The Department of Commerce under the commerce and industry ministry is setting up four new additional centres to develop expertise for handling contemporary and future requirements like international trade law, regional studies, trade promotion and capacity building. The Central government has already given its approval to set up these centres.
The centre for trade and investment law would create a dedicated pool of legal experts who can advise the government on trade and investment issues. The centre for regional trade would analyse economic developments in different regions and assessing their implications for India. On the other hand, centre for trade-related capacity building would undertake training for government officials/stake holders of India.
In the current financial year, two of the centres - Centre for Trade and Investment Law and Centre for Regional Trade, have already become operational. These centres would help to expand the research capabilities of the centre for WTO studies under renamed Institution Centre for Research and International Trade (CRIT). The objective of the CRIT is to influence international discourse on trade and investment issues in consonance with India's interest.