281% jump in cross-border trade via 11 integrated check posts in 10 years

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 9

With a massive boost to cross-border trade through 11 existing integrated check posts (ICPs) along land borders, India is in the process of developing 12 more ICPs by the end of 2024, besides making these all gender-responsive.

Attari ICP functional since 2012

Formulated in the early 2000s in the aftermath of the Kargil War in 1999, ICPs are entry and exit points on India’s land borders and are intended to be a one stop solution for cross border trade facilitation. Attari land port functional since 2012, was the first Integrated Check Post in India. In the next ten years 10 more ICPs were developed.

The Union Home Ministry data show a whopping 281 per cent rise in cross-border trade via the 11 ICPs over the past 10 years—from Rs 32,746 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 1,24,841 crore until August 2023. The 11 land ports (ICPs) are at Attari and Dera Baba Nanak with Pakistan; Agartala, Dawki, Petrapole, Srimantapur and Sutarkandi with Bangladesh; Jogbani, Raxaul and Rupaidiha with Nepal; and Moreh with Myanmar.

The Lands Ports Authority of India records show that in 2020 alone, 40 per cent of India’s total trade with Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Pakistan took place through the six ICPs at Attari, Agartala, Petrapole, Raxaul, Jogbani and Moreh.

Now, plans are afoot to further boost trade, besides involving more and more women by making all Indian land ports along the 15,000 km land border gender-responsive. A Home Ministry-commissioned study in this respect, titled “Engendering Land Ports in India”, has provided guidance on how to conduct gender auditing of all land ports and enhance the share of women in trade besides making transit easy and friendly for them.

“Our endeavour is to make land ports friendly spaces for work and transit both. We are currently present at 11 locations and plan to reach 20 by year-end. The study we commissioned has told us what factors will help to make land ports more gender-neutral. It is in line with India’s National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (2020-23), which specifically recommends gender inclusion in trade,” Aditya Mishra, Chairman, Land Ports Authority of India, told The Tribune today.