The Centre on Friday launched seven additional interventions under its Export Promotion Mission (EPM), sharpening its focus on boosting micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) exports through interest subvention, credit guarantees and logistics support at a time when India is seeking deeper market access under multiple trade agreements.
The EPM is a five-year programme, running from 2025-26 to 2030-31, approved by the Union cabinet to strengthen India’s export ecosystem. Its objectives include lowering export costs, widening access to trade finance, diversifying export markets and improving export competitiveness, especially for MSMEs.
Announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, the mission is jointly implemented by the department of commerce, the ministries of MSME and finance, with the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) as the nodal agency.
Of the total ₹25,060 crore outlay, ₹10,400 crore has been earmarked for Niryat Protsahan (export promotion) and ₹14,660 crore for Niryat Disha (export direction).
Unveiling the measures, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said the mission is designed to address structural constraints faced by MSMEs and help them integrate more effectively with global markets.
The measures
Under Niryat Protsahan, the government introduced support for export factoring with a 2.75% interest subvention, capped at ₹50 lakh per MSME annually.
Goyal also rolled out structured credit facilities for e-commerce exporters, including a direct e-commerce credit facility of up to ₹50 lakh with 90% guarantee coverage and an overseas inventory credit facility of up to ₹5 crore with 75% guarantee coverage.
Interest subvention of 2.75% will apply, subject to an annual ceiling of ₹15 lakh per applicant. In addition, support for emerging export opportunities will enable exporters to access new or high-risk markets through shared-risk and credit instruments.
Under Niryat Disha, the TRACE (trade regulations, accreditation and compliance enablement) intervention will provide partial reimbursement of 60-75% for eligible testing, inspection and certification expenses, capped at ₹25 lakh per importer-exporter code (IEC) annually, the ministry said in a statement.
The FLOW (facilitating logistics, overseas warehousing and fulfilment) initiative will support overseas warehousing and fulfilment infrastructure, including e-commerce export hubs, with assistance of up to 30% of the approved project cost for a maximum of three years, the commerce ministry said in a statement on 20 February.
The LIFT (logistics interventions for freight and transport) scheme will reimburse up to 30% of eligible freight expenditure, capped at ₹20 lakh per IEC per year, to offset geographical disadvantages.
INSIGHT (integrated support for trade intelligence and facilitation) will support trade intelligence, district-level facilitation and capacity-building, with financial assistance of up to 50% of the project cost.
Goyal said nearly 70% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and two-thirds of global trade are now accessible to India through nine concluded free trade agreements (FTAs), including the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement with the US.
“India recorded double-digit growth in merchandise exports in the first half of February, signalling strong demand and industry participation,” he said.
MSMEs to benefit
The minister linked the export push to inclusive growth, stating that social justice requires expanding opportunities to those at the bottom of the pyramid. He also highlighted India’s growing role in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing, arguing that these will create new export avenues in services and digital trade.
Three interventions—market access support, interest subvention for pre- and post-shipment export credit, and collateral support for export credit—are already under implementation. With the latest launch, 10 of the 11 proposed measures under the EPM are now operational, the ministry said.
“The additional interventions under the EPM will help address some of the long-standing challenges faced by MSME manufacturers, particularly access to affordable credit and high logistics costs,” said Arun Kumar Garodia, former chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC).
“The interest subvention and freight support measures are expected to improve cash flows and enhance our competitiveness in global markets. Timely implementation and smooth coordination with banks will be key to ensuring that smaller manufacturers can fully benefit from the scheme,” Garodia said.