Cabinet may discuss finance and market aid next week to boost exports

New Delhi: The Cabinet is expected to discuss next week a proposal for an Export Promotion Mission (EPM), aimed at strengthening the country's export ecosystem through targeted financial and market support, according to officials.

Structured around two key pillars--trade finance and market access, the mission aims to give exporters, especially in the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and labour-intensive sectors, a sustained competitive edge in global markets.

The trade finance pillar, called 'Niryat Protsahan', deals with interest subvention, factoring, e-commerce export cards and collateral support.


'Niryat Disha', the second pillar for market access, includes support for export compliance, branding and packaging, logistics and warehousing, and trade intelligence. "The final note is likely to be circulated next week for the consideration of the Union Cabinet," said an official.

EPM, announced in this year's budget, seeks to address both financial and non-financial bottlenecks faced by Indian exporters.

In August, India's merchandise exports were 6.7% higher than a year ago at $35.1 billion. For the first five months of the current fiscal, they were up by 2.52% year-on-year to $184.13 billion.

"The mission has many schemes categorised in two baskets," the official said.

Although the government announced the mission with a budgetary outlay of ₹2,250 crore to support outbound shipments, the commerce and industry ministry has proposed a ₹22,000 crore mega plan for the next six years. It aims at easy access to export credit, tackle non-tariff measures in overseas markets, establish 'Brand India' on the lines of Japan, Korea and Switzerland, support setting up of ecommerce hubs and develop districts as export hubs.

India is aiming to reduce dependence on certain geographies to avoid supply chain disruptions amid the US administration's increase in tariffs on Indian goods to up to 50%. The Trump administration's move could impact around $48.2 billion of the country's exports to the US.

Sectors including textiles, chemicals, leather and footwear are expected to be hit the hardest by the US duty changes.

As per another official, some schemes on risk-sharing when exporters enter new markets have also been worked on.

"Export enablers and finance are the key elements of the mission," said the official.

Provisions for third-party evaluation to assess outcomes and inform further improvements, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms were also being considered to be built into the mission to ensure effective execution, stakeholder responsiveness, and transparency.