Jaipur Becomes First City With Co-located Commerce Offices

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal virtually inaugurated Vanijya Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan in Jaipur on 4 November 2026, starting the co-location of the Ministry's offices and those of its associated and affiliated organisations at one address. Jaipur has become the first city, and the first State capital, to bring all of them under a single roof.

What co-location means here

The offices of the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) now sit together. The minister described such centres as hubs for industry and international trade and as one-stop locations for the promotion of exports, investments and internal trade. He asked that the model be taken to every State capital, calling for the offices of all 46 organisations under the Ministry to be co-located across the country. The Ministry at present runs around 500 offices. Very large campuses, such as the big ECGC office in Mumbai, will keep working independently, while a co-located centre will serve all 46 organisations regardless of which of them are physically present there.

Deadlines for going fully online

The minister directed that every process move entirely online, including applications for licences and permits and SCOMET approvals.

Where original documents must be checked in person, a small counter may be provided, and computers may be placed at office entrances so that documents can be verified and uploaded at the same time. The minister pressed for self-certification and greater trust in stakeholders.

Facilities and oversight

• Video conferencing must be available at every co-located office, expandable to two or three counters by size, so that officials of organisations not stationed there can still be reached
• CCTV cameras at every office are to be linked to a central server at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi for periodic, not continuous, monitoring
• Every office must hold the approvals it needs, including Fire Brigade clearance and clearance under the Shops and Establishments Act
• Offices must have good toilets for men and women and accessible toilets for persons with disabilities
• Furniture and equipment should be modular, and procurement of furniture, equipment, lighting and curtains should be domestic or Swadeshi wherever possible

The larger goal

The minister said co-location, digitisation and faceless assessments together would lift transparency and accountability, and that a single unified presence of the Ministry in each State would reassure businesses. He linked the exercise to the journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047 and to preparing the country to become a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, noting that new trade agreements and newly opened markets have widened the Ministry's responsibilities.