Underlining the resilience of the Indian economy amidst the global turmoil, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that the economy continues to have strong fundamentals and noted that both exports and gross foreign direct investments continue to remain robust.

The government is also working on several measures to control the current account deficit including promoting local domestic manufacturing and encouraging domestic and foreign investments and is also engaging with industry on import substitution, he further said.  

On the recent depreciation in the Indian rupee against the US dollar, