Budget 2024: Ecommerce export hubs planned to aid MSMEs

The government will set up ecommerce export hubs to facilitate access to international markets by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and traditional artisans, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

These export hubs will be set up in a public-private partnership mode, she said while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25.

The budget also announced several other measures for MSMEs and the services sector.


The Economic Survey 2023-24, released on Monday, had underscored the government's efforts towards promoting ecommerce exports.

"The government is also promoting ecommerce exports through its DEH (Districts as Export Hubs) initiative, collaborating with relevant ecommerce partners, Export Promotion Councils, and relevant government departments," the survey had said.

"The initiative focuses on educating MSMEs about ecommerce exports, enabling them to sell globally, and includes training and handholding on imaging and digital cataloguing of products," it added.

The survey also noted that the rise of ecommerce is constrained by inadequate skills required for online selling, such as cataloguing. Data privacy issues and increasing online fraud have turned out to be the most significant hurdle in the growth of ecommerce in India, it said.

"Focus on e-commerce hubs will help the D2C ecosystem including small vendors and aggregators to bring in greater efficiency in their operations and improve accessibility to markets including exports.” said Anand Ramanathan, partner and consumer products and retail sector leader, Deloitte India.