Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and Fisheries Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh Hold High-Level Meeting to Accelerate Seafood Sector Growth

📌 Summary:

• Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh held a high-level joint meeting on 14 May 2026 on a roadmap to accelerate India's seafood sector and global export competitiveness
• The two Ministries committed to a coordinated strategy of value addition, infrastructure development, product diversification, quality assurance, market expansion and deep-sea fishing, aligned with PMMSY and allied schemes
• A two-day "Chintan Shivir" will be jointly organised on 5-6 June 2026 at Visakhapatnam, involving MoFPI, MPEDA, NFDB, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority and State fisheries departments
• The Government is exploring a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) framework for the seafood sector to boost value-added exports, build infrastructure, encourage technology adoption and support MSMEs
• The framework aims to expand the number of seafood exporters from around 1,200 at present to 5,000, and increase the share of value-added products in total seafood exports
• Special emphasis will be placed on developing the tuna sector in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep through sustainable harvesting, processing, branding and export; the Department of Fisheries and MPEDA will lead global trade delegations and strengthen SPS compliance

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — agriculture and allied sectors (fisheries); export promotion, value addition, PLI schemes and the blue economy.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• PMMSY is the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for fisheries development
• MPEDA is the Marine Products Export Development Authority; NFDB is the National Fisheries Development Board
• A "Chintan Shivir" on the seafood sector will be held at Visakhapatnam on 5-6 June 2026
• The Government aims to raise the number of seafood exporters from ~1,200 to 5,000

🔑 Key Term: SPS compliance — adherence to Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, the food-safety and animal/plant-health standards required to access international markets for products like seafood.