Export Promotion Mission (EPM) to strengthen India’s export competitiveness

India’s export performance is a key part of the country’s economic strategy:

• Supporting employment generation;
• Manufacturing and services, and;
• The integration of Indian firms into the global value chains.

To further strengthen export competitiveness, especially for:

• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs);
• First-time exporters, and;
• Labour-intensive sectors; the Union Cabinet chaired by the PM had approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) in November 2025, to strengthen India’s export competitiveness.

EPM brings multiple export-support initiatives under a single, outcome-based and digitally enabled framework with a focus on:

• Improving access to affordable trade finance, and;
• Enhancing global market readiness and competitiveness.

Nature of EPM

• EPM marks a strategic shift from multiple fragmented schemes to a single, outcome-based, and adaptive mechanism, that can respond swiftly to global trade challenges and evolving exporter needs;
• The Mission will provide a comprehensive, flexible, and digitally driven framework for export promotion, with a total outlay of Rs.25,060 Crore for the period FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31.

Objectives of EPM

• Strengthen India’s export competitiveness by improving access to affordable and timely trade finance;
• Enable MSMEs and first-time exporters to participate more effectively in global trade;
• Enhance export readiness through targeted support for quality standards, certification and regulatory compliance;
• Expand international market access through branding, promotion and trade facilitation measures.
• Broaden the geographic base of exports by supporting exporters in non-traditional and low-export-intensity districts.
• Support employment generation and value creation in labour-intensive manufacturing and services.

Reason Export Promotion Mission was Introduced

Earlier, export promotion had been supported through multiple targeted schemes such as:

• Interest equalisation;
• Market access initiatives;
• Export incentives, and;
• Infrastructure support.

However, exporters, particularly MSMEs and first-time exporters continued to face constraints related to:

• Access to affordable trade finance;
• Compliance with international standards;
• Market access, and;
• Logistics costs, especially in interior and low-export-intensity regions.

The Export Promotion Mission was introduced to strengthen India’s export support framework through a more coordinated and effective approach.

The Mission consolidates the interventions into a single, digitally enabled and outcome-linked framework to:

1.Enhance export competitiveness, and;
2.Market readiness across both merchandise and services sectors.

EPM is anchored in a collaborative framework involving:

• The Department of Commerce;
• Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Finance, and;
• Other key stakeholders, including:
  1.Financial Institutions;
  2.Export Promotion Councils,
  3.Commodity Boards,
  4.Industry associations, and;
  5.State governments.

Operation of the Mission through two integrated Sub-schemes

A. Niryat Protsahan – focussing on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs through a range of instruments such as:

• Interest subvention;
• Export factoring;
• Collateral guarantees;
• Credit cards for e-commerce exporters, and;
• Credit enhancement support for diversification into new markets.
  

  B. Niryat disha

   – focussing on non-financial enablers that enhance market readiness and competitiveness, including:

• Export quality and compliance support;
• Assistance for international branding;
• Packaging;
• Participation in trade fairs;
• Export warehousing and logistics;
• Inland transport reimbursements, and;
• Trade intelligence and capacity-building initiatives.

Structure and Governance of the Export Promotion Mission

The Export Promotion Mission is structured as a mission-mode programme with coordinated institutional oversight.

It is planned as a six-year initiative, covering 2025-26 to 2030-31, with an approved outlay of Rs. 25,060 Crore.

The Mission emphasises:

• Inter-ministerial coordination,
• Centre-state partnership, and;
• Data-driven monitoring, to support effective and transparent implementation.

Financial Support and Export Incentives Under EPM

• The Export Promotion Mission is supported by an expanded credit guarantee framework to strengthen exporter liquidity;
• The Government has approved an expanded Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE), providing up to Rs. 20,000 Crore in additional credit support for eligible exporters, including MSMEs, reinforcing the broader export incentive India framework.
• The scheme is implemented by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC), with 100% credit guarantee coverage for Member Lending Institutions;
• CGSE enables collateral-free export credit and additional working capital of up to 20% of sanctioned export working capital limits.

The scheme is intended to strengthen exporter liquidity and global competitiveness.

Non-Financial Support and Capacity Building Measures

The Export Promotion Mission strengthens exporters’ market readiness through targeted non-financial interventions such as:

• Support provided for export quality and compliance, including testing, certification and audits, aligned with international standards;
• Assistance extended for branding, packaging and product positioning to improve global market acceptance;
• Exporters supported to participate in international trade fairs, exhibitions and buyer-seller meets, including those facilitated by Export Promotion Councils in India;
• The Mission facilitates export warehousing and logistics support, including inland transport assistance for exporters in remote and low-export-intensity districts;
• Capacity-building initiatives are undertaken at the cluster, association and district levels to strengthen institutional and exporter capabilities.

EPM consolidates key export support schemes such as:

• The Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES), and;
• Market Access Initiative (MAI), aligning them with contemporary trade needs.

Mission is designed to address Structural Challenges that Constrain Indian exports, including:

• Limited and expensive trade finance access;
• High cost of compliance with international export standards;
• Inadequate export branding and fragmented market access, and;
• Logistical disadvantages for exporters in interior and low-export-intensity regions.

Support on priority basis under EPM is provided to Sectors impacted by Recent Global Tariff escalations, such as:

• Textiles;
• Leather;
• Gems & jewellery;
• Engineering goods, and;
• Marine products.

The intervention will help:

• Sustain export orders;
• Protect jobs, and;
• Support diversification into new geographies.

The Implementing Agency

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is to act as the implementing agency, with all processes from application to disbursal being managed through a dedicated digital platform integrated with existing trade systems.

Epilogue

Expectations from the Mission

• Facilitate access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs;
• Enhance export readiness through compliance and certification support;
• Improve market access and visibility for Indian products;
• Boost exports from non-traditional districts and sectors, and;
• Generate employment across manufacturing, logistics, and allied services.

EPM is a forward-looking effort to make India’s export framework which is:

• More inclusive;
• Technology-enabled, and;
• Globally competitive.

Increased exports, getting help from the EPM will help economic growth and help the country to reach its vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

END OF ARTICLE