The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has proposed a proposal of Rs 250,000 crore for a WTO-compliant support program, primarily to provide small exporters for labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, gemstones and jewelry under a six-year export promotion mission.
A senior official confirmed that the proposal had been sent to the Treasury Department for approval, and then forwarded it to the cabinet for approval before it was finally launched.
These programs are intended to comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations and will focus on trade financing and improve market access for exporters.
The new plan package under the Export Promotion task follows Rs. The mission of Rs 22.5 crore has been announced in the union budget for 2025-26, which has not been launched yet. The launch has become more urgent given the uncertainty in the international market due to the hike of US tariffs.
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There is a need to diversify the market, and these plans will also focus on developing logistics chains and marketing to diversify the Indian export market.
The government sees this mission as a long-term strategy that addresses challenges that are more than just tariffs and trade wars. The strategy includes promoting exports, diversifying the market and export basket to make it more competitive. High interest rates in India’s banking industry often put exporters in the country at a disadvantage relative to competitors, and financing on more affordable terms will help bridge the gap.
These programs are designed to help exporters by providing unsecured loans, supporting alternative financial instruments and helping new markets.
The plan will be implemented in coordination with the MSME Department, as the department is the highest employer in the country.
According to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce, India’s commodity exports rose 7.29% in July this year and increased by $37.24 billion in July this year, compared with the corresponding $34.71 billion in the same month last year.
“Despite uncertain global policy environment, India’s exports of services and commodities have grown significantly in July and fiscal 26, and are well above global export growth,” said Commerce Minister Sunil Barthwal.
The surge in goods exports is also due to strengthening exporters of goods, which are the early exporters of U.S. tariffs that have been paid since August.
During the fiscal year 2025-April 26, exports increased by 3.07% to $149.2 billion, while imports increased by 5.36% to $244.01 billion.
Batwal further pointed out that the government is working to diversify the country’s exports to other countries, following a sharp increase in tariffs announced by the United States. The government is seeking to quickly conduct free trade agreements and review existing treaties, such as those with the EU, the UK, EFTA, Oman, ASEAN, New Zealand, Peru and Chile.
He also said the government hopes to strengthen export promotion plans. He said measures are being taken to expand the focus to the top 50 importers, and to announce export promotion efforts by mobilizing foreign missionary education.
