India Launches ₹25060 Crore Export Promotion Mission

India Launches ₹25060 Crore Export Promotion Mission

Why in News?

The Union Cabinet has approved the ₹25,060 crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM) to strengthen India’s exports. This mission will focus on empowering MSMEs, supporting first-time exporters, and labour-intensive industries.

What is the Export Promotion Mission (EPM)?

• About: The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) is a flagship export-oriented programme of the Government of India approved on 12 November 2025 as announced in the Union Budget for 2025-26. The EPM is to strengthen India’s export competitiveness with a special focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), first-time exporters and labour-intensive sectors.

• Budget: The Mission has a total approved budget of ₹ 25,060 crore for the period FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31. This funding replaces various fragmented export-support schemes into one integrated mechanism.

• Objectives: The foremost objective of EPM is to enhance the competitiveness of Indian products and services in global markets.

• The mission seeks to improve product quality, efficiency, and brand image so Indian goods can meet international standards.

• • It aims to create a level playing field for small units by easing access to credit, simplifying export documentation, and promoting e-commerce exports.
  • EPM intends to mentor, train, and guide new exporters by offering skill development, export literacy, and compliance assistance. 
  • It will promote sustainable and eco-friendly manufacturing to align exports with global environmental standards.
  • It will set up a central monitoring framework involving export councils and state governments to ensure accountability.
  • It is designed to directly address structural challenges including limited and expensive trade finance access, high cost of compliance with international export standards and low-export-intensity regions.

Components of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM)

• Niryat Protsahan: This sub-scheme focuses exclusively on financial interventions designed to ease the cost and availability of trade finance for exporters, especially small and new ones. Under Niryat Protsahan the following support measures are included:

• • Interest subvention: The scheme offers subsidised interest rates for eligible exporters, thereby reducing their borrowing cost and improving their working-capital availability. 
  • Export factoring: This service enables exporters to convert their export receivables into immediate liquidity by selling them to financial institutions at favourable terms.
  • Collateral guarantees: The scheme provides guarantee instruments so that small exporters with limited assets can access trade finance without heavy collateral burden. 
  • Credit cards for e-commerce exporters: A specialised financial product is planned for micro-exporters who sell through digital marketplaces, enabling faster access to funds and better transaction flexibility. 
  • Credit enhancement for market diversification: The sub-scheme helps exporters expand into new markets by supporting credit lines and risk coverage when entering less-familiar geographies.
• Niryat Disha: This sub-scheme covers non-financial forms of assistance that empower exporters to become globally competitive. These interventions aim to strengthen quality, branding, market presence, logistics and infrastructure. Key features of Niryat Disha include:
  • Export quality and compliance support: The scheme helps firms meet international standards, obtain certifications such as ISO/CE, address sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) norms, and reduce rejection rates in global markets. 
  • Branding and packaging assistance: Exporters receive aid in developing a strong “Brand India” identity, improving packaging design, labelling, sustainability credentials and presentation for foreign markets.
  • Participation in international trade fairs and exhibitions: The scheme provides support for taking Indian products to global fairs, arranging buyer-seller meets, and accessing trade mission facilities abroad.
  • Export warehousing, logistics and inland transport reimbursement: To reduce the cost burden of moving goods from hinterlands to ports, support is available for setting up export warehousing, cold chains, inland container depots and reimbursing transport charges.

Both sub-schemes consolidate earlier export-support programmes into one integrated framework. The sub-schemes absorb legacy schemes such as the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) and Market Access Initiative (MAI). 

Institutional Framework of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM)

• Central Coordinating Authority: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry serves as the nodal implementing agency for EPM. DGFT is responsible for policy coordination, digital platform management, and performance monitoring. It also works with customs, banks, and trade promotion bodies to simplify export documentation and ensure the schemes under EPM—Niryat Protsahan and Niryat Disha—function smoothly.

• Ministry of Commerce and Industry: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry provides the overall policy direction and supervises DGFT’s implementation work. It coordinates with various departments like the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Economic Division for inter-policy alignment. The ministry also ensures that EPM complements existing trade policies such as the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and the National Logistics Policy 2022.

• Ministry of Finance: The Ministry of Finance, particularly through the Department of Financial Services (DFS), plays a crucial role in mobilizing funds and coordinating with banks and financial institutions. It oversees the design of financial instruments like interest subvention, export factoring, and credit guarantee mechanisms under the Niryat Protsahan sub-scheme. 

• Ministry of MSME: The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is a key stakeholder, identifies eligible MSME exporters and provides them with training, certification support, and capacity-building programs. It collaborates with DGFT to align the mission’s benefits with other MSME-related initiatives such as Cluster Development Schemes and ZED (Zero Defect Zero Effect) programs.

• State Governments: In EPM state governments play a frontline role in identifying potential exporters and promoting regional products. The mission integrates with the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative launched earlier in 2020, helping local industries, farmers, and artisans become part of the export ecosystem. 

• Export Promotion Councils: Over 30 sector-specific Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and several commodity boards are integral parts of the EPM structure. These include councils for textiles, engineering goods, gems and jewellery, agricultural exports, leather, pharmaceuticals, and others.

• Financial Institutions: Banks and financial intermediaries such as the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) are crucial partners under the Niryat Protsahan sub-scheme. They manage the flow of credit, risk insurance, and export factoring services. 

Significance of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM)

• Support to Sectors Facing Global Tariff: EPM provides targeted assistance to industries affected by recent international tariff hikes, especially in textiles, leather, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products. These sectors face rising input costs and stiff global competition. The mission helps exporters maintain their order pipelines and global market share. 
• Enhance Export Readiness: Global trade now demands strict quality standards and sustainability compliance. EPM focuses on certification, standardization, and capacity-building for exporters to meet international norms. By supporting ISO, CE, and environmental certifications, it improves product credibility and acceptance in developed markets. 
• Expansion of Market Access: The mission promotes “Brand India” through marketing, packaging, and participation in international trade fairs. It also focuses on diversifying exports to Africa, Latin America, and East Asia, reducing over-dependence on a few major destinations. In future enhanced visibility and promotion of Indian goods will help exporters tap into new consumer bases and secure long-term partnerships in global supply chains.
• Economic Transformation: EPM is designed to generate employment across manufacturing, logistics, transport, warehousing, and allied services. By increasing export competitiveness, the mission will help industries expand production and workforce capacity. This aligns with India’s broader economic vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, aiming for a self-reliant, innovation-driven, and globally integrated economy.