(i) UNCTAD: The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, was established in 1964 with the objective of integrating the developing countries with the world economy through discussions. It undertakes activities such as collecting research and data for policy making and extending technical assistance to the less developed countries as per their requirements.
(ii) MIGA: The Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA, was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investment in the less developed countries. It aims at insuring investors against political and noncommercial risks, providing advisory services, etc.
(iii) World Bank: The World Bank (the World Bank was known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) before its growth and expansion) was set up to assist the reconstruction of war affected countries and to facilitate the development of the under-developed nations of the world. Moreover, apart from investing in infrastructure development, agriculture, health and industry, the World Bank is significantly involved in programmes to remove poverty, increasing the income of the poor and providing technological support.
(iv) ITPO: The ITPO, or the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, was formed on January 1, 1992, under the Companies Act, 1956. Its main objective is to maintain close interactions among traders, industry and the government. In order to fulfil this objective, the ITPO organises trade fairs and exhibitions within and outside the country, thereby helping export firms to interact with international trade bodies
(v) IMF: The IMF, or the International Monetary Fund, came into existence in 1945 with the objective of creating and ensuring a healthy international monetary system. It aims at facilitating a system of international payments and adjustments in exchange rates among national currencies in order to bring about balanced growth at the international level and increase the levels of employment and income

The following are the major affiliated bodies of the World Bank.
(a) IBRD: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) was established in 1945 to assist in the reconstruction of war affected countries. It mainly aims at facilitating the development of the poor nations of the world.
(b) IFC: The IFC, or the International Finance Corporation, was formed in 1956 as a separate legal entity to provide finance to the private sector in developing nations. The IFC is part of the World Bank Group. It has its own funds and functions. It is managed independently.
(c) MIGA: MIGA refers to the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency. It was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investments in the less developed countries, insuring investors against political and noncommercial risks, providing advisory services, etc.
(d) IDA: The IDA, or the International Development Association, was established in 1960. Its basic objective is to provide loans and grants at concessional rates to countries whose per-capita income is very low. The loans provided by the IDA have high flexibility.

Mate's Receipt is issued by the captain or commanding officer of a ship to an exporter. This receipt acts as evidence that the exporter's cargo has been loaded on the ship. It contains information such as the name of the vessel, berth, date of shipment, condition of the cargo when it was loaded, description of the packages of the cargo, number of packages and marks on the packages. Once the port dues are received, the port superintendent gives the Mate's Receipt to the C and F agent concerned. It is only after the Mate's Receipt has been obtained that the shipping company will issue the bill of lading.

Shipping Bill contains information about the goods that are exported. That is, it contains particulars such as the name of the vessel, port at which the goods are to be discharged, country of final destination and exporter's name and address. A Shipping Bill is essential for an export transaction as it is on the basis of this document that the customs grants clearance to the export.

Before the final loading of goods for export, it is necessary for the exporter to get the goods cleared by customs. This is known as Securing Customs Clearance. In this regard, an exporter first requires to submit the following documents to the customs appraiser at the Customs House
(a) Shipping bill
(b) Export order
(c) Letter of credit
(d) Commercial invoice
(e) Certificate of origin
(f) Certificate of inspection, if necessary
(g) Marine insurance policy.
After the submission of the documents,  carting order is obtained from the superintendent of the port concerned. The carting order acts as a gate pass for the cargo to enter the dock as it gives the necessary instructions to the staff. The physical movement of cargo then takes place from the dock to the port area and finally the goods are stored in an appropriate storage. It may not be possible for the exporter to be present at all times for performing these formalities, and therefore the task is assigned to a Clearing and Forwarding (C and F) agent.

An 'IEC number' refers to the 'Importer Exporter Code' number. It is a 10-digit number granted by the Directorate General for Foreign Trade (DGFT) to an import/export firm depending upon the firm's credibility. It is essential for an importer/ exporter to obtain this number as it is to be provided in various import/export documents.
In order to obtain this number, an export or import firm submits an application to the DGFI' or the Regional Import Export Licensing Authority along with documents and information such as the profile of the importer/exporter, fee receipt from a bank, nonresident's interest details, certificate from the banker on the prescribed form, two photographs attested by the banker and a declaration about the applicant's nonassociation with firms placed in the caution list. Once the final submission is done and authenticated, the DGFI' or the Regional Import Export Licensing Authority issues an IEC number to the importer/exporter, which helps the firm concerned in availing itself of benefits granted by the DGFI' to importers/exporters.

If a firm wants to export goods, then it must first obtain an export license. In order to obtain an export license, the firm is required to register itself with the Appropriate Export Promotion Council, such as the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) and the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). Such councils are set up by the government for promoting the export of various goods falling under their purview. Once the registration is complete, the firm obtains the Registration-Cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC). This in turn enables it to take advantage of the benefits made available to export firms by the government. Thus, it is necessary for export firms to register themselves with an Export Promotion Council.

