Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) said India has never opened up its dairy sector in any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and will not allow imports of genetically modified (GM) products, describing both as “very sensitive” issues for the country.
Addressing students of Kirori Mal College in Delhi, Mr. Goyal said India has “never ever” compromised on any sensitive item and has always protected its farmers, fishermen, and MSMEs in trade pacts.
“We are very sensitive to opening up to certain agricultural produce, certain goods that we are very strong on like marine products. We are very sensitive to opening our dairy. In fact, till date, we have never opened up dairy for anybody.
“We are very sensitive not to allow any GM products to come to India and we have never allowed it and we’ll never allow it in the future. We are sensitive to our religious sensitivities. So very often in foreign countries, they use calf meat or rennet while producing their dairy products. We don’t allow that in India. It is strictly got to be certified…so that religious sensitivities of the large parts of India are not hurt,” he said while replying to a question on trade pacts.
Rennet is an enzyme used in cheese-making, traditionally obtained from the stomach lining of young calves.
“Our effort is to unlock new opportunities, new employment opportunities, new opportunities for our produce where we are competitive and where our larger part of India, our MSMEs, our agricultural farmers, everybody can benefit in a big way,” the Minister said.
These remarks assume importance as agriculture supports a large share of India’s population, mostly small and marginal farmers.
Policymakers fear that cheap, large-scale imports of GM crops, especially from highly mechanised and subsidised farming systems of developed nations, could depress domestic prices and hurt rural incomes. These products are also sensitive as they touch food safety, farm livelihoods, environmental risks, religious concerns, and trade protection issues.
The U.S. has major interests in GM farm and dairy products. Indian rules prohibit imports of products from animals fed with animal-derived feed due to religious sensitivities.
Mr. Goyal said India always seeks preferential access for sectors such as textiles, pharma, agricultural products, and gems and jewellery.
“So these are all our offensive interests, where we work to get preferential market access. Where duties imposed on goods from India will be less than from our competing nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Philippines,” he said adding, “Our effort is how do we get India a preferential rate over our competitors”.
Regarding jobs, he said the Government is promoting manufacturing in the country in a big way.
“We are working to promote manufacturing, more government jobs. We are working to promote more opportunities for those who want to look for a regular employment. But the world today is opening up for entrepreneurship, is opening up for startups, is offering new opportunities, which I would urge you to seriously consider,” Mr. Goyal said.
Informing students about the country’s exports, the Minister said India is aiming $1 trillion worth of goods and services exports in 2026-27.
During April-September 2026, India’s exports have reached about $480 billion, an increase of about 14% year-on-year.
In the remaining six months, “we need $520 billion” to achieve the target and “we have very good export numbers” in October. The trade data for October will be released officially in mid-November.
On a question about China’s export controls on tunnel boring machines, he said that if the supply of tunnel boring machines is impacted, India will work to make them by itself, adding that the country didn’t go with a begging bowl when access to rare earths was blocked.
Mr. Goyal said India is working with aircraft makers Embraer, Airbus, and Boeing to increase availability of aircraft in the country and this will also boost tourism.
Published – November 03, 2026 03:08 pm IST
