Cabinet Approves ₹25,000 Crore Export Promotion Mission: A Game-Changer for India’s Export Growth and MSME Competitiveness
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to a major export-boosting initiative: the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) with an outlay of ₹25,060 crore spanning six years from FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31.
This initiative will consolidate fragmented schemes into a single, digital, and adaptive framework, focusing on improving access to affordable trade finance, providing collateral support, and addressing other structural challenges in the export ecosystem.
This decision underscores the Government of India’s resolve to strengthen the export ecosystem, bolster the competitiveness of exporters (especially MSMEs and first-time exporters), and navigate global trade headwinds.
Key features of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM):
Funding: A total outlay of ₹25,060 crore for the period of FY 2025–26 to 2030–31.
Target Audience: Primarily aimed at MSMEs, first-time exporters, and labor-intensive sectors.
Implementation: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will implement the mission through a dedicated digital platform.
Consolidation of Schemes: It will replace multiple fragmented schemes with a single, outcome-based mechanism
Why the Export Promotion Mission and Export Promotion Scheme are Needed:
India’s export sector is facing multiple structural and external challenges:
1. Global trade disruptions & tariff pressures : With major trading partners imposing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, Indian exports are under pressure. For example, after the imposition of steep tariffs by the US, exports of textiles and apparel were hit.
2. Fragmented support schemes : Prior to the new mission, India’s export support was spread over various schemes, making monitoring, adaptability and global responsiveness difficult. The EPM promises a consolidated, outcome-based mechanism.
3. SME/MSME constraints : Many smaller exporters struggle with access to affordable trade finance, high compliance and certification costs, branding and logistics disadvantages, and limited reach to new markets.
4. Diversification, value‐addition and competitiveness : To move beyond low‐value exports and focus on higher value, labour-intensive, technology-enabled exports and non-traditional geographies, India needs to upgrade its export ecosystem. The new scheme is designed to support exactly that.
Thus, an export promotion scheme of this scale is both timely and strategic: it addresses finance, logistics, market access and global competitiveness in one integrated framework.
Key Details of the Export Promotion Mission:
Here are the salient features of the approved scheme:
The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) will have an outlay of ₹25,060 crore for the period FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31.
The Mission is structured around two integrated sub-schemes:
Niryat Protsahan: Focuses on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs and other exporters via interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for exporters (especially e-commerce exporters), and credit enhancement support for market diversification.
Niryat Disha: Covers non-financial enablers such as export quality and compliance support, branding and packaging assistance, participation in international trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, trade intelligence, and capacity-building initiatives.
The Mission will be implemented by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) through a dedicated digital platform integrated with existing trade systems.
Priority sectors targeted include labour-intensive and trade-challenged sectors such as textiles, leather, gems & jewellery, engineering goods and marine products.
The scheme consolidates and replaces earlier fragmented programmes such as the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) and Market Access Initiative (MAI), aligning them with contemporary export needs.
What the Scheme Means for Exporters & Indian Economy:
For exporters (especially MSMEs and new entrants):
Easier access to affordable trade finance, lower cost of borrowing and fewer collateral constraints under Niryat Protsahan mean improved liquidity and ability to scale exports.
Support in compliance, certification, logistics and branding via Niryat Disha means better readiness to compete globally.
Focus on diversifying markets and products reduces dependence on traditional export geographies and provides resilience to global shocks.
Integration into a single digital platform means faster processing, transparency and improved ease of doing export business.
For the Indian economy:
Boost to exports contributes to higher foreign‐exchange earnings, improved trade balance and higher GDP growth potential.
Employment generation across manufacturing, logistics and allied services sectors as exports grow.
Strengthening of supply-chains within India, moving up the value chain, and enhancing the “Make in India” / “Atmanirbhar Bharat” agenda.
Resilience of the export sector to external shocks, thereby stabilising growth and reducing dependence on domestic demand alone.
Challenges & Implementation Considerations
While the scheme is well-designed, effective implementation will be key:
Ensuring awareness and uptake among smaller exporters, especially in non-traditional districts.
Timely and efficient disbursal of benefits via the digital platform to avoid bottlenecks.
Monitoring and evaluation of outcomes: Measure not just fund-flow but actual export growth, employment gains and market diversification.
Co-ordination across multiple ministries, state governments, export promotion councils and industry associations to ensure coherence and avoid duplication.
Continuous adaptation: Global trade landscapes evolve quickly (tariffs, trade blocs, digital commerce) – the mission must stay agile.
The Cabinet’s approval of the ₹25,060 crore Export Promotion Mission marks a significant milestone in India’s efforts to elevate its export growth trajectory, strengthen MSME participation in global trade, and future-proof its trade strategy. With finance, logistics, branding, and market access improvements built into a unified framework, this export promotion scheme can serve as a launchpad for India’s ambition to become a leading export nation.
If implemented effectively, this initiative could unlock vast new opportunities for Indian manufacturers, exporters and service providers — reinforcing the country’s role in the global trade ecosystem, and contributing substantially to high‐quality growth and jobs.
Strategic Importance: The mission is designed to provide a flexible and responsive framework to navigate global trade challenges and support long-term export growth.
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