BHOPAL: The Government of Madhya Pradesh held the Madhya Pradesh Export and FTA Conclave 2026 with the Department of Commerce, Government of India, at the Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Centre, Bhopal, on Thursday. The Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and M.P. Industrial Development Corporation organised it with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and the India Trade Promotion Organisation. IM Global was the knowledge partner. More than 800 exporters and entrepreneurs registered for the day, which covered a technical session, the inaugural, three panel discussions, two presentations and a closing fireside conversation. The Apparel Export Promotion Council, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Pharmexcil, MATEXIL and APEDA were among the export promotion councils taking part. Seven government agencies set up stalls, alongside fourteen showing the State’s ODOP and GI products.
Hon’ble Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shri Chaitanya Kumar Kashyap said MSMEs account for about half of India’s exports. With power, labour and infrastructure costs rising in China, manufacturers in India and Madhya Pradesh have a real opening in world markets, and he urged them to build scale and capacity so that their unit costs come down. Zero duty on garments under the agreements with the UK and the European Union depends on a high Indian content, he said, and the PM MITRA Park, which takes fibre through spinning and weaving in one place, will help the State’s garment exporters meet it. He asked industry associations to bring the government the export openings they find for each industry, and assured that the State will change its policies where that is what it takes for any unit, small or large, to grow its trade.
Chief Secretary Shri Ashok Barnwal walked industry through how to put the agreements to work. Government negotiates the access, he said; quality and price win the buyer, and the agreement gives the exporter an extra edge. He set industry associations three steps towards the ₹1 lakh crore target: pick at least five products in their sector with the highest export potential; find the most promising FTA partner markets for them; and identify the units that can export at that level.
With industry and government working together, he said, the target of ₹1 lakh crore set by Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav can be reached within a year. Responding to pharmaceutical exporters, he announced that adding a product to a drug licence after an export order will take no more than two days, and directed the Managing Director, M.P. Industrial Development Corporation, to set up a standing forum with industry associations. Shri Swatantra Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, opened with the welcome and a presentation on where the State’s exports stand and where they are headed.
Madhya Pradesh exported goods worth ₹68,837 crore in 2025-26, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has set a target of ₹1 lakh crore by December 2028, and new capacity is coming through export locations such as the PM MITRA Park and the Indore SEZ. Shri Chandramauli Shukla, Managing Director, M.P. Industrial Development Corporation and Export Commissioner, and Shri Pratul Chandra Sinha, Executive Director (Exports), were present. Shri Kashyap and Shri Barnwal launched five measures for exporters. The Madhya Pradesh FTA Action Plan 2026-27 sets out 31 actions under seven objectives.
The FTA Handbook for Exporters gives, product by product, the benefit under each agreement, the rule of origin and whom to contact. Exporters can take their questions to the FTA Helpdesk on 0755-2577145 or export.investment@mpidc.co.in. The FTA module of the MP Trade Portal shows the duty a product attracts under each agreement. The FTA Accelerator will work with 80 export units in four sectors, from choosing the right agreement, certification and pricing through to meetings with overseas buyers. Before the inaugural, Dr Tamanna Chaturvedi, Trade Advisor, ITPO, presented an FTA strategy for the State’s exports in the technical session. She took exporters through the State’s priority products, clusters and partner markets, and showed how rules of origin, the certificate of origin and customs procedure decide whether the lower duty is actually received.
The first panel, on using the FTAs in practice, was moderated by Ravi K. Tiwari, CEO, Mexico India Business Council. Dr Tamanna Chaturvedi (ITPO), Dr Arpita Mukherjee (ICRIER), Dr Bidisha Bhattacharya (Chintan Research Foundation), Ms Shiny Pradeep (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) and Shri R. S. Goswami, Managing Director, Hind Pharma, followed one consignment from the factory gate to the overseas buyer, covering the HS code, rules of origin, the certificate of origin and the buyer’s standards. The panel’s main message was that the lower duty is paid only when the buyer claims it, and that the exporter must keep origin records for years.
The second panel, on Madhya Pradesh industry and the export target, was moderated by Shreyaskar Chaudhary, Managing Director, Pratibha Syntex. Shri Rajinder Wadhawan (LT Foods), Shri Vimal Mulchandani (VE Commercial Vehicles), Shri Anand Bangur (Shreeji Polymers), Shri Saurabh Kalani (Flexituff Ventures) and Shri Kunal Giani (Sarv Foam) set out the agreement markets they will pursue and what they need from government. The third panel, on the role of government agencies, was moderated by Abhishek Sharma, Joint Director General of Foreign Trade. Shri Vineet Mathur, Chief Postmaster General; Shri Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General, AEPC; Shri Kumar Anshuman (ECGC); Shri Shailesh Prasad (EXIM Bank); and Shri A. K. Singh (CONCOR) explained their support for export credit, insurance, rail freight, postal exports and first-time exporters, and took questions from industry. Shri Sharma also presented the Centre’s Export Promotion Mission, and a separate presentation covered the Trade Connect portal. In the closing conversation on the way forward, Shri John Kingsly, Secretary, MSME, said small exporters are held back by unequal access to information: he often does not know what duty his product attracts in which market, or how to claim the benefit. The Helpdesk, portal and Accelerator launched today are meant to close that gap, and the department will work to meet the Chief Secretary’s one-year timeline. Shri Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India, said that, on the Commerce Minister’s direction, FTA information is now being taken to exporters in the States and districts, and that technical subjects such as rules of origin will be made available to them in simple language. A joint Centre-State technical working group will be set up for the State’s main sectors (automobiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles), meeting at least twice a year to propose solutions on certification and non-tariff barriers.
He suggested holding similar conclaves in the State’s other divisions and districts, with FTA awareness sessions for small groups of exporters in every district over the next six months, linked to ODOP.
