Export facilitation expands market access with inaugural shipment of premium MD two pineapples, strengthening India's fresh fruit exports.
APEDA coordinated the inaugural export of MD two pineapples to the UAE by arranging ICAR CCARI technical support for post harvest management and a sea transport protocol for fruit grown in Sindhudurg; the consignment was graded, packed and cold stored in Panvel and moved through Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for shipment, signaling an operational expansion of India's fresh fruit export basket.

Customs Duty Increase and Quality Control measures strengthen domestic toy industry access to online marketplaces and skills development.
The DPIIT workshop aims to integrate domestic toy manufacturers with online marketplaces to scale consumption and develop marketing skills while aligning with trade and quality measures: increased Basic Customs Duty on toys, DGFT sample testing of imports, a Quality Control Order, BIS licensing provisions for small manufacturers, cluster development support under SFURTI, and promotional initiatives to expand market access.

Clean economy investment mobilization via IPEF forum enabling concessional finance and private capital commitments for sustainable projects.
The IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum mobilized capital and market linkages for sustainable infrastructure, climate technology, and renewable energy projects. India's delegation highlighted domestic opportunities and reforms while Indian companies and climate-tech start-ups were shortlisted to pitch to global investors. The Forum launched a Catalytic Capital Fund to deploy concessional finance, technical assistance, and capacity building to expand resilient clean-economy project pipelines, alongside private investor commitments and an offtake arrangement supporting green hydrogen production for export.

Electronic disbursal of duty drawback: automated PFMS transfers to exporters' bank accounts to speed and increase transparency.
CBIC will electronically disburse Duty Drawback payments directly into exporters' bank accounts via the Public Finance Management System, automating transfers for claims processed through the Customs Automated System and replacing the prior CCDA and consolidated cheque mechanism to reduce manual intervention, improve transparency and accelerate payment under the framework of section 75 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Manufacturing incubators enable startups to access shared pilot and scaling facilities, fostering collaboration and market access.
DPIIT is promoting the establishment of manufacturing incubators to provide shared pilot, prototyping, test-bed and scaling facilities that reduce capital barriers for product startups, enable early-stage manufacturing and market access, and foster collaboration between startups, corporates, academic and research institutes; eligible entities may leverage government schemes such as Startup India, AICs, NIDHI, TIDE, BIRAC and iDEX to support incubation efforts.

FTA Strategy: adopt SOP driven negotiations integrating economic modelling, services, digital trade and supply chain resilience.
The document emphasises a coordinated FTA Strategy and institutionalised Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for trade negotiations, calls for rigorous economic assessment and modelling to inform negotiation narratives, and recommends integrating trade and industrial policy. It highlights incorporation of Trade and Sustainable Development disciplines, services and digital trade issues including data sovereignty and listing approaches, and stresses capacity building, resource management, stakeholder consultations, and leveraging FTAs to enhance supply chain resilience and address critical minerals and emerging technologies.

Customs exchange rates updated for import and export valuation, effective mid May, setting specified currency conversion rates.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs determines the rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies for customs purposes, effective 17th May, 2024, superseding the prior notification except as to past actions. Rates are provided in Schedule I as rupee equivalents per one unit for listed currencies with separate entries for imported and export goods, and in Schedule II as rupee equivalents per one hundred units for currencies quoted on that basis.

Export Growth signals stronger merchandise and services performance in April, widening the trade deficit as imports rose.
Combined merchandise and services exports for April 2024 are estimated at USD 64.56 billion (6.88% growth year-on-year) while combined imports are estimated at USD 71.07 billion (12.78% growth), producing a larger trade deficit. Merchandise exports were USD 34.99 billion and merchandise imports USD 54.09 billion. Services exports are estimated at USD 29.57 billion and services imports at USD 16.97 billion; the services figures for April 2024 are provisional and subject to revision based on the RBI's subsequent release. Sectoral drivers include Electronic Goods, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, while multiple import sectors registered declines.

Unified Payment Interface operationalisation to enable cross-border payments with Ghana, plus MoUs on digital transformation and local currency settlement.
Operationalisation of the Unified Payment Interface on Ghana's interbank settlement system is a near-term priority, with both sides committing to implement UPI connectivity to enable cross-border retail payments; they will also explore Memoranda of Understanding on Digital Transformation Solutions and a Local Currency Settlement System, coordinate on technical standards and nodal-officer level engagement, and pursue sectoral cooperation and business linkages under the AfCFTA framework.

Institutional mechanism for monthly preferential import data exchange to improve ECTA implementation and resolve market access issues.
The Joint Committee reviewed implementation of the India Australia Economic Co operation and Trade Agreement, addressing MRAs on organic products, market access for specified agricultural items, TRQ administration, pharmaceutical pricing for generics, and working group progress on whisky and wine; it adopted Rules of Procedure and created an institutional mechanism for monthly exchange of preferential import data to enable timely resolution of ECTA implementation issues.

Customs exchange rate update sets conversion rates for foreign currencies for import and export valuation.
Determination under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes revised rate of exchange entries for specified foreign currencies in two schedules-per unit rates for major currencies and per 100 unit rates where customary-for use in conversion between foreign currencies and Indian rupees for customs valuation of imported and exported goods, effective from the notified operative date and superseding the prior notification except as to prior actions.

