India aims for $2 tn total exports by FY31 with an MSME, agri push

The government reaffirmed its commitment to achieving $2 trillion in total exports by FY 2030–31, with equal contributions of $1 trillion each from merchandi...

What Happened

The government reaffirmed its commitment to achieving $2 trillion in total exports by FY 2030–31, with equal contributions of $1 trillion each from merchandise and services exports.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reviewed the export roadmap, emphasising MSME participation and agricultural exports as the twin growth drivers for merchandise export expansion.
A real-time export monitoring framework is being operationalised to track progress sector-by-sector toward the FY31 target.
The Export Promotion Mission (EPM), approved by Cabinet in November 2025 with an outlay of ₹25,060 crore (FY26–FY31), is the primary policy vehicle, operating through two sub-schemes: Niryat Protsahan (financial enablers) and Niryat Disha (non-financial support including market access).
Ten components of the EPM are already operational, including interest subvention, export factoring, e-commerce export support, and collateral assistance for MSME exporters.

Static Topic Bridges

India's Foreign Trade: Current Position and the $2 Trillion Ambition

India's foreign trade policy is aimed at expanding the country's share in global trade, diversifying export baskets, and reducing import dependency in strategic sectors. India's goods exports in FY25 stood at approximately USD 437 billion, and services exports crossed USD 340 billion — a combined total of around USD 780 billion. To reach $2 trillion by FY31, India must nearly triple its total export volume in five years, requiring structural reforms in logistics, financing, quality certification, and market diversification.

India's share in global merchandise exports: approximately 1.8% (well below China's ~14%).
Top merchandise export categories: engineering goods, petroleum products, gems & jewellery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals.
Top services exports: IT/ITeS, business process management (BPM), travel, financial services.
India's largest export destinations: USA, UAE, Netherlands, China, Bangladesh.
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023: operative framework governing export incentives, SEZs, advance authorisation, and EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods) scheme.
India's current account deficit (CAD): a structural concern driven by oil imports and capital goods dependence.

Connection to this news: The $2 trillion target requires India to grow merchandise exports from ~$437 billion to $1 trillion — a 2.3x increase — making structural MSME and agri-export expansion not aspirational but mathematically essential.

MSMEs in India's Export Ecosystem

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of India's manufacturing and export ecosystem, accounting for approximately 45% of total exports and over 30% of GDP contribution through manufacturing. However, MSMEs face structural barriers to export participation: limited access to affordable trade finance, poor quality certification infrastructure, inadequate market intelligence, and high logistics costs relative to their scale.

MSME definition (revised 2020): Micro — investment up to ₹1 crore, turnover up to ₹5 crore; Small — up to ₹10 crore / ₹50 crore; Medium — up to ₹50 crore / ₹250 crore.
MSMEs employ ~110 million people — second largest employer after agriculture in India.
MSME contribution to total exports: ~45%; to GDP: ~30%.
Export Promotion Mission's Niryat Protsahan: provides interest subvention of 2.75% on export factoring costs (up to ₹50 lakh per IEC holder).
Niryat Disha: non-financial support — market access missions, capacity building, e-commerce export onboarding.
MSME challenges in exports: collateral requirements for export credit, NPA stigma, difficulty meeting buyer-country quality standards.

Connection to this news: The EPM's focus on MSMEs through Niryat Protsahan and Niryat Disha directly addresses the financing and market-access barriers that have historically prevented India's 63 million MSME units from accessing global markets.

Agricultural Exports: India's Competitive Advantage and Policy Framework

Agriculture exports are a high-potential driver of India's export diversification, given the country's diverse agro-climatic zones, large cultivated area, and growing global demand for food commodities. India is among the world's top exporters of rice, spices, cotton, marine products, sugar, and tea. However, agricultural exports face persistent challenges: sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) non-tariff barriers, quality inconsistency, poor post-harvest infrastructure, and limited value-added processing.

India's agricultural exports in FY25: approximately USD 47 billion.
Key agri-export commodities: rice (~USD 10 billion), marine products (~USD 7 billion), spices, buffalo meat, cotton, sugar.
APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority): nodal agency for promoting agri-exports; established under APEDA Act 1985.
Agricultural Export Policy (AEP) 2018: first comprehensive policy to double agri-exports; target of USD 60 billion by 2022 (partially achieved).
SPS measures: standards on pesticide residues, contaminants, food safety set by importing countries — major technical barriers for India's agri-exporters.
GI (Geographical Indication) tags: India has 400+ GI-tagged products including Darjeeling tea, Alphonso mango, Kanchipuram silk — tools for premium export positioning.

Connection to this news: Agriculture's role in the $2 trillion export strategy requires upgrading the value chain — from bulk commodity exports toward processed, certified, and GI-protected products — to capture higher margins and overcome SPS-based trade barriers.

Foreign Trade Policy and Export Promotion Mechanisms

India's export promotion framework operates through a combination of tax incentives, institutional support, and credit facilities. The Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 is the operative framework and introduced several simplifications — including automatic registration of advance authorisations and focus on e-commerce exports (the "Districts as Export Hubs" initiative aims to identify export potential at the district level).

FTP 2023: replaced FTP 2015–20 (extended through COVID); valid for 5 years from April 2023.
Key schemes under FTP: Advance Authorisation (duty-free inputs for export production), EPCG (zero/concessional duty on capital goods for export production), RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products — replaced MEIS).
RoDTEP: WTO-compliant export incentive scheme; remits embedded taxes on exported goods not otherwise rebated.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs): designated enclaves with tax and duty exemptions for export-oriented manufacturing.
Districts as Export Hubs: 739 districts identified with lead export product/service clusters.
Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC): provides credit risk insurance to exporters and banks financing export credit.

Connection to this news: The Export Promotion Mission sits atop the FTP 2023 framework — the ₹25,060 crore EPM outlay specifically fills the financing gap that FTP schemes alone do not address, particularly for MSME and agri-exporters who need both trade credit and market development support.

Key Facts & Data

$2 trillion export target: $1 trillion merchandise + $1 trillion services by FY 2030–31.
India's total exports in FY25: ~USD 780 billion (goods ~USD 437 bn + services ~USD 340 bn).
Export Promotion Mission (EPM) outlay: ₹25,060 crore, FY26–FY31.
Sub-schemes: Niryat Protsahan (financial) + Niryat Disha (non-financial/market access).
Interest subvention under Niryat Protsahan: 2.75% on export factoring costs, up to ₹50 lakh/IEC.
MSME share of total exports: ~45%; of GDP (manufacturing): ~30%.
MSME employment: ~110 million workers.
India's agri-exports FY25: ~USD 47 billion.
Top agri-exports: rice, marine products, spices, buffalo meat, cotton.
APEDA: nodal body for agri-export promotion, under Ministry of Commerce.
FTP 2023: operative from April 2023; valid for 5 years.
RoDTEP: WTO-compliant replacement for MEIS export incentive scheme.
India's share in global merchandise exports: ~1.8%.
GI-tagged products in India: 400+.