Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has approved the establishment of a dedicated Gujarat Export Promotion Council (GEPC) to help industries, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, access international markets and increase the state's exports, IANS reported on Thursday.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

The council will function as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Industries and Mines Department and provide a single institutional platform for export-related guidance, market access, technical assistance, finance and logistics support. According to a government resolution dated November 3, the GEPC will be established as a wholly state-owned, non-profit private limited company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, with its registered office in Gandhinagar.

The council will focus on helping smaller enterprises overcome difficulties in accessing foreign markets, including limited awareness of international market requirements, export procedures, regulations and mandatory certifications. It will assist with identifying overseas markets and entry strategies, mentoring, training programmes and participation in domestic and international trade fairs, and plans digital trade platforms, an exporter portal, testing and certification facilities and logistics support systems.

A major component of its work will be preparing a separate District Export Promotion Plan for every district, in line with the state's Export Promotion Strategy. The plans will be updated after assessing district-level production capacities, industrial specialisations, market demand and export potential, and District Export Promotion Councils (DEPCs), along with regional and sector-specific institutions, will coordinate and monitor export-related activities.

The board will have between three and 15 members, with the Chief Secretary as chairperson and the Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary or Secretary of the Industries and Mines Department as vice-chairperson. The Industries Commissioner will serve as managing director, and representatives of departments including Ports and Transport, Cottage and Rural Industries, Agriculture, the MSME Commissionerate, GIDC, iNDEXTb, the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board and the Finance Department will also sit on the board. The company's initial authorised and paid-up capital has been fixed at Rs one lakh, with the entire share capital held in the name of the Governor through authorised nominees.

The proposal follows a report prepared by the Gujarat State Institution for Transformation (GRIT) in May 2025 recommending a dedicated export promotion institution, and recommendations of a task force on the competitiveness of Gujarat's manufacturing sector, which identified export development as one of three key pillars of industrial growth. Alongside promoting exports, the council will work to reduce import dependence, encourage the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain and Industry 4.0 tools in export processes, and support exporters on intellectual property rights and international trade disputes.