Latest News | Barthwal Assumes Charge as Commerce Secretary
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. Senior IAS officer Sunil Barthwal on Friday assumed charge as commerce secretary, an official statement said.
New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) Senior IAS officer Sunil Barthwal on Friday assumed charge as commerce secretary, an official statement said.
Prior to this, he was the secretary in the ministry of labour and employment.
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The 1989-Bihar cadre IAS officer is a postgraduate in economics.
He has held various administrative positions in the areas of finance, social security, investment, infrastructure, mines, steel, energy, and transport, the commerce ministry said.
Barhwal is taking the charge at a time when the country's exports are registering single-digit growth for the last two months due to global uncertainties.
India's exports rose marginally by 1.62 per cent to USD 33.92 billion, while the trade deficit more than doubled to USD 27.98 billion in August due to increased crude oil imports. In July, the exports rose by 2.14 per cent.
The ministry is also finalising negotiations for a free trade agreement with the UK. Talks are also underway with the European Union and Canada.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)