Bilateral trade cooperation expanded to include working groups on agriculture, pharmaceuticals, services, and market access improvements.
A bilateral dialogue will be reinforced by establishing sectoral working groups for Agriculture, Food Processing, Forestry and Pharmaceuticals to drive structured cooperation, with regular reviews of their recommendations. Parties will address market access, non-tariff barriers and SPS measures affecting agricultural products, pursue mutual recognition for organic products and comparable vehicle standards, and use the Joint Trade Committee mechanism to resolve issues. Services expansion and pharmaceutical regulatory cooperation, including faster pathways and reliance on comparable regulators' inspections, are priority areas for operational collaboration.

Policy repo rate unchanged; focus on withdrawal of accommodation to align inflation with the medium term target.
The Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged and to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure inflation progressively aligns with the medium term CPI target of 4 per cent within the tolerance band while supporting growth. The MPC based this stance on resilient domestic growth, moderating but volatile inflation-particularly food price pressures-and upside risks from adverse weather, commodity and geopolitical shocks; members set out projections, voting positions, and emphasised anchoring inflation expectations and close monitoring of transmission and supply side developments.

Trade Balance Improvement: services growth and selective merchandise gains narrow the overall trade deficit for the year.
India's FY 2023-24 overall exports (merchandise and services) are estimated slightly above the prior year, driven by higher services exports and sectoral merchandise gains in electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, iron ore, textiles-related items, agricultural commodities and ceramics. Merchandise exports fell year on year while services exports rose, yielding a larger services surplus and a substantially improved overall trade deficit. Monthly March 2024 estimates show declines in exports and imports versus March 2023, and services data for March remain provisional pending central bank release.

Trade agreement negotiations progress, consolidating regulatory chapters and procedural mechanisms to advance bilateral commercial rules.
Negotiations between India and Peru advanced a bilateral Trade Agreement with substantive convergence across chapters including Rules of Origin, Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Movement of Natural Persons, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Trade Remedies, Exceptions, Dispute Settlement, and institutional provisions; delegations pursued stakeholder-informed modalities, intersessional virtual consultations, and an expedited schedule to resolve outstanding issues and establish predictable regulatory and procedural frameworks for deeper economic cooperation.

Macroeconomic stability enables growth acceleration, with fiscal consolidation and financial-sector resilience supporting investment and currency internationalisation.
Macroeconomic stability-achieved through coordinated monetary and fiscal policies, moderated inflation, a sustainable current account deficit, large reserves and ongoing fiscal consolidation-combined with financial-sector resilience and technology-driven payment and inclusion infrastructure, forms the operational basis for India's growth. Realising the demographic dividend and higher productivity requires skill development, female labour participation, formalisation via manufacturing expansion and infrastructure scaling, while export promotion, rupee internationalisation and substantial investment for a green transition are identified as key policy challenges.

Government startup support mobilized through a national convening to operationalize funding, mentorship and regulatory engagement for founders.
Startup Mahakumbh convened entrepreneurs, investors and public authorities to communicate and operationalize government initiatives supporting startups, including funding schemes, mentorship programs and prospective regulatory reforms. Joint organization by industry bodies, central program hubs and state partners created channels for delivering state support, incubator and accelerator linkages, and corporate partnerships. Sectoral pavilions, panels, workshops and mentorship clinics provided mechanisms for policy dissemination, investor engagement and facilitation of access to incubation, public financing and regulatory guidance for emerging technology sectors.

Merchandise export growth driven by engineering, electronics and chemicals narrows the trade deficit and boosts services trade.
Merchandise exports hit a fiscal year high in February 2024 at USD 41.40 billion, led by Engineering Goods, Electronic Goods, Organic & Inorganic Chemicals, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals and Petroleum Products. Twenty two of thirty key export sectors showed positive growth in February. Services exports are estimated to have risen, increasing the services surplus. For April-February 2023-24 the overall trade deficit and the merchandise trade deficit both narrowed versus the prior year, supported by declining imports in several categories and growth in non petroleum, non gems & jewellery exports.

Minimum investment requirement for EV manufacturing set; import concessions and localization timelines tied to guarantees and duty conditions.
The scheme conditions concessional customs treatment and import allowances on a minimum investment, staged domestic value addition (DVA) targets by specified deadlines, and commencement of local commercial production; aggregate duty relief and annual import limits are capped against the investment or incentive ceiling. Investment commitments must be secured by a bank guarantee, which may be invoked for failure to meet the DVA or minimum investment criteria.

E-commerce export facilitation: MoU to provide capacity building and logistics support enabling MSMEs to enter international markets.
A memorandum of understanding establishes an e-commerce export facilitation partnership between the national foreign trade implementing agency and a global logistics provider to support MSMEs across identified districts under the District as Export Hubs initiative by delivering capacity building, training, workshops, expert handholding, and a start-up kit to make exporters export-ready and address logistics challenges in cross-border e-commerce, aligned with the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.