Why in News?
India recorded its highest-ever exports of US$ 863.1 billion in FY 2025-26, driven by strong merchandise and services exports and growing benefits from recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), particularly with the UAE, UK, Australia, Oman and EFTA.
Key Highlights
- Record exports: India’s total exports reached US$ 863.1 billion in FY 2025-26.
- Merchandise exports: US$ 441.8 billion
- Services exports: US$ 421.3 billion
- Top FTA export destinations:
- ASEAN: US$ 38.4 billion
- UAE (CEPA): US$ 37.4 billion
- SAFTA: US$ 25.8 billion
- UK (CETA): US$ 13.4 billion
- Singapore (CECA): US$ 11.9 billion
- Recent FTAs boosted exports:
- UAE CEPA: 4.45 lakh Certificates of Origin issued; export tariff lines increased from 7,546 to 8,053.
- Australia ECTA: Certificates of Origin rose from 1,482 (FY21) to an average 45,500+ annually after implementation.
- Mauritius CECPA: Export tariff lines increased by 20.9%.
- Oman CEPA: June 2026 exports grew 54.7% month-on-month and 189.6% year-on-year.
- India-EFTA TEPA: Over 7,885 Certificates of Origin issued since October 2025.
- Labour-intensive sectors benefited most: Textiles & apparel, Leather & footwear, Gems & jewellery, Marine products, Carpets, Handicrafts, Agricultural products
- Trade facilitation initiatives:
- Trade e-Connect: Provides market intelligence, tariff information, Rules of Origin guidance and FTA advisory.
- Trade Intelligence & Analytics (TIA) Portal: Offers commodity-wise trade analytics and real-time export monitoring.
Significance
- Diversifies export markets and products.
- Enhances global value chain integration.
- Boosts manufacturing and employment in labour-intensive industries.
- Improves India’s competitiveness through preferential tariff access.
[2023] Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: India accounts for 3.2% of global export of goods.
Statement-II: Many local companies and some foreign companies operating in India have taken advantage of India’s Production-linked Incentive’ scheme.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
[A] Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-ll is the correct explanation for Statement-I.
[B] Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-l is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.
[C] Statement-l is correct but Statement-II is incorrect.
[D] Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.