Key Highlights
- Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled a roadmap to reach $1 trillion in exports for FY 2025‑26.
- Despite geopolitical tensions, the Ukraine war and slowing global growth, total exports rose to $863 billion.
- Services exports expanded by roughly 8½‑9 % while overall merchandise exports grew close to 5 % YoY.
- India now links with 38 advanced economies through nine free‑trade agreements, covering over two‑thirds of world trade.
- Negotiations are under way with GCC, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Eurasian blocs, Mercosur, SACU and the Maldives.
Detailed Insights
The government’s LEADS 2025 report, India’s flagship logistics benchmarking study, introduced a four‑tier classification and weighted objective indicators at 59 %. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram and the Union Territory of Delhi emerged as the top‑performing jurisdictions, praised for robust infrastructure and policy backing. Other high‑performing states include Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, while Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry were noted among UTs.
Logistics reforms under the PM GatiShakti mission and the National Logistics Policy are projected to cut freight costs, thereby enhancing export competitiveness, operational efficiency, delivery speed, supply‑chain reliability and foreign‑investor confidence.
The LEAPS 2025 awards honored excellence across 13 logistics categories, with winners such as FedEx Express (air freight), MSC Agency India (maritime), Safexpress (road), DP World Rail Logistics (rail), Delhivery (e‑commerce), IIM Mumbai (education) and MatchLog Solutions (startup innovation).
Key Concepts
- Free Trade Agreement (FTA): A bilateral or multilateral pact that eliminates or reduces tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers between signatory nations.
- Logistics Cost: The aggregate expense incurred in moving, storing and handling goods from origin to destination, a decisive factor for export competitiveness.
- PM GatiShakti: An integrated infrastructure initiative launched by the Prime Minister to synchronize projects across ministries, aiming to streamline logistics and reduce transit times.
- LEADS Report: “Logistics Ease Across Different States” – a periodic assessment that ranks Indian states and UTs on logistics performance using quantitative indicators.
- LEAPS Awards: “Logistics Excellence, Advancement and Performance Shield” – an annual recognition program that celebrates outstanding achievements in various logistics sub‑sectors.