|
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has expanded access to its ‘Source from India’ facility on the Trade Connect ePlatform to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-recognised start-ups, including emerging pharmaceutical companies and other innovation-led businesses.
This move aims at improving their visibility among international buyers and supporting their entry into global markets. The initiative is also expected to provide pharma start-ups and smaller exporters with an official digital channel to showcase their products, credentials and export capabilities.
The Trade Connect ePlatform has been developed as a one-stop digital interface to connect Indian exporters with institutional support from the Government of India. Its ‘Source from India’ feature functions as a buyer-discovery platform where eligible Indian exporters can create microsites and present their products and organisational credentials to overseas buyers. For pharmaceutical start-ups, the facility could provide an additional avenue to showcase formulations, healthcare products, technologies and other export-oriented offerings to prospective international customers.
Under the earlier eligibility framework, ‘Source from India’ was made available from November 1, 2025 to all valid Importer Exporter Codes (IECs), provided the IEC was not in the Denied Entity List (DEL) and the exporter had achieved minimum export realisation of USD 100,000 in at least one of the preceding three financial years. Status Holders were also eligible. The DGFT electronic Bank Realisation Certificate (eBRC) database serves as the sole reference for determining export realisation, based on the aggregate eBRC value recorded for each financial year.
DGFT has now provided a specific facilitation for DPIIT-recognised start-ups to widen participation in the facility. Start-ups meeting the existing eligibility requirements can register on ‘Source from India’ and will receive a unique start-up badge mapped to their profiles. Their export activity can be verified through the DGFT IEC database.
Importantly for early-stage start-up, DGFT has created a special exception. A DPIIT-recognised start-up can register on ‘Source from India’ even if it does not meet the existing USD 100,000 export-realisation requirement, as long as it has an active IEC and is not included in the DEL list. This provision can be particularly relevant for new pharmaceutical ventures that have developed exportable products but have not yet accumulated sufficient historical export realisation to qualify under the general criteria.
For an Indian pharma exporter, the IEC is a mandatory 10-digit business identification number issued by the DGFT Portal. The DEL is a restriction database; if a pharma exporter's IEC is placed on the DEL due to trade defaults or compliance issues, their export-import activities and promotional benefits are blocked or suspended until resolved.
A senior DGFT official said the inclusion of recognised start-ups is intended to bring innovation-led Indian businesses into a formal international buyer-discovery mechanism. This would help start-ups gain visibility in global markets and support the broader objective of diversifying India’s export basket through innovative products and services.
The move has implications for the pharmaceutical export ecosystem, where start-ups are increasingly involved in areas such as speciality formulations, biotechnology, diagnostics, digital health, contract research, medical technologies and other healthcare-related products. For such companies, establishing credibility and reaching overseas buyers can be a significant challenge during the initial stages of internationalisation. The official Trade Connect profile can provide an additional platform for presenting their capabilities to foreign sourcing agencies and buyers.
Pharmaceutical exporters and members of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) are also expected to benefit from the wider participation framework. DGFT has also asked industry associations to give wide publicity to the trade notice and encourage eligible members to participate. This places an opportunity before Pharmexcil and other industry bodies to encourage eligible pharma start-ups and emerging exporters to create their profiles and use the platform as part of their overseas market-development efforts.
Indian Missions abroad have also been sensitised to use ‘Source from India’ as a reference point when foreign buyers approach them seeking Indian suppliers. This could provide an additional link between overseas sourcing requirements and Indian pharmaceutical start-ups and exporters registered on the platform.
The registration process requires a valid Trade Connect user account linked to an eligible IEC. Exporters already registered on the DGFT platform can use the same credentials on Trade Connect and do not need to register again. After logging in with the email address linked to the eligible IEC, users can select the ‘Create Source from India Profile’ option from the dashboard, enter their export achievements and required declarations, and submit the profile for approval.
Once approved, the profile becomes publicly visible through the ‘Source from India’ facility on Trade Connect. Start-up users whose profiles are linked to eligible IECs, including those covered under the special exception, will automatically see the option to create a ‘Source from India’ microsite on their dashboard.
|