SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Institutions: Ministry of Commerce & Industry | Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) for the period April-October 2025 are estimated at US$ 491.80 Billion, marking a positive growth of 4.84% over the same period last year. However, this growth masks a significant divergence between the goods and services sectors.
The services sector was the primary engine of growth, with estimated exports surging by 9.75% to reach US$ 237.55 Billion. This robust performance generated a large services trade surplus of US$ 118.68 Billion, which helped cushion the impact of a widening merchandise deficit.
In contrast, merchandise exports showed minimal growth of only 0.63% to US$ 254.25 Billion. This was largely propped up by a 4.62% growth (to US$ 203.40 Billion) in the Non-Petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery (Non-Pol, Non-G&J), driven by strong performances in sectors like Electronic Goods (19.05% growth in October), Meat, Dairy & Poultry Products (30.87%), and Cashew (126.85%).
Overall, the total trade balance for April-October 2025 stood at a deficit of US$ 78.14 Billion.
The data clearly shows that India’s economic resilience is overwhelmingly dependent on the high-growth services sector, which is crucial for managing the widening merchandise trade deficit. This reliance necessitates a policy focus on securing and expanding market access for services globally. Concurrently, the strong growth in Electronic Goods exports confirms the success of domestic manufacturing incentives (like PLI schemes), highlighting the need to replicate this model in other high-potential sectors.
What is the “Non-Petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery” (Non-Pol, Non-G&J) export basket?→ The Non-Pol, Non-G&J basket is a key economic indicator that measures the performance of India’s core manufacturing and production sectors by removing the two most volatile and high-value categories: petroleum products (whose value is tied to global crude prices) and gems & jewellery (which has a high import component). The fact that these core exports grew by 4.62% during April-October 2025 (to US$ 203.40 Billion) is a positive sign of underlying strength and diversification in India’s export economy.
Follow the full news here: India’s Services Exports Surge 9.75%,