The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (IAST: Vānijyā evām Udyog Mantrālaya) is a ministry of the Government of India responsible for facilitating trade, regulating markets, promoting economic growth through industry development, setting trade policies, overseeing compliance with regulations, fostering relationships with businesses, and advocating for industry needs within a government framework; essentially managing the flow of goods and services between producers and consumers both domestically and internationally.
The ministry was re-created on 13 October 1999 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a result of the merger of the two independent ministries, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry. Both the independent ministries had existed since independence and had undergone significant changes over time. The ministry is administered through two departments, the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
The ministry is usually headed by a minister of cabinet rank and occasionally by a minister of state (independent charge). The current minister is Piyush Goyal who has been in office since 31 May 2019.
Organisation Department of Commerce The Department of Commerce is responsible for the formulation and implementation of foreign trade policies and responsibilities relating to multilateral and bilateral commercial relations, state trading, export promotion measures, and development and regulation of certain export oriented industries and commodities. The department is divided into eight divisions: Administrative and General Division Finance Division Economic Division Trade Policy Division Foreign Trade Territorial Division State Trading & Infrastructure Division Supply Division Plantation Division
The subjects under the administrative control of the department include: International trade Foreign Trade State trading Management of Indian Trade Services Special Economic Zones
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade was established in 1995, and in 2000, the Department of Industrial Development was merged with it. The department is responsible for the formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. While individual administrative ministries look after the production, distribution, development and planning aspects of specific industries allocated to them, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy. It is also responsible for facilitating and increasing the FDI flows to the country. It is also responsible to calculate WPI (I.e. Wholesale Price Index).
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is also responsible for intellectual property rights relating to patents, designs, trademarks, copyrights and geographical indication of goods and oversees the initiative relating to their promotion and protection.
The National Startup Awards recognized 46 startups on National Startup Day, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Winners included udChalo and Ratan Tata-backed Repos
Autonomous Bodies Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Coffee Board of India Export Inspection Council of India Indian Institute of Packaging Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore National Institutes of Design National Council for Cement and Building Materials National Turmeric Board National Productivity Council Quality Council of India Tea Board of India
PSU India International Convention & Exhibition Centre (IICC) Limited National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation
Section 8 Company India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) The Plastics Export Promotion Council
Institute Footwear Design and Development Institute
Cabinet ministers
Minister of Commerce (19471999)
PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party MinistryPrime Minister From To Period Minister of Commerce C. H. Bhabha 26 October 1946 15 August 1947 Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru Kshitish Chandra Neogy 6 April 1948 19 April 1950 Jawaharlal Nehru(Prime Minister) 19 April 1950 29 May 1950 Sri Prakasa 29 May 1950 26 December 1950 Minister of Commerce and Industry Harekrushna Mahatab 26 December 1950 13 May 1952 Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru T. T. Krishnamachari 13 May 1952 30 August 1956 Nehru II Minister of Commerce and Consumer Industries Swaran Singh 30 August 1956 14 November 1956 Indian National Congress Nehru II Jawaharlal Nehru Morarji Desai 14 November 1956 1 January 1957 Minister of Commerce and Industry Morarji Desai 1 January 1957 28 March 1958 Indian National Congress Nehru II Jawaharlal Nehru Nehru III Lal Bahadur Shastri 28 March 1958 5 April 1961 K. Chengalaraya Reddy 5 April 1961 19 July 1963 Nehru IV Minister of International Trade Manubhai Shah(Minister of State) 19 July 1963 9 June 1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda Minister of Commerce Manubhai Shah(Minister of State until 24 Jan 1966) 9 June 1964 13 March 1967 Indian National Congress Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda Indira I Indira Gandhi Dinesh Singh 13 March 1967 14 February 1969 Indian National Congress Indira II Minister of Foreign Trade and Supply Bali Ram Bhagat 14 February 1969 4 November 1969 Indian National Congress (R) Indira II Indira Gandhi Minister of Foreign Trade Bali Ram Bhagat 4 November 1969 27 June 1970 Indian National Congress (R) Indira II Indira Gandhi Lalit Narayan Mishra(Minister of State) 27 June 1970 18 March 1971 18 March 1971 5 February 1973 Indira III Minister of Commerce D. P. Chattopadhyaya(Minister of State until 23 Dec 1976) 5 February 1973 24 March 1977 Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Indira Gandhi Mohan Dharia 24 March 1977 28 July 1979 Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai 30 July 1979 14 January 1980 Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh Pranab Mukherjee 14 January 1980 15 January 1982 Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi Shivraj Patil(Minister of State, I/C) 15 January 1982 29 January 1983 V. P. Singh 29 January 1983 7 September 1984 Pranab Mukherjee 7 September 1984 31 October 1984 Minister of Commerce and Supply Pranab Mukherjee 31 October 1984 31 December 1984 Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi(Prime Minister) 31 December 1984 14 January 1985 Rajiv II V. P. Singh 14 January 1985 30 March 1985 Minister of Commerce V. P. Singh 30 March 1985 25 September 1985 Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi Khurshed Alam Khan(Minister of State, I/C) 25 September 1985 15 November 1985 Arjun Singh 15 November 1985 20 January 1986 P. Shiv Shankar 20 January 1986 25 July 1987 N. D. Tiwari 25 July 1987 25 June 1988 Dinesh Singh 25 June 1988 2 December 1989 V. P. Singh(Prime Minister) 2 December 1989 5 December 1989 Janata Dal Vishwanath V. P. Singh Arun Nehru 6 December 1989 10 November 1990 Chandra Shekhar(Prime Minister) 10 November 1990 21 November 1990 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar Subramanian Swamy 21 November 1990 21 June 1991 Janata Party P. Chidambaram(Minister of State, I/C) 21 June 1991 9 July 1992 Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao(Prime Minister) 9 July 1992 17 January 1993 Pranab Mukherjee 18 January 1993 10 February 1995 P. Chidambaram(Minister of State, I/C) 10 February 1995 3 April 1996 P. V. Narasimha Rao(Prime Minister) 3 April 1996 16 May 1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 16 May 1996 1 June 1996 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee I Atal Bihari Vajpayee Devendra Prasad Yadav 1 June 1996 29 June 1996 Janata Dal Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda Bolla Bulli Ramaiah(Minister of State, I/C) 29 June 1996 21 April 1997 Telugu Desam Party 21 April 1997 19 March 1998 Gujral I. K. Gujral Ramakrishna Hegde 19 March 1998 13 October 1999 Lok Shakti Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Industry (19501999)
Key Assassinated or died in office