Indian Trade Service
| Service overview | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbreviation | I.T.S. | ||||||||||
| Formed | 1965 (CTS), 1985(ITS)[1] | ||||||||||
| Country |  India
| ||||||||||
| Training ground | Indian Institute of Foreign Trade , New Delhi[2]
Attachments: Major ministries, ports, SEZs, industrial attachment, regional offices, NACEN, Centre for WTO studies | ||||||||||
| Controlling authority | Directorate General of Foreign Trade , Ministry of Commerce | ||||||||||
| Legal personality | Governmental, Civil Service | ||||||||||
| Preceding service | Central Trade Service | ||||||||||
| Cadre size | 180 | ||||||||||
The Indian Trade Service (ITS) is a civil service[1] under Group A of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. It was created as a specialized cadre to handle India's international trade & commerce on the basis of the recommendations of the Mathur Committee (Study Team on the Import and Export Trade Control Organization headed by Sri H.C. Mathur, Member of Parliament) in 1965. At present Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT),[3] under Ministry of Commerce, is the cadre controlling authority of the ITS. DGFT has 38 regional offices[4] across India.
The Department of commerce is headed by a Secretary[5] who is assisted by a Special Secretary & Financial Adviser, three Additional Secretaries, thirteen Joint Secretaries and Joint Secretary level officers and a number of other senior officers. Keeping in view the large increase in workload in matters related to World Trade Organization (WTO), Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), free trade agreements (FTAs), Special Economic Zones (SEZs), joint study groups (JSGs) etc., two posts each of Joint Secretaries and Directors were created in the Department during 2008-09.
The Department is functionally organized into the following nine Divisions:[6]
- International Trade Policy Division
- Foreign Trade Territorial Division
- Export Products Division
- Export Industries Division
- Export Services Division
- Economic Division
- Administration & General Service Division
- Finance Division
- Supply Division
Recruitment
The recruitment to Indian Trade Service is through Civil Services examinations conducted by UPSC.[7][8] In addition, departmental candidates are also promoted as ITS through career progression.
Role of Indian Trade Service
The main role of ITS officers can be divided into five parts:
- Policy formulation in the area of International trade
- Trade Policy implementation
- Export promotion through various initiatives
- International trade negotiations and commercial diplomacy
- Miscellaneous and allied responsibilities
Career progression and other roles of ITS officers
| Grade | Position/Role | Years of service |
|---|---|---|
| Addl Director General of Foreign Trade (JS level) | Policy makers in the area of international trade. Heads of Zones. Development commissioners at various special economic zones etc. | 19th year onwards |
| Jt. Director General of Foreign Trade - Director scale | Providing inputs for policy making at department of commerce and DGFT. Heading various field offices of DGFT. Handling responsibilities at various multilateral and international organizations. Part of key negotiation teams at international forums in the matter of trade. | 14 year onwards |
| Joint Director General of Foreign Trade | Field postings at DGFT field offices, implementing foreign trade policy of India, Export promotion activities, providing policy inputs for policy making in the area of international trade, Interacting with state governments, export promotion bodies, running training programs. At department of commerce, acting as key players in negotiation teams, as investigating officer for anti-dumping investigations and at various divisions of department of commerce. Part of policy making if posted at DGFT headquarters. | 9th year to 14th year |
| Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade | Field postings at DGFT field offices, implementing foreign trade policy of India, Export promotion activities, providing policy inputs for policy making in the area of international trade, Interacting with state governments, export promotion bodies, running training programs. At department of commerce, acting as part of negotiation team at international level, as investigating officer for anti-dumping investigations and at various divisions of department of commerce | 4th year to 9th year |
| Assistant Director General of Foreign Trade | Probation, training and posting at field offices (RAs) of DGFT, Department of commerce | Initial |
References
- ^ a b "Complete Service Profile of Indian Trade Service" (PDF).
- ^ "Indian Institute of Foreign Trade".
- ^ "Directorate General of Foreign Trade".
- ^ "List of Regional offices of DGFT". www.dgft.gov.in. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018.
- ^ "Department of commerce hierarchy". commerce.gov.in.
- ^ "Divisions in department of commerce". commerce.gov.in.
- ^ "service profile" (PDF).
- ^ Civil services examination of India