Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has set 31 March 2027 as the deadline to move the ministry's licence, permit and other services fully online, as he virtually inaugurated Vanijya Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan in Jaipur.
The two buildings begin the co-location of the ministry's offices and its associated organisations under one roof. Jaipur is the first city, and the first state capital, to bring them together. Goyal said the model should now be taken to every state capital.
What he ordered
- Online by April 2027: All processes, including licence and permit applications and SCOMET approvals, should be fully online, with past records at the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's regional authorities digitised by 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027, "no person should be required or expected to visit any of the offices physically for these services".
- Verification counters: Where original documents must be checked, small counters or entrance computers can handle verification and uploads.
- Video links: Every co-located office should have video-conferencing so people can reach officials of any of the ministry's 46 organisations. The ministry has about 500 offices.
- Monitoring: CCTV cameras at every office, linked to a central server in Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, for random checks, not continuous monitoring.
- Facilities: Fire and Shops and Establishments approvals for every office, and good toilets, including accessible ones.
- Swadeshi purchases: Furniture, equipment and lighting to be domestic wherever possible.
Why it matters
Goyal said the aim goes beyond administrative consolidation: to simplify processes, encourage self-certification and make it easier to do business. He said time was "of the essence" given volatility in international trade, and wanted the centres to act as facilitation offices for exports and investment, not only licence counters.
Source: official release by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (04 NOV 2026 5:47PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurates Vanijya Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan in Jaipur.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2332658) issued by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on 04 NOV 2026 5:47PM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurates Vanijya Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan in Jaipur — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
