Expressing concern over declining support for exporters, economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has urged the government to immediately revive the Market Access Initiative (MAI) with an annual budget of ₹2,500 crore. The scheme, which helped exporters participate in global exhibitions, has not received any funds in FY2025 — the first such lapse in decades — leading to missed opportunities between April and August.
“With a modest budget of only ₹250 crore earlier, the MAI was already too small for a $440 billion export economy. Funds should be released at least a year in advance so Indian firms can secure prime exhibition slots,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
He also called for the resumption of the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES), suspended since April 2025, noting that MSME exporters have been hit by higher financing costs, eroding competitiveness in labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, handicrafts, and engineering goods. Srivastava suggested reinstating IES with a five-year commitment and an annual outlay of ₹15,000 crore.
Other recommendations include immediate rollout of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), operationalisation of E-commerce Export Hubs announced in 2023, faster Customs clearance, predictable RoDTEP benefits, and simplification of the advance authorisation scheme.
Highlighting the decline in export funding, GTRI pointed out that the earlier MEIS scheme had a ₹45,000 crore outlay benefiting 40,000 exporters, but was replaced by RoDTEP and RoSCTL with barely ₹20,000 crore. Meanwhile, much of the funds were diverted to the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, benefitting fewer than 100 firms.
“India must rebalance policy by restoring broad-based export promotion schemes for MSMEs while continuing PLI for large-scale sectors. Cutting costs by 5–10% through revived schemes and streamlined processes will give exporters space to diversify beyond the US market, especially amid the recent 50% tariff shock,” Srivastava added.