Guidelines for ₹25,060-Crore Export Promotion Mission Expected Next Week: Goyal

Guidelines for the ₹25,060-crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM) will likely be issued next week, outlining the scheme’s components and benefits for industry, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Approved on November 12, the EPM will run for six years starting 2025–26 and is designed to help Indian exporters navigate steep tariff hikes imposed by the United States. The mission will operate through two sub-schemes—Niryat Protsahan (₹10,401 crore) for financial support and Niryat Disha (₹14,659 crore) for market development and non-financial assistance.

“The guidelines for the export promotion mission will be released soon… I think the details, including its elements and how the industry can benefit, will be out next week,” Goyal told PTI.

The programme will prioritise sectors hit hardest by recent global tariff escalations—textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products. These categories have been particularly affected in the US market, where India’s merchandise exports fell 8.58% in October to USD 6.3 billion, following Washington’s sudden imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian goods from August 27.

Goyal said the export dip was concentrated in “three to four sectors” and that the government was simultaneously pushing diversification efforts. As an example, he highlighted the European Union’s approval of 108 additional Indian fishery units for marine product exports, while Russia is clearing 25 units, with a large delegation set to visit India on December 5

Goyal is currently in Israel leading a 60-member business delegation to explore avenues to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.

Under Niryat Protsahan, MSMEs will gain access to a broader suite of affordable trade finance tools, including interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for e-commerce exporters, and credit enhancement for tapping new markets. Niryat Disha will support exporters through global branding, packaging, trade fair participation, export warehousing, inland transport reimbursements, logistics support, and capacity-building initiatives.

India’s overall export performance remains under pressure. Exports contracted 11.8% in October to USD 34.38 billion, while imports surged 16.63% to an all-time high of USD 76.06 billion, driven primarily by record purchases of gold, silver, cotton waste, fertilisers and sulphur. The monthly trade deficit widened to a record USD 41.68 billion.

During April–October 2025, exports inched up 0.63% to USD 254.25 billion while imports rose 6.37% to USD 451.08 billion, pushing the merchandise trade deficit to USD 196.82 billion, up from USD 171.40 billion a year earlier.

Key categories from engineering goods and textiles to pharmaceuticals, plastics, handicrafts, tea, rice and spices saw steep declines in October, reflecting the broad strain triggered by the US tariff action.

“The US has imposed hefty 50% tariffs on Indian goods, and that is impacting our exports,” Goyal reiterated, adding that the government is moving quickly to mitigate the fallout.