Dr. Ashis Dash

Dr. Ashis Dash is an Indian Trade Service (ITS) Officer of the ICS-2008 Batch and served under the Department of Commerce, Government of India, in various positions. Before joining the ITS, he served as an Orissa Administrative Service (OAS) Officer under the Government of Odisha.

He has decades of working experience in the field of foreign trade in terms of facilitation, promotion, regulation of international trade, implementation of foreign trade policy (FTP), enforcement of the FTDR Act, and protection of Indian industry by taking trade remedial measures under the WTO framework. He has in-depth working experience of foreign trade promotion and regulation at prominent trade hubs of India like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Cuttack, and New Delhi.

During his tenure as Head of the Regional Authority of DGFT in Gujarat, he mooted the district as an export hub to connect the district to embassies abroad to promote imports of Indian products abroad through the pull strategy and trade connect through Advance Trade Analytics in 2016 for the first time and drafted the first ever District Export Hub master plan for trade augmentation and trade infrastructure development strategy for all districts of Central Gujarat in 2018. DEH found place for the first time in FTP 2020. During his tenure as Head of DGFT, Cuttack extended handholding support to the Govt. of Odisha to bring the first ever Foreign Trade Policy for the State of Odisha. He contributed significantly in the facilitation, promotion, regulation of foreign trade of Gujarat nearly a decade which helps in sustaining trade vibrancy of Gujarat and to keep Gujarat the frontrunner in ease of doing business. He has in-depth expertise in handling different export sectors, viz., pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering, marine, mining, textile, processed food, etc. He worked as a quasi-judicial authority under the FTDR Act for more than a decade and adjudicated hundreds of cases under the FTDR Act. He acted as Chairman of the Quality Complaint and Trade Dispute Committee (CQCTD) and settled more than 100 international trade disputes. He worked as Director, DGTR, and has the experience of defending Indian industries in terms of trade remedial measures (anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard measures) under the WTO framework and conducted many trade remedial investigations against China PR, UAE, Russia, and Iran.

As Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, DGFT (HQ), Dept. of Commerce, he was in charge of the WTO division, PC-3, and e-Governance & Trade Facilitation (EGTF). He was part of many proactive measures to implement FTP schemes digitally and switch over to a paperless work environment. During his tenure in DGFT, he conducted extensive export awareness campaigns to help exporters leverage the benefits of trade agreements, raise awareness of FTP provisions, and resolve issues faced by exporters in the course of export and import. To promote international trade, he participated as keynote speaker in more than 50 international trade conferences and was appreciated by industry leaders and universities. He has a deeper understanding of the needs, difficulties, aspirations, and nuances of industries operating in the foreign trade sector developed through direct day-to-day interaction with exporters, foreign trade professionals, trade associations, visiting hundreds of industrial units of different sectors operating in different states and direct participation in the formulation and implementation of FTPs over a decade. He has experience working as a member of the unit approval committee of many SEZs, viz., Dehez SEZ, Sterling SEZ, L&T SEZ, Kandla SEZ, and Falta SEZ. He has experience working as a member of the Regional Economic Intelligence Committee in Gujarat and Odisha and working with other line departments for strategizing to control economic offenses. He acted as Member of the Working Committee on Cyber Security of the Department of Commerce and contributed to taking preventive steps for Cyber Security for e-governance and implementation of schemes on digital platforms.

Apart from International Trade, his specialization in the field of Education is comprised of Teacher Education, Educational Measurement and Evaluation, and Philosophy of Education. In the field of Law, his area of specialization is Intellectual Property Law. In the field of Philosophy, his area of specialization is Logic and Indian Philosophy. He authored a few books, viz. Glimpses of Indian Philosophy (2009), Philosophy Dictionary (2009), Strategy of Essay Writing (2008), etc. His latest work is “Are teachers made? Professionalism in Teacher Education” (2020). He also has experience conducting research studies on various topics from different academic streams. The latest research is conducted on the topic “A critical overview of the WTO and protection of IPR (2024)”.

His contribution to various fields has been recognized and appreciated from time to time by different forums and organizations, viz., the JRF Award by UGC, New Delhi, 2003; the Governor’s Award, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, 2018; Appreciation by FIEO 2017, 2018, 2019. Appreciation by Exim Club, Gujarat, 2017, Appreciation by the Federation of Associations of Small Industries of India, 2018, Appreciation by the Federation of Gujarat Industries, Gujarat 2019, Appreciation for Outstanding Contribution in Pre-Vibrant Gujarat by GNFC, Gujarat, 2023; Appreciation by Kaira District Co-Operative Milk Producer’s Union Ltd. (AMUL), Gujarat (2024).