What is Export Promotion Mission? Objectives & Benefits

In recent years, global trade has experienced quite a few periods of uncertainty. Supply chain issues, high tariff rates, protectionist policies, and geopolitical tensions. All have contributed their fair share in making global trade more complicated, expensive, and unpredictable than ever. 

In such scenarios, India’s Export Promotion Mission initiative comes as a much-needed ray of sunshine, guiding exporters through the complexities of global trade and opening doors to new export opportunities. 

In this article, we’ll learn all about the Export Promotion Mission: what it means, who it is for, and what its benefits are. 

The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) is an export-promoting initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 and was approved in November 2025. It will boost exports for MSMEs, first-time exporters, and labour-intensive sectors. 

Along with that, it aims to enhance India’s export competitiveness and market-readiness in the global scenario. And provide a unified export support framework to deliver end-to-end digital processing of export-related processes. 

With a budgetary outlay of ₹25,060 crore, EPM will operate for six years, covering FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31. 

Here are the significant objectives of the EPM initiative:

• Make it easier for exporters to get affordable trade finance, boosting India’s export competitiveness. 
• Help MSMEs and first-time exporters take part more confidently in global trade.
• Open up new international markets with the help of better branding, promotion, and easier trade processes.
• Improve visibility of Indian products in global markets.
• Support exporters in meeting quality standards, certifications, and regulatory requirements with the right guidance.
• Encourage exports from non-traditional and low-export districts to spread growth more evenly.
• Create more jobs and higher-value by supporting labour-intensive manufacturing and service sectors. 

In recent years, we have seen a rise in protectionist policies worldwide. Under this, countries prioritize their domestic industries through higher tariffs, stricter regulations, and preferential trade policies. Recent US tariff hikes on Indian exports, which were increased to 50% in August 2025, are a clear example of that. 

EPMs help exporters reduce this risk by diversifying into new regions and trade partners. What’s more, the initiative especially prioritizes tariff-hit sectors, such as leather, textile, engineering, marine, and gems & jewellery.  

There’s also a clear trade finance gap in India. Many MSMEs struggle to get affordable credit, which limits their ability to accept and fulfill large export orders. EPMs help connect exporters with the right financial support.

Logistics challenges, like poor connectivity and limited warehousing, further add costs and delays. And finally, compliance and branding hurdles, including high certification costs and low global visibility, make market entry harder.

India’s Export Promotion Mission integrates two components or sub-schemes: 

Niryat Protsahan (Financial Enablers): This scheme helps exporters by giving them financial benefits through interest subvention, affordable trade finance, collateral help, exporter credit cards, and credit enhancement for MSMEs.

Niryat Disha (Non-Financial Enablers): Under this, exporters get non-financial aid. They are provided help with quality and compliance management, trade facilitation and intelligence, export warehousing, logistics and transportation, international branding, participation in trade fairs, inland transport reimbursements, and capacity-building programs. 

EPM provides exporters a more coordinated and unified export structure that supports simpler and faster market access. In addition, it also offers:

• Access to affordable trade finance with reduced interest rates on export credit
• Financing solutions for international trade transactions
• Support for exploring new export markets
• Assistance in meeting international standards and certifications
• Help in developing global brand presence and professional packaging
• Financial assistance for attending international exhibitions
• Infrastructure support for storage and distribution
• Cost support for moving goods from the interior regions
• Help with market research, training, and skill development initiatives
• End-to-end online processing through DGFT, from application to disbursal
• Coordinated support across multiple ministries and agencies
• Adaptive mechanism that can quickly respond to global trade challenges

EPM is a coordinated effort among various departments and institutions, including the Department of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of MSME, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, financial institutions, industry associations, and state governments.

Along with these, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will be the implementing agency responsible for handling all the digital processing, like applications, approvals, and disbursals. 

Apart from EPM, there are other export promotion schemes in India, such as:

• Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP)
• Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme
• Interest Equalization Scheme (IES)

Let’s see what they offer and how they differ from EPM.

Although the EPM is a welcome initiative by the government, there are certain grassroots-level issues that can present hurdles in its implementation. These include: 

1. Lack of a detailed implementation framework

Right now, the EPM exists more as a high-level idea than a fully working program. Many important details are still missing. Things like who is eligible, how to apply, and how funds or support will be disbursed haven’t been clearly defined yet. 

2. Inadequate funding allocation

Although the mission has a total outlay of ₹25,060 crore spread over six years, the funding doesn’t quite match its ambitious goals. The annual budget comes to less than ₹4,200 crore, roughly the same amount that was spent last year on the Interest Equalisation Scheme alone. 

The point is that when a single existing scheme can consume most of the yearly budget, it becomes unclear how the mission will fund its many components in a meaningful way.

3. Institutional capacity concerns

Another major challenge is the appointment of the DGFT as the implementing agency. DGFT will now have to take on financial scheme functions that were earlier handled by banks under RBI oversight.

This means DGFT will need to build new capabilities in areas like interest subvention and export financing, domains that traditionally rely on close coordination with the banking system. Until this expertise is developed, there’s a real risk of slower approvals and operational delays, which could impact how effectively the scheme is rolled out.

To view export promotion from a global lens, we can look at some of these contemporary trends: 

1. Sustainability as a competitive factor 

Laws like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are changing how exporters operate. Export promotion should now support green technologies, circular economy practices, and environmental compliance, as buyers prioritize sustainable sourcing.

2. Growing focus on services exports

With goods trade facing protectionist barriers, many countries are shifting attention to services such as IT, business services, creative industries, and education, which offer higher value addition and a lower carbon footprint.

3. Nearshoring and supply chain shifts

Businesses are moving their suppliers closer to where their customers are. Instead of depending on far-off countries, they now prefer nearby or regional partners to avoid delays, disruptions, and geopolitical risks.

Consequently, export promotion agencies must adjust their approach. They should focus on helping businesses build regional trade partnerships and promoting our country’s geographic advantages. 

The Export Promotion Mission can change India’s export scene. By bringing multiple forms of export support under one framework, it makes exporting more accessible for MSMEs and first-time exporters. Its impact, however, will depend on how effectively policy intent can be changed into action.

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