New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- Indian businesses should leverage free trade agreements and initiatives such as the Export Promotion Mission to expand their global footprint, strengthen international partnerships and boost shipments, Sanjay Budhia, Chairman, CII National Committee on Exports and MD, Patton International Ltd said on Friday.
Budhia said India's cumulative exports were estimated at $476.20 billion during April-September 2026, registering 13.84 per cent year-on-year growth.
He attributed the increase to the resilience and competitiveness of Indian industry, particularly in electronics, engineering goods, chemicals and textiles, and urged businesses, especially MSMEs, to capitalise on trade agreements.
India has finalised eight free trade pacts in the last five years. Agreements with Mauritius, the UAE, Oman, Australia, the EFTA bloc and the UK have been implemented. A similar deal with New Zealand will come into force from October 20, while a trade pact with the 27-nation European Union is expected to be signed in December.
Government data released on Thursday showed merchandise exports rose 23 per cent year-on-year to $44.4 billion in September, from $36.08 billion a year earlier. During April-September this fiscal, merchandise exports increased 18.51 per cent to $259.89 billion. Services exports declined marginally by 0.87 per cent tto $36.35 billion in September from $36.67 billion in September 2025. However, exports during April-September 2026-27 rose to $216.31 billion from $199.02 billion a year earlier.
According to GTRI, the US, EU and UK account for about 85.1 per cent of India's software exports.
GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said generative AI tools and automated workflows were reducing billing hours and contract sizes in entry-level programming, software maintenance and traditional IT-enabled and BPO services.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.