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Source- PIb
What is the news?
India has made substantial progress in UNESCAP’s Global Survey on Digital & Sustainable Trade Facilitation with a 90.32 percent score.
Introduction –
- India has made significant progress in the ease of cross-border trade as per the latest UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation.
- As per the Survey, India’s ranking has improved from 78.49 percent in 2019 to 90.32 percent in 2021.
- India is the best-performing country in the South and southwest Asia region and in the Asia Pacific region.
- Moreover, India’s overall score is greater than the EU average score and some OCED countries.
India’ performance
| Measures | In 2021 [in percentage] | In 2019 [in percentage] |
| Transparency | 100 | 93.33 |
| Formalities | 95.83 | 87.5 |
| Institutional arrangement and cooperation | 88.89 | 66.67 |
| Paperless trade | 96.3 | 81.48 |
| Cross-border paperless trade | 66.67 | 55.56 |
About the UN survey-
- The Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation is conducted every two years by UNESCAP.
- The 2021 Survey includes an assessment of 58 trade facilitation measures covered by the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Steps taken by India to improve cross border trade –
The Government has implemented a number of measures to speed up processes for customs clearance, such as-
- Turant Customs [Faster customs] – The flagship ‘Turant Customs’ program of the CBIC [Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs] brings faceless, paperless, and contactless customs. This has had a direct impact in terms of the improvement in the ranking of India.
- Facilitate trade in times of emergencies – During the pandemic, Customs formations have made all efforts to expedite COVID-19 related imports. A single dedicated window COVID-19, a 24*7 helpdesk for EXIM TRADE, has been established on the CBIC website to assist importers in quickly resolving issues.
Way forward
The improvement in cross-border trade facilitation is a promising sign of post-pandemic economic recovery since the higher score for a country aids businesses in their investment decisions.
