A recent media report rightly points out that merchandise exports growth during the last 10 years has remained lacklustre. The year 2014-15 witnessed exports growing to $321 billion before falling to $262.29 billion in 2015–16 and reaching $330.07 billion in 2018-19. Similarly, during the second term of the Modi government, annual exports growth is likely to stand at 5.19%, with 2023-24 exports estimated at $425 billion.

These figures are not encouraging, but none can ignore the fact that several major challenges - including the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical crisis and slow global trade growth – hit the Indian exports sector during this period. When the global economy had already been hit by slowdown, the pandemic effects further deteriorated the situation and it was, in contrast, a host of government measures that helped the sector to eke out revival.

Meanwhile, these days some of our exports sectors are showing increasingly strong performance. According to recent reports, India’s defence exports increased from Rs 686 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 16 thousand crore in 2022-23. This is remarkable. India has increasingly been playing a crucial role in the global defence manufacturing sector and we are now exporting defence equipment to more 85 countries.

Similarly, according to recent reports, India’s toy exports increased 60% from $203.46 million in 2018-19 to $325.72 million in 2022-23. This sounds amazing, particularly in the context that three is a 52% decline in imports and 239% increase in exports in FY 2022-23 in comparison to FY 2014-15.The government has taken a host of measures in this direction and the results are clearly evident now.