the food safety & biosecurity and analysing the trend, understanding the trade barriers to reduce the alerts and enhance the export trade.

About EIC:

• Export Inspection Council (EIC) is the official export certification body of Government of India.
• The body was set up under Section 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963, in order to ensure the development of export trade of India through quality control and inspection and for other related matters.
• EIC has worked towards building the analytical capability for the country by providing accredited Proficiency Testing (PT) providers at Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by reducing dependency on foreign PT providers and ease of access.

Beneficial:

• Boost to export: The initiatives will help to continue the vision for credible inspection and certification and to further strengthen the confidence on Indian produce. It will give a boost to India’s potential for agricultural and food export.
• Efficient and transparent service: The move has linked up all the chains that will ensure fast, efficient and transparent services for ease of doing business.
• Less time and cost required: Working on a common platform will help in joint and better decision making which will help in reducing cost, time and multiplicity of assessment.
• Brand India: The promotion of exports of food products is very crucial in promoting and protecting Brand India at a global level.

Conclusion

India’s vast potential for quality food and agri-exports is truly underestimated, to realise this potential requires putting in place certain initiatives like this one to ease exports and quality control. The launch of digital initiatives is in line with the Digital India initiative, it will make it much easier to export farm products and reduce transaction cost and time. The portal will not only provide an opportunity for ease of export but also plays an important role in the ‘Go Green’ initiative by reducing paper usage and saving millions of trees. It will remove all the hurdles in exports by understanding the trade barriers and simplifying procedures, providing a common platform, complete traceability and enhance the export trade.

Source:Economic Times