India aims for $2 tn total exports by FY31 with an MSME, agri push

New Delhi: India has drawn up a plan to more than double its total exports to $2 trillion by FY31. Towards this goal, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has directed officials to sharpen focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), farm products, certification and on promotion of ‘Brand India’, an official release said on Wednesday.

India’s total exports were at a record $860.1 billion in FY26. Within this, merchandise exports were at $ 441.78 billion, while services were at $418.31.

The $2 trillion export target includes $1 trillion each in merchandise shipments and $1 trillion in services, the ministry said.

According to the statement, the department of commerce has prepared a structured export monitoring framework that breaks down the national target into sector-wise action plans covering engineering goods, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and services.

During a high-level review meeting held on Wednesday, Goyal said meeting the target would depend on three factors: clearly defined actionable points with timelines, strong inter-departmental coordination and an IT-enabled monitoring platform to track progress.

Each sectoral action has been assigned to a nodal joint secretary and classified into supply- or demand-side measures, linked to key performance indicators and short-, medium- and long-term timelines, the statement said.

The minister also asked the concerned line ministries to pursue import substitution strategies in priority sectors alongside the export promotion efforts.

Goyal separately reviewed implementation of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), described in the statement as an MSME-focused initiative to address export bottlenecks and enable broad-based, inclusive and sustainable growth in shipments.

The mission is being implemented through two integrated sub-schemes ‘Niryat Protsahan’, focused on access to trade finance and ‘Niryat Disha’ focused on market access, the ministry statement said.

It said some components under the mission have already been operationalized. These include interest subvention, alternative trade finance through export factoring, credit assistance for e-commerce exporters, collateral support for export credit, risk sharing for emerging export opportunities, support for testing, inspection and certification, market access support, export warehousing and logistics support, inland transport and handling support, and trade facilitation and intelligence support.

The minister also reviewed a relief scheme launched under the mission to support exporters affected by the ongoing West Asia war.

In the statement, Goyal said benefits of all schemes must reach exporters at the ground level, particularly first-time exporters and MSMEs. He directed export promotion councils, commodity boards and DGFT regional authorities to intensify awareness and outreach efforts.

The minister emphasized strengthening overseas warehousing and logistics support as well as testing, inspection and certification systems to improve global competitiveness of India's MSMEs.

Calling for a three-year calendar of trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, reverse buyer-seller meets and trade delegations, the minister underscored the need to strengthen ‘Brand India’ as an umbrella platform for export promotion across sectors and markets.