Budget 2025-26: New export promotion mission to boost Indian exports

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a new ‘Export Promotion Mission’ to facilitate easy access to export credit, cross-border factoring support, and support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to tackle non-tariff measures in overseas markets. The Mission, with a budgetary allocation of ₹2,250 crore will be jointly driven by the ministries of Commerce, MSME, and Finance.

Announcing the Mission while presenting Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament today, Sitharaman said “exports” is one of the key thrust areas of the Budget this year. A series of measures are meant to enhance India’s export competitiveness. “A digital public infrastructure, ‘BharatTradeNet’ (BTN) for international trade will be set-up as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions. This will complement the Unified Logistics Interface Platform. The BTN will be aligned with international practices,” the minister said.

The Budget also revealed plans to help Indian manufacturing sector integrate with global supply chains. “Support will be provided to develop domestic manufacturing capacities for our economy’s integration with global supply chains. Sectors will be identified based on objective criteria. Facilitation groups with participation of senior officers and industry representatives will be formed for select products and supply chains,” the minister added.

One of key decisions of the government to help MSMEs was the revision in classification criteria for MSMEs to permit 2.5 times investment and two time turnover and still retain the MSME tag. Alongside, the Budget increased the credit benefits to MSMEs from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore, leading to additional credit of ₹1.5 lakh crore in the next 5 years and enhanced the term loan eligibility for well-run exporter MSMEs from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore. Credit Cards for Micro Enterprises (10 lakh cards for credit up to ₹5 lakh) is expected to benefit e-commerce exporters. Various sector specific export promotion schemes like the ones for agri and allied exports and assistance to create infrastructure facilities like warehousing facilities for air cargo are expected to add to India’s export prowess.

“Export Promotion Mission to streamline export procedures, facilitate access to credit for exporters, and address non-tariff barriers in overseas markets will particularly benefit MSMEs, which play a crucial role in India's export landscape. Investments in port modernisation, logistics infrastructure, and digital trade platforms will reduce transaction costs and improve the efficiency of cross-border trade. Further simplification of Customs Procedures announced in the Budget, will simplify customs clearance processes and reduce compliance burden and will further enhance ease of doing business for exporters and importers,” Ashwani Kumar, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said.

The government’s continued thrust to production linked incentive (PLI) schemes to boost manufacturing in key sectors is also expected to attract investments, enhance domestic manufacturing capacity and integrate Indian industries into global value chains.