Before exporting goods, it is mandatory for exporters and export firms to fulfill the legal formalities, including securing an export license. The following are the formalities to obtain an export license
(a) Bank account number: An exporter must open an account in a bank authorised by the Reserve Bank of India and get an account number.
(b) lEC code: An export firm must obtain an IEC (Importer Exporter Code) from the Directorate General for Foreign Trade (DGFT) or the Regional Import Export Licensing Authority by submitting documents such as the exporter's profile, prescribed certificates, two attested photographs and details of non-resident interest
(c) Registration-cum-membership certificate: An export firm should get itself registered with the appropriate Export Promotion Council, such as the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) and the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), and obtain a Registration-Cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC).
(d) Registration with ECGC: An export firm must also get itself registered with the ECGC (Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation) in order to protect itself from any uncertainties in payments brought upon by political or commercial risks.

Features of the WTO (World Trade Organisation):
(a) It governs trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights among the member countries.
(b) It is a body created by an international treaty with the approval of the governments and legislatures of the member states.
(c) The decisions of the WTO are made by the governments of the member nations on the basis of consensus.
Structure of the WTO
On January 1, 1995, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was transformed into the WTO to facilitate international trade among the member countries. The WTO was made much more powerful than GATT, by removing tariff and nontariff barriers between the member nations. It is a permanent body created by an international treaty and represents the implementation of the original proposal of the ITO.
Objectives of the WTO
(a) Reducing tariff and other non-trade barriers imposed by different nations;
(b) Ensuring sustainable development by optimally using the world resources;
(c) Developing a more integrated, feasible and stable trading system
Functions of the WTO
(a) Providing an environment to the member countries such that they can put forward their grievances before the WTO without any hesitation;
(b) Resolving trade disputes among member nations;
(c) Eliminating discriminations in trade relations by laying down a commonly accepted code of conduct;
(d) Creating better understanding between member countries by consulting with the IMF, the World Bank and other affiliates.

The IMF, or the International Monetary Fund, came into existence in 1945 with the objective of establishing a healthy and orderly monetary system. It aimed at facilitating a system of international payments and taking care of the adjustments in exchange rates among national currencies. It is one of the three international institutions-the other two being the World Bank and the International Trade Organization-that were created for facilitating and monitoring the economic development of the world.
Objectives of the IMF
(a) To aid the balanced growth of international trade and market, thereby promoting the growth of employment and income;
(b) To promote international monetary cooperation among the member countries;
(c) To facilitate the orderly exchange of goods between the member countries;
(d) To facilitate international payments with respect to the exchange transactions between the member countries
Functions of the IMF
(a) Providing short-term credit to member countries;
(b) Maintaining stability in the exchange rate of the member countries;
(c) Fixing and altering the value of a country's currency whenever required, to facilitate the adjustment of exchange rate of member countries;
(d) Collecting the currencies of member countries so as to allow them to borrow the currency of other nations;
(e) Lending foreign currency to member nations and facilitating international payments with respect to the exchange transactions between member countries.

The World Bank is an International Financial Institution that was established in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference
The following are some of the main objectives behind the setting up of the World Bank
(a) To facilitate the task of reconstruction of the war-affected European countries.
(b) To focus on the development of underdeveloped nations of the world.
(c) To encourage investments in infrastructure development, agriculture, health and industry;
(d) To eradicate poverty, increase the income of the poor and provide technological support
The following are some of the affiliates of the World Bank:
(a) MIGA: MIGA, or the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency, was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investments in the less developed nations ofthe world. It also aims at insuring investors against political and non-commercial risks and providing advisory services.
(b) IFC: The IFC, or the International Finance Corporation, was formed in 1956 as a separate legal entity to provide finance to the private sector in developing nations. Although the IFC is an affiliate of the World Bank, it has its own funding, besides functions that are managed independently.
(c) IDA: The IDA, or the International Development Association, was established in 1960with the affiliation to the World Bank. The basic objective ofthe association is to provide loans and grants on a soft-loan basis to the less developed member countries-it aims at providing loans at concessional rates to the member countries whose per capita income is very low. It is because of this objective that the IDA is also known as the World Bank's soft-loan window

In order to promote foreign trade, the Government has set up the following institutions:
(a) Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (lIFT): Established in 1963under the Societies Registration Act, the lIFT is an autonomous body responsible for the management of the country's foreign trade. It is also a deemed university that provides training in international trade, conducts research in areas of international business and disseminates data related to international trade.
(b) Export Inspection Council (EIC): The EIC was established by the Government of India under Section 3 of the Export Quality Control and Inspection Act, 1963, with the objective of promoting exports through quality control and pre-shipment inspections. According to this act, all goods that are meant for exports (except some commodities) must pass through the EIC for quality inspection.
(c) Indian Institute of Packaging (lIP): The lIP is a training and research institute established in 1966 by the joint efforts of the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of India, Indian Packaging Industry and Allied Industries. The institute caters to the packaging needs of domestic manufacturers and exporters.
(d) Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO): The ITPO was formed on January 1, 1992, under the Companies Act, 1956. Its main objective is to maintain close interactions among traders, industry and the government. In order to fulfill this objective, the ITPO organizes trade fairs and exhibitions within and outside the country, thereby helping export firms to interact with international trade bodies.
(e) Department of Commerce: The Department of Commerce is the apex body in the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of India and is responsible for formulating policies related to foreign trade as well as evolving import and export policies for the country. It is responsible for all matters related to the country's external trade.
(f) Export Promotion Councils (EPCs): Registered under the Companies Act or the Societies Registration Act, EPCs are non-profit organizations that are responsible for promoting the exports of particular products. However, the product promoted by a particular EPC must fall under its jurisdiction.