Union Budget 2026–27: Transforming India into a Global Export Powerhouse

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Dated: 05.02.2026

Union Budget 2026–27: Transforming India into a Global Export Powerhouse

The Union Budget 2026–27 has set the stage for India’s economic transformation by placing international trade and exports at the core of its growth strategy. With a focus on building a competitive, resilient, and globally integrated economy, the budget introduces a series of reforms and investments aimed at strengthening India’s position as a trusted global trading partner. Anchored in macroeconomic stability, fiscal discipline, and sustained public investment, the budget is a significant step toward achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat.

Exports as a Catalyst for Growth 

Recognizing exports as a key driver of employment, industrial growth, foreign exchange earnings, and global value chain integration, the budget unveils a comprehensive set of measures. These initiatives span across manufacturing, services, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), infrastructure development, and ease of doing business, ensuring a holistic approach to economic growth.

Boosting Manufacturing Across Strategic and Labour-Intensive Sectors 

A major highlight of the budget is its emphasis on scaling domestic manufacturing in strategic and labour-intensive sectors. This move aims to enhance export competitiveness and reduce dependence on critical imports. Key initiatives include:

Biopharma SHAKTI: A flagship program to boost biopharma manufacturing.
India Semiconductor Mission 2.0: A renewed push to establish India as a global semiconductor hub.
Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme: Expansion to support the growing electronics industry.
Rare Earth Corridors: Development to secure critical resources for manufacturing.
Chemical Parks: Establishment to bolster chemical production.
Support for Capital Goods and Container Manufacturing: Targeted measures to enhance production capabilities.

Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, footwear, sports goods, handicrafts, and handlooms will benefit from integrated parks, modernization schemes, skilling initiatives, cluster rejuvenation, and sustainability-focused programs. The revival of 200 legacy industrial clusters through infrastructure and technology upgrades will lower costs, improve productivity, and make traditional export hubs more competitive.

Empowering the Gems and Jewellery Sector 

The gems and jewellery sector, a major contributor to India’s foreign exchange earnings, is set to benefit from trade facilitation and logistics efficiency measures. Key reforms include:

Removal of the ₹10 lakh value cap on courier exports to support small exporters and e-commerce shipments.
Improved handling of returned consignments to reduce friction in global B2C trade.
Extensions of concessional customs duty regimes for gold and silver dore bars and lab-grown diamond inputs to support domestic refining and value addition.

Services Sector: A Global Leader in the Making 

The services sector receives a strong policy push, with the government aiming for a 10% share in global services exports by 2047. Key measures include:

Formation of a High-Powered Education-to-Empowerment and Enterprise Standing Committee to guide reforms.
Tax and regulatory reforms for IT and IT-enabled services, including unified classification, higher safe-harbour thresholds, automated approvals, and faster Advance Pricing Agreements.
Tax holidays up to 2047 for foreign companies providing global cloud services through India-based data centers.
Safe-harbour norms for related-party services to attract foreign investment and establish India as a global hub for digital and data-driven services.

SEZ Reforms to Enhance Export Capacity 

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are set to undergo transformative reforms to boost capacity utilization, economies of scale, and resilience while maintaining export orientation. Key measures include:

One-time facilitation for limited Domestic Tariff Area sales at concessional duties.
Extended tax incentives for cloud and data-center operations to attract global manufacturers and technology players.

Infrastructure Development: A Backbone for Export Growth 

The budget emphasizes infrastructure development to reduce logistics costs and improve connectivity. Key investments include:

Expansion of Dedicated Freight Corridors and National Waterways.
Promotion of coastal shipping and container manufacturing.
Development of logistics parks and high-speed rail corridors.
Increased public capital expenditure to enhance supply-chain efficiency and reduce dwell times.

These measures aim to improve connectivity, particularly for tier-2 and tier-3 cities, directly enhancing export competitiveness.

Ease of Doing Business in Trade 

The budget introduces a trust-based, technology-driven approach to simplify trade processes. Key initiatives include:

Electronic sealing of export cargo.
Trusted supply-chain recognition.
Automated customs processes and expansion of non-intrusive scanning.
Longer validity of advance rulings and enhanced duty deferment for Authorised Economic Operators.
Removal of value caps for courier exports.

These reforms are expected to improve predictability, reduce transaction costs, and strengthen India’s position on global trade facilitation indices.

Empowering MSMEs: The Backbone of India’s Exports 

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) receive focused support through:

A ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to ease credit access and boost exports.
Enhanced credit guarantee mechanisms.
Mandatory use of TReDS by CPSEs and integration of GeM with TReDS to improve access to affordable finance.

These measures aim to address working-capital constraints and enable MSMEs to scale their operations in global markets.

Sector-Specific Initiatives

The budget also introduces targeted initiatives in agriculture, marine products, pharmaceuticals, tourism, AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics), and allied health services. These measures aim to open new export opportunities and reinforce India’s diversified export base.

A Vision for the Future

The Union Budget 2026–27 is a forward-looking blueprint that combines competitive manufacturing, services excellence, logistics modernization, regulatory simplification, and infrastructure investment. By placing exports at the center of its strategy, the government is not only driving economic growth but also creating jobs, enhancing global competitiveness, and building a resilient economy.

India is poised to emerge as a reliable global partner, and this budget lays a strong foundation for sustained export growth, job creation, and long-term economic resilience. With these transformative measures, the vision of Viksit Bharat is closer to becoming a reality.

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Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry

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