Districts as Export Hubs initiative links regional agricultural exporters to international buyers, enhancing market access and trade outreach.
Under the Districts as Export Hubs initiative, a two-day Virtual Outreach Event and trade fair connected 197 district exhibitors in five agricultural product categories to domestic and international buyers, facilitating buyer-seller interactions supported by foreign missions and engagement with major supermarket buyers to enhance market access for small and regional exporters.

Agri Export Policy focus: promoting start-ups and capacity building to boost agricultural export competitiveness and supply chains.
APEDA held an orientation for start-ups and stakeholders in western Rajasthan to promote agricultural exports and support the export-oriented supply chain by explaining Government initiatives-Financial Assistance Schemes, risk management, RBI guidelines, pesticide compliance, and digital traceability-and promoting automation and mechanization to enhance quality and competitiveness under the Agri Export Policy (AEP) while coordinating State-specific action plans and capacity building.

Digital logistics document exchange enables secure, auditable document flows and a GHG calculator to guide sustainable modal choice.
Centre launched the Secured Logistics Document Exchange to digitize generation, storage and interchange of logistics documents using Aadhaar authentication and blockchain security, providing an audit trail, faster transactions, lower shipping cost and carbon footprint, easier verification and reduced fraud risk; alongside a Green House Gas Calculator to compare emissions and total transportation cost across modes and commodities to inform sustainable modal choice.

Export certification for buffalo meat ensures international market access after safety testing, sustaining export continuity and demand.
Indian boneless buffalo meat exports rose markedly year-on-year for April-June 2021-22, supported by APEDA facilitation and certified Quality, Food Safety and Environmental Management Systems. Export market access to numerous countries rests on compliance with World Organization for Animal Health guidelines and international testing, including Covid-19 certification for consignments, while supply chains have remained operational throughout the pandemic.

Geographical Indication exports: Raja Mircha's first fresh consignment abroad enabled by organic testing and coordinated export facilitation.
First-time export of fresh Nagaland King Chilli ('Raja Mircha') to London was arranged by coordinating export facilitation, relying on its Geographical Indication status and laboratory confirmation of organic cultivation. The consignment was sourced from Tening, packed at an APEDA-assisted packhouse in Guwahati, and addressed perishability and quality-control challenges by sending samples for testing prior to shipment.

Foreign exchange reserves adequacy secures import cover and cushions against external shocks, supported by favourable vulnerability ratios.
India's foreign exchange reserves provide an import cover of more than eighteen months and serve as a buffer against external shocks. External vulnerability metrics reported include a forex reserves to total external debt ratio of 101.2% and a short term external debt to reserves ratio of 17.5% at end March 2021, with volatile capital flows to reserves at 67.0% at end December 2020. Over 90% of reserves are held as foreign currency assets in a diversified multi currency portfolio of major international currencies.

Green Cities Platinum Rating recognition encourages SEZs to adopt sustainable planning and green infrastructure nationwide.
Kandla SEZ has been designated the first Green SEZ by receipt of the Green Cities Platinum Rating for Existing Cities, recognising its green master planning, policy initiatives and implementation of green infrastructure, with particular emphasis on water conservation and afforestation as part of a governmental commitment to the Green SEZs Mission.

Export infrastructure requirement expands market access for Uttarakhand produce, emphasizing organic certification and capacity building.
APEDA, together with the Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing Board and exporters, supported sourcing, processing and EU compliant organic certification for millets, enabled a first vegetable consignment to the UAE, and proposes financial assistance for a pack house to satisfy mandatory export infrastructure requirements while pursuing capacity building, quality upgradation, market promotion and supply chain strengthening to connect farmers with international buyers.

Industrial policy drive: PLI incentives and self-reliance aimed at boosting manufacturing, exports and global competitiveness.
The document emphasizes policy priorities to support startup expansion and export revival through structural reforms and targeted incentives. It foregrounds Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to develop national manufacturing champions, strengthen quality, productivity and economies of scale, and leverage India's competitive advantages to integrate into global value chains. The text frames Aatmanirbhar self-reliance as enabling confident international engagement, endorses reciprocity in trade negotiations, trade facilitation and FTAs to reduce non-tariff barriers, and identifies key sectors for immediate and long-term growth opportunities.

Lifetime validity of customs licences removes periodic renewals, reducing compliance burden and trade interface, promoting contactless customs.
Abolition of periodic renewals replaces recurring renewal requirements for customs brokers' licences and authorised carriers' registrations with lifetime validity, removing the need for repeated applications. Licence/registration holders may voluntarily surrender licences/registrations; licences/registrations inactive for more than a year may be invalidated to prevent misuse, while Commissioners of Customs may revalidate where inactivity is for genuine reasons, reducing compliance burden and limiting routine interface under the contactless customs objective.

