What Happened
- The Export Promotion Mission (EPM), approved by the Union Cabinet following its announcement in the Union Budget 2025-26, is a flagship government initiative to enhance the export competitiveness of Indian MSMEs and first-time exporters.
- The Mission has an approved outlay of ₹25,060 crore (approximately US$2.83 billion) and will be implemented over six years — from 2025-26 to 2030-31.
- EPM operates through two complementary streams: Niryat Protsahan (financial enablers: trade finance, interest subvention, export factoring, credit enhancement) and Niryat Disha (non-financial enablers: quality compliance, branding, trade fairs, logistics support).
- The Mission primarily targets MSMEs, first-time exporters, labour-intensive sectors, and exporters from non-traditional and low-export-intensity districts.
- Seven specific intervention areas under the EPM include affordable trade finance, interest subvention for exporters, export factoring, market access support, trade infrastructure upgradation, export credit guarantee, and integration of export promotion councils.
Static Topic Bridges
Export Promotion Mission (EPM) — Scheme Features
The Export Promotion Mission is anchored in a multi-ministry collaborative framework: the Department of Commerce (nodal), Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Finance, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), Commodity Boards, financial institutions, and state governments all participate. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is the nodal implementing agency. The EPM consolidates multiple fragmented export support schemes into a single digitally enabled, outcome-linked framework to eliminate duplication and improve effectiveness.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Nodal implementing agency: Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
- Total outlay: ₹25,060 crore over FY2026 to FY2031.
- Two streams: Niryat Protsahan (financial support) and Niryat Disha (non-financial support).
- Target beneficiaries: MSMEs, first-time exporters, labour-intensive sectors, low-export districts.
- Implementation period: 6 years (FY2025-26 to FY2030-31).
- Announced in: Union Budget 2025-26.
Connection to this news: EPM is the government's primary instrument to achieve ambitious export targets — India aims to reach $1 trillion in merchandise exports and $1 trillion in services exports by 2030.
MSMEs and India's Export Ecosystem
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are defined under the MSMED Act, 2006 and revised thresholds under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package (June 2020). MSMEs contribute approximately 45-50% of India's total exports, yet most operate below their potential in global markets due to access barriers — high trade finance costs, limited market intelligence, poor quality certification, and inadequate logistics. India's merchandise exports were approximately $437 billion in FY2023-24, well short of the $1 trillion target by 2030.
- Current MSME classification (post-2020 revision):
- Micro: Investment ≤ ₹1 crore; Turnover ≤ ₹5 crore.
- Small: Investment ≤ ₹10 crore; Turnover ≤ ₹50 crore.
- Medium: Investment ≤ ₹50 crore; Turnover ≤ ₹250 crore.
- MSMEs: ~6.3 crore enterprises; employ ~11 crore people; contribute ~30% of GDP.
- MSME share in exports: ~45-50% of total Indian merchandise exports.
- India's merchandise exports FY2023-24: ~$437 billion.
- Merchandise exports target by 2030: $1 trillion.
- Export Factoring: mechanism where an export finance institution buys trade receivables (invoices) from exporters at a discount, providing immediate liquidity — especially useful for MSMEs.
Connection to this news: The EPM directly addresses the structural gap between MSME production capacity and their limited export participation, through both financial instruments and market access support.
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and Export Promotion Architecture
India's Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) provides the overarching policy framework for exports and imports. The current FTP was released in March 2023 (FTP 2023) by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, replacing FTP 2015-20. Unlike previous policies with fixed five-year horizons, FTP 2023 is a living document — updated periodically to respond to changing trade dynamics. It introduces four pillars: incentive to remission, export promotion through collaboration, ease of doing business, and emerging areas (e-commerce exports, SCOMET — Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies).
- FTP 2023: released March 31, 2023; first "living" FTP (no fixed end date).
- Key schemes under FTP: RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products), RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies — for apparel/made-ups), Advance Authorisation, EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods).
- RoDTEP replaced MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) from January 2021 — MEIS was found WTO-incompatible.
- SCOMET: Control list for dual-use items; important for defence and high-technology exports.
- Towns of Export Excellence (TEE): Specific towns with high export concentration receive special support; currently 39 TEEs notified.
- E-commerce exports: FTP 2023 introduces dedicated provisions including courier export limits raised to ₹10 lakh per consignment.
Connection to this news: The EPM operates within the FTP framework, specifically targeting the MSME gap identified by low-export-intensity districts — the FTP 2023's "reach the last mile" objective.
Key Facts & Data
- EPM outlay: ₹25,060 crore over FY2026-FY2031.
- Two streams: Niryat Protsahan (financial) and Niryat Disha (non-financial).
- Nodal Ministry: Commerce and Industry; nodal implementing agency: DGFT.
- India's merchandise exports FY2023-24: ~$437 billion; target by 2030: $1 trillion.
- MSMEs contribute ~45-50% of India's total merchandise exports.
- MSME revised classification (2020): Micro (≤₹1 cr investment, ≤₹5 cr turnover), Small (≤₹10 cr, ≤₹50 cr), Medium (≤₹50 cr, ≤₹250 cr).
- FTP 2023: released March 31, 2023; living document (no fixed end date).
- RoDTEP replaced MEIS from January 2021 (WTO-compatible duty remission scheme).