Govt eyes exports as one of the engines of growth

The Union budget for 2025-26 may focus on exports as one of the engines of growth by extending interest subsidy for exporters, tweaking of customs duties for enhanced competitiveness, setting up e-commerce export hubs, finalising free trade agreements (FTAs), incentivising agri-exports, and providing a special emphasis on organic produce such as turmeric, three people close to the development said.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

Despite global headwinds, India's merchandise exports managed a positive growth of 2% in the April-November period. This trend is expected to continue in December too, which signifies resilience of Indian exports and exhibits further growth potential with the right policy push, they said, requesting anonymity. According to the commerce ministry's data, India's exports grew by 1.95% to $283.7 billion in April-November 2024 from $278.3 billion in April-November 2023. The official release of trade data for December 2024 is expected on Wednesday.