Renewable integration: policy, market and technical measures to enable flexible grid operation and reduce renewable curtailment.
Report identifies policy, regulatory and technical measures necessary for large scale renewable integration, prioritising resource planning, institutional support, advanced technologies and cost effective storage. It advocates a mix of flexibility options - demand response, Time of Use tariffs, flexible coal operation, storage and grid improvements - alongside distributed solar and agricultural load shifts to reduce curtailment. Complementary market and regulatory reforms recommended include Market Based Economic Dispatch, revised regulations, smart meter deployment, proactive regulators and enhanced transmission and smart grid technologies to operationalise integration at state level.

Agriculture export policy expands market linkages and targeted support after a notable year-on-year export increase.
Agriculture exports rose 17.37% in 2020-21. Implementation centers on the Agriculture Export Policy, supported by State Level Monitoring Committees, Nodal Agencies, Cluster Level Committees and State-, country- and product-specific action plans. The Department of Commerce and sectoral export authorities provide market linkages via a Farmer Connect Portal and Buyer Seller Meets, and financial and infrastructure support through schemes such as the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme, Market Access Initiatives and a Central Sector Transport and Marketing Assistance scheme to mitigate international freight disadvantage.

Special Economic Zone fiscal concessions remain inbuilt under SEZ Act, limiting additional fiscal incentives in policy.
Special Economic Zones reported registration of 1,096 units over the last three years and significant year-on-year zonal export increases, with 336 unit exits attributed to international market changes, order slowdowns, mergers and the COVID-19 pandemic. Aggregate exports, investment and employment have risen markedly since 2005-06 to 2020-21. Fiscal concessions and duty benefits are embedded in the SEZ Act, 2005 and consistent with broader government initiatives; there is currently no provision to grant additional fiscal incentives beyond the Act.

Digital trade facilitation strengthened by customs modernization, improving transparency and paperless cross border procedures for trade.
India's scores improved across Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation, Paperless Trade and Cross-Border Paperless Trade in the UNESCAP Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation. The gains are linked to CBIC-led Customs modernisation-faceless, paperless and contactless reforms under Turant Customs-and operational steps to expedite COVID 19 related imports supported by a dedicated EXIM helpdesk. The Survey assesses implementation of measures aligned with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and provides comparative indicators used by businesses and policymakers.

BRICS trade cooperation advances: members agree to finalise India's proposals ahead of trade ministers' meeting.
The BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues advanced India led proposals to strengthen Intra BRICS cooperation, including frameworks for the multilateral trading system, consumer protection in e commerce, an NTM resolution mechanism for SPS/TBT measures, an SPS working mechanism, protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and cooperation in professional services; members agreed to finalise these proposals before the BRICS Trade Ministers' meeting and to hold a virtual trade fair, an MSME roundtable, and services trade statistics workshops to deepen trade cooperation.

Foreign exchange reserves position strengthens, providing import cover and policy flexibility amid balance of payments surplus.
India's foreign exchange reserves make it the fifth largest holder and provide over eighteen months of import cover; reserve fluctuations result from RBI market interventions, forex swap and repo operations, gold acquisitions, valuation effects, interest earnings and inflows, while simultaneous net capital inflows producing a balance of payments surplus have contributed to reserve accumulation.

Agricultural export promotion encourages farmers to adopt certified seeds, judicious chemical use and register on basmati.net.
APEDA's Basmati Export Development Foundation launched an awareness campaign urging farmers to use certified seeds, apply fertilisers and chemicals judiciously, and register on the Basmati.net platform to record value chain activities. The initiative, conducted with state agriculture departments and exporters' associations, aims to maintain Basmati quality to meet global demand, boost exports, assist state governments, and coordinate stakeholders through promotional forums.

Renewable energy leadership: India commits to expand green hydrogen, battery and charging infrastructure, ethanol blending and domestic manufacturing.
India aims to lead in renewable energy by launching a Hydrogen Energy Mission for green hydrogen production, investing heavily in battery technologies, promoting renewable-powered electric vehicle charging infrastructure including solar recharging at fuel stations, and scaling ethanol blending in petrol with an ultimate aim for high-ethanol-capable vehicles. The strategy emphasises domestic manufacturing of renewable equipment, reducing import components to lower costs, attract global investment, and expand national renewable capacity targets.

Trade growth: exports recovered strongly while imports outpaced them, leaving a provisional overall trade deficit for June 2021.
India's June 2021 estimates show combined merchandise and services exports at USD 49.85 billion with strong year on year growth, while imports expanded faster driven by oil and non oil categories. Merchandise exports rose across many commodity groups though some agricultural items declined. Services remained net exporters, partly offsetting the goods deficit. June services figures are provisional pending RBI data; 2019-2020 series were revised pro rata using quarterly balance of payments data.

Geographical Indication certification boosts mango export promotion, expanding non-traditional regional varieties into Middle East and East Asian markets.
APEDA has expanded mango export promotion from non-traditional northern, eastern and southern regions by coordinating with mandi boards and APEDA-registered exporters to source and ship multiple regional varieties, including Geographical Indication (GI) certified cultivars, through in-store promotions, festivals and virtual buyer-seller meets to Middle Eastern, European and East Asian markets despite COVID-19 logistical challenges.