India, March 6 -- India's cumulative exports (services and merchandise) grew by more than six per cent between April 2025 and January 2026, or the first 10 months of the financial year. According to an official press release, this "reflects India's resilience, with high-value commodities, widening global partnerships, and policy reforms supporting a more balanced, and globally-integrated trade trajectory." However, a dissection reveals huge gaps, and challenges in the export journey. Product exports nearly plateaued, weaknesses marked services, and huge hikes happened in agriculture commodities, not manufactured goods.

Let us start with the good news. Despite the geopolitical disruptions in 2025, which escalated now due to the Iran-Israe...