The State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STC) is a premier International trading company of the Government of India, and, was engaged primarily in exports, and imports operations. The Corporation was set up in 1956 primarily with a view to undertake trade with East European Countries and to supplement the efforts of private trade and industry in developing exports from the country.
The Corporation is registered as an autonomous company under the Companies Act, 1956 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. The Corporation has played a key role in the Indian economy. In the pre-liberalisation era, it acted as an arm of the Government of India not only to regulate foreign trade but also for intervention in the domestic market.
The Corporation handled canalized exports and imports of large number of items varying from chemicals and drugs to bulk commodities such as edible oils, cement, sugar, newsprint, wheat, urea, etc. thereby ensuring timely availability and equitable distribution of mass consumption items as well as essential raw materials for the industry. Canalisation also helped the nation to benefit from economies of scale and keeping a close watch on the scarce foreign exchange. It undertook price support operations to ensure remunerative prices to growers for their crops such as raw jute, shellac, tobacco, rubber and vanilla as and when called upon by the Government to do so.
As part of its export development effort, STC in the past extended technical, marketing and financial assistance to exporters by arranging import of machinery and raw material for export production, setting up design centres, providing testing laboratories, taking products of small manufacturers to overseas markets by organising their consortia, participation in exhibitions and trade fairs, etc.
Recently, STC has stopped undertaking any new business activity and is currently continuing as a non-operative company for the time being.