The message is simple, almost an ad theme like: “Har ek country zaroori hota hai.”
According to a report by The Times of India’s (TOI) Sidhartha, PMO officials have held at least five meetings with Indian missions, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and trade bodies, stressing the need to step up engagement on goods and services to diversify India’s export basket.
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While the commerce department had earlier focused on 20 countries and six product categories after US tariffs kicked in, the government has now widened the approach. “Even countries with $100–200 million exports are being prioritised as an increase in a group of such countries can add weight to the overall kitty,” an official told TOI.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Shaktikanta Das, held meetings with representatives covering over 100 countries, with senior officials from the commerce ministry and MEA in attendance. These meetings followed discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a select group of exporters.
“It is better to diversify. Wherever there is a small or a big opportunity, we should seek to integrate into the supply chain. Every small market today can be a big opportunity tomorrow. We should not look at it from the current size and we should leverage our presence there,” another official said.Also Read: India-UAE aim to double trade to $200 billion by 2032; ink deals on LNG, defence, and space
TOI reported that detailed instructions have been issued to each Indian mission on trade strategy. Territorial divisions in the commerce department and MEA officials handling regions will now review progress every month with trade bodies.
Promotional focus areas include e-commerce, sustainability-linked exports, indigenous and GI-tagged products and global branding initiatives. There is also a push to strengthen Brand India through trade intelligence and market research.
“Keeping tabs on evolving regulatory architecture, including non-tariff barriers, will be a key responsibility so issues can be flagged early for the government to respond,” the official added.
India’s trade and the beeline of deals
India’s merchandise exports rose to about $38.5 billion in December 2025, while imports climbed to about $63.6 billion, widening the trade deficit to roughly $25 billion for the month amid persistent global headwinds. Cumulative exports of goods and services for April–December 2025 stood at around $634.26 billion, with imports nearing $730.8 billion, underscoring the government’s push to diversify markets and products.
India has been actively expanding its global trade network in recent years, concluding several key agreements to boost market access and diversify export destinations.
In 2025, New Delhi signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman, offering zero-duty access on nearly all Indian exports and strengthening bilateral trade ties in the Gulf region.
India also concluded a free trade agreement with New Zealand, negotiated in a record nine months, which slashes tariffs on the majority of traded goods and deepens economic cooperation.
Another major milestone was the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, providing nearly tariff-free access for Indian exports to the UK market.
India is also a partner in the India–EFTA trade pact with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, set to enter into force with a large investment commitment.
Looking ahead, India and the European Union are on the verge of announcing a long-sought free trade agreement. described as potentially the “mother of all deals”, at the upcoming India-EU Summit in New Delhi, which would expand tariff cuts and market access across goods and services.
(With inputs from Times of India)