Govt mulls ₹25k cr support for exporters over six years under EPM scheme

The government is considering support measures worth about ₹25,000 crore for exporters under the Export Promotion Mission, announced in the Budget, for six financial years (2025-2031), according to sources.

"The main focus is on providing easy and affordable credit to the exporter community," they said.

The commerce ministry has sent the proposal to the expenditure finance committee (EFC) of the finance ministry.

The measures, if approved, can help insulate domestic exporters from global trade uncertainties arising from Trump tariffs. The US has imposed a hefty 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, starting August 27. At present, a 25 per cent duty is in place.

After the approval of the proposal from the EFC, the commerce ministry would approach the Union Cabinet.

The proposed mission, a flagship initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, seeks to enable broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable export growth over six years (FY 2025-31) by exploring approaches beyond conventional mechanisms to address key bottlenecks faced by Indian exporters, especially MSMEs.

The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) is anchored in a collaborative framework, involving the Department of Commerce, ministry of MSME, ministry of Finance, and other line ministries and stakeholders, including Exim Bank, ECGC (export credit guarantee corporation), CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises), NCGTC (National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd), export promotion councils, commodity boards, industry associations, and state governments.

The mission is proposed to be implemented through two sub-schemes - Niryat Protsahan (over Rs 10,000 crore) and Niryat Disha (over Rs 14,500 crore), sources said.

The main elements under the Niryat Protsahan scheme, being considered by the government, include interest equalisation support worth over Rs 5,000 crore for six financial years (2025-2031), support for alternative trade finance instruments, a credit card for e-commerce exporters, and other financing mechanisms to bridge liquidity gaps faced by exporters.

Similarly, under Niryat Disha, the proposed components include support for export quality compliance (about Rs 4,000 crore), overseas market development (over Rs 4,000 crore), branding, export warehousing and logistics, and capacity building to integrate more Indian enterprises into global value chains.

Sectors like textiles, chemicals, leather and footwear are expected to be hit hard by the high Trump tariffs.

Snapping the two-month declining streak, India's exports rebounded by 7.29 per cent to USD 37.24 billion in July, while trade deficit widened to an eight-month high of USD 27.35 billion during the month.

During April-July 2025-26, exports increased by 3.07 per cent to USD 149.2 billion, while imports rose 5.36 per cent to USD 244.01 billion.