Discuss how digitisation of export-certificate issuance by DGFT contributes to India's Ease of Doing Business rankings and export competitiveness.

Since the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has shifted certificate issuance — Certificates of Origin, Status Holder Certificates and Free Sale and Commerce Certificates — from manual, discretion-based approval to automated, rule-based systems [1][3]. This transition strengthens both regulatory ease and export competitiveness, though its full gains depend on last-mile implementation.

Reducing compliance burden (Ease of Doing Business)

• Elimination of application filing: Status Holder Certificates are now granted automatically every August using DGCIS merchandise export data, replacing online applications backed by a Chartered Accountant certificate [3].
• Paperless certification: electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin became mandatory from 1 January 2025 on the eCoO 2.0 platform, with Aadhaar-based e-signing and multi-user access under a single IEC [1].
• Lower transaction costs: the EPCG reform of July 2024 extended Installation Certificate timelines and simplified composition fees, cutting manual intervention [4].

Improving transparency and governance

• Data-driven issuance narrows administrative discretion, reducing delay and rent-seeking — a core EoDB parameter of predictability.
• Inter-agency integration between DGFT, DGCIS and 125 issuing agencies, including 110 chambers of commerce, institutionalises single-source verification [1][3].

Enhancing export competitiveness

• Faster turnaround: over 7,000 eCoOs are processed daily, helping exporters meet tight shipment schedules [1].
• Back-to-Back Certificates of Origin enable merchanting trade and trans-shipment, positioning India as a re-export hub [1].
• Automated Free Sale and Commerce Certificates matter for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics exporters, who must satisfy importing countries' regulators quickly.
• Reliable digital documentation improves utilisation of Free Trade Agreement preferences, converting negotiated concessions into realised exports [1][2].

Digitisation thus converts trade facilitation from a promise into a measurable service standard. Sustained gains, however, require exporter awareness, grievance redress and interoperability with the National Single Window System. Anchored in the FTP 2023 vision of minimum human interface, such reforms advance the goal of a trusted, competitive and globally integrated Indian export ecosystem [2].