The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) — a landmark initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025–26 aimed at strengthening India’s export ecosystem, especially for MSMEs, first-time exporters, and labour-intensive industries. With a total outlay of ₹25,060 crore for FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31, the Mission marks a decisive shift toward a unified, outcome-driven, and digitally integrated framework for export growth.
EPM consolidates several previously fragmented export support schemes into a single adaptive mechanism capable of responding swiftly to global trade dynamics and evolving exporter needs. It positions India to enhance its competitiveness at a time when global markets are becoming increasingly challenging and technology-driven.
Anchored through a collaborative approach, the Mission will involve the Department of Commerce, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Finance, and other key stakeholders such as Financial Institutions, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, industry bodies, and state governments.
Two Integrated Sub-Schemes Form the Core of EPM
- NIRYAT PROTSAHAN:
Designed to tackle the persistent challenge of costly and limited trade finance, this sub-scheme will enhance MSMEs’ access to affordable credit. It includes support through interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for e-commerce exporters, and credit enhancement for expanding into new global markets.
- NIRYAT DISHA:
Focused on non-financial enablers, this component aims to elevate exporters’ market readiness and competitiveness. Support will be provided for export quality certification, compliance with international standards, branding and packaging, participation in global trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and advanced trade intelligence and capacity-building programmes.
EPM strategically merges the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) and the Market Access Initiative (MAI) into a cohesive framework aligned with modern trade requirements.
Addressing Core Structural Barriers
The Mission directly targets long-standing bottlenecks in India’s export landscape, such as:
* limited and expensive access to trade finance,
* high compliance costs associated with global quality standards,
* weak international branding and fragmented market access, and
* logistical barriers faced by exporters in remote or low-export-intensity regions.
Priority support will also be extended to sectors affected by recent global tariff escalations, including textiles, leather, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products. These interventions aim to sustain export orders, preserve employment, and enable market diversification.
Digitally Driven Implementation
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will oversee the Mission’s execution. All processes—from application and documentation to sanction and disbursal—will be conducted through a dedicated digital platform integrated with existing foreign trade systems, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and faster turnaround.
Expected Impact
The Export Promotion Mission is expected to:
* improve MSMEs’ access to affordable trade finance,
* strengthen export readiness through compliance and certification support,
* enhance global visibility and market access for Indian products,
* drive export growth in non-traditional districts and emerging sectors, and
* create employment across manufacturing, logistics, and allied services.
