Outstanding performance by India in United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP) Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation

Source: The post is based on the article “Outstanding performance by India in United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP) Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation” published in PIB on 7th July 2023

What is the News?

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP) has released the Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2023.

What is the Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation?

UNESCAP has been conducting the Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation since 2015.

Aim: To review the progress of trade facilitation reforms in their respective Member States. 

Parameters: The survey covers WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) along with set of nearly 60 trade facilitation measures categorized into eleven sub-groups, namely: 1) Transparency 2) Formalities 3) Institutional arrangement and cooperation 4) Transit facilitation 5) Paperless trade 6) Cross-border paperless trade 7) Trade facilitation for SMEs 8) Agricultural trade facilitation 9) Women in trade facilitation 10) Trade finance for trade facilitation and 11) Trade facilitation in times of crisis. 

The survey is fact-based rather than perception-based. A three-step approach to data collection and validation is generally followed, implemented over a 6-month period every 2 years.

What are the key findings of the survey related to India?

India has positioned itself at the forefront of global trade facilitation efforts with an impressive score of 93.55% in 2023 vis a vis 90.32% in 2021.

India is now the best performing country amongst all the countries of the South Asia region. The overall score of India has been greater than many developed countries including Canada, France, UK, Germany etc.

India has achieved a perfect score of 100% in four key areas: Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation, and Paperless Trade.

India has witnessed a substantial improvement in the score for “Women in Trade Facilitation” component from 66.7% in 2021 to 77.8% in 2023 thereby indicating commitment to gender inclusivity and the empowerment of women in the trade sector.

This outstanding recognition reflects India’s continuous efforts to streamline trade procedures and improve transparency through initiatives such as Turant customs, single window interface for facilitation of trade (SWIFT), pre-arrival data processing, e-Sanchit, and coordinated border management.