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.

Vaccine clearance protocol ensures expedited customs release and duty free temporary admission for COVID 19 vaccine shipments.
CBIC implemented a COVID Response Plan establishing a COVID 19 Vaccine Response Team at each air cargo/courier terminal to act as single point of contact, coordinate stakeholders, and create SOPs for instant customs release of temperature sensitive vaccines. Regulatory changes permit vaccine import/export through courier without value limits and provide for duty free temporary admission of vaccines transported in temperature controlled containers with monitoring, while CBIC will monitor logistics and apply simplified customs procedures and automation to ensure seamless movement.

Reduction of customs duty eases edible oil imports and, together with expedited customs clearance, accelerates market availability.
Customs has reduced edible oil import clearance to about three to four days through sampling, duty payment and logistics streamlining, nomination of nodal officers, and a Standard Operating Procedure; import volumes-especially crude palm oil-are reviewed weekly by an Inter ministerial Committee, and recent policy steps include reductions in customs duty on crude and refined palm oil and lifting import restrictions on refined palm oil to ease consumer relief.

Export facilitation for cooperatives strengthens market access and capacity building for Farmer Producer Organizations and FPO-linked exporters.
A Memorandum of Understanding between APEDA and NAFED creates a cooperative framework to facilitate export linkages for cooperatives, FPOs, and APEDA-registered exporters by enabling access to government schemes through NAFED, improving quality, technology, skills and market access, promoting participation in domestic and international trade events, and coordinating cluster development and capacity building under the Agri Export Policy.

International Trade Finance Services platform enables exporters and importers to access diverse trade finance facilities via a dedicated electronic IFSC platform.
The regulatory framework establishes an International Trade Finance Services platform (ITFS) at International Financial Services Centres to enable exporters and importers to convert trade receivables into liquid funds and obtain short term funding by offering products such as Export Invoice Trade Financing, Reverse Trade Financing, Bill Discounting under Letters of Credit, Supply Chain Finance, Export Credit (Packing Credit), Insurance/Credit Guarantee and Factoring through a dedicated electronic platform.

Geographical Indication certification enables expanded mango exports through APEDA-led promotion and registered exporter channels.
Geographical Identification (GI) certification combined with APEDA-led promotion and exporter registration facilitated export consignments of multiple Indian mango varieties to new international markets, linking farmers in producing districts with overseas importers through virtual buyer-seller meets and targeted promotional programmes.

Good Agricultural Practices promoted to boost regional agricultural exports through technical training and institutional support for farmers and exporters.
APEDA convened a multi stakeholder meet in Varanasi to advance export readiness of regional horticultural produce by promoting Good Agricultural Practices, pest free cultivation, disease identification, plant quarantine compliance and commodity processing guidance; technical inputs were delivered by national research institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, while participants were familiarised with departmental schemes and APEDA assistance to strengthen market linkages and export supply chains.

Monetary policy accommodation maintained to support recovery while tolerating transitory supply driven inflation within target range.
RBI will maintain an accommodative, state based monetary policy stance to support recovery, tolerating a transitory supply-driven inflation spike within the flexible inflation targeting range while anchoring expectations. The Bank actively manages the yield curve and government borrowing using conventional and unconventional tools to ensure orderly financing and transmission. Large foreign exchange reserves act as a buffer against volatile capital flows, but are capital flow driven and not available for other uses; interventions in offshore NDF markets aim to integrate onshore-offshore pricing. RBI stresses timely asset quality recognition, targeted liquidity support, faster insolvency resolution, and ongoing work on bond index inclusion and a central bank digital currency.

Authorised Economic Operator online filing expanded to include advanced T2 and T3 real time digital monitoring and certification.
Authorised Economic Operator online filing now accepts AEO T2 and AEO T3 applications via a new V2.0 web portal that enables continuous real time digital monitoring, timely administrative intervention, expedited processing and digital certification, building on prior web based handling of AEO T1 applications.

Supply chain resilience: India invites regional partners to deepen trade ties and use incentive and facilitation measures.
India endorses strengthening supply chain resilience in the Indo Pacific through transparent, trustworthy and dependable supply chains, invites broader participation in the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, and advocates trade facilitation to address Non Tariff Measures. Policy tools include Production Linked Incentive schemes, simplification of rules, and a single window clearance mechanism to attract investment and expand manufacturing and export import collaboration across Clean Tech, logistics, sustainable agriculture, startups, healthcare, education and life sciences.

Export compliance and certification drive market access for Kashmiri cherries by aligning safety, packing and organic certification standards.
Facilitation of commercial export of the Mishri cherry variety to Dubai combined export-promotion coordination, registered-exporter packing, technical inputs from a local agricultural university and laboratory verification to ensure food safety and quality, aiming to build market access and brand recognition. Parallel capacity-building for farmers, FPOs, exporters and officials on organic production standards and third-party certification including ISO-17065 underpins efforts to scale exports of temperate fruits while aligning practices with international trade and certification requirements.

Merchandise export growth drives national trade targets and boosts investment, startups, and ease of doing business reforms through digital single window.
Highest quarterly merchandise exports (Q1 2021 22) reached USD 95 billion, supporting a national target of USD 400 billion for 2021 22. Growth is attributed to sectoral interventions, stakeholder engagement and procedural simplification, with strong performance in labour intensive goods and near recovery of services exports. Complementary indicators include record FDI inflows, over 50,000 recognised startups, phased compliance reductions to ease doing business, and rollout of the National Single Window System/Investment Clearance Cell for streamlined clearances.

Trade deficit widens as imports outpace exports in June 2021, amid strong non-petroleum export recovery.
India's merchandise exports and imports in June 2021 both rose substantially year-on-year, with imports growing more rapidly and producing a net trade deficit for June 2021. Non-petroleum and non-gems-and-jewellery exports recorded positive growth, while oil imports increased sharply year-on-year though remained below June 2019 levels. Commodity-level results show strong gains in cereals, petroleum products, chemicals, engineering goods and selected agricultural items, while precious metals, project goods, cotton raw & waste and select manufactures declined.