India's recent trade figures reflect the ongoing momentum of its services sector, which keeps the economy afloat even during such external uncertainties as muted global demand, current geopolitical tensions, and high interest rates, says the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
India's overall exports in May 2025, including goods and services, reflected a respectable 2.8% year-on-year growth, bucking the pressures of the global economy.
Total exports during the month rose to $71.12 billion from $69.20 billion in May 2024.
"The increase was largely led by sustained growth in services exports, led by software, consultancy, and financial services," stated SC Ralhan, President, FIEO.
Ralhan was pointing to the resilience of Indian exporters in coping with a challenging global trade situation. "Exporters are coping well with a challenging global environment. Their capacity to maintain export expansion, despite logistical disruptions, particularly in the Middle East, is testimony to the sector's flexibility and policy support," he said.
Imports, including both merchandise and services, dipped slightly to $77.75 billion in May 2025 from $78.55 billion a year earlier, suggesting that domestic consumption of essential goods and services remains steady.
Ralhan also attributed the modest fall in merchandise imports to the country’s growing emphasis on import substitution and strengthening local manufacturing capacities—an outcome of the government's broader self-reliance agenda.
To sustain the present export tempo and accelerate it further, the FIEO chief urged greater support for small and medium-sized exporters through avenues such as the Interest Equalisation Scheme. He also emphasized the need to accelerate Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations—especially the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with America—to increase market penetration, while urging streamlined and digitised trade operations to reduce costs and facilitating smoother e-commerce export operations by alleviating procedural issues.
In the future, Ralhan advised the government to maintain a sectoral focus and ride the increasing dominance of India in services by spending on digital backbone, human capital upgradation, and chosen overseas promotion.
"With the right policy intervention and the world's economic outlook due to stabilize in the second half of 2025, India is poised to get back on a strong export growth path," he said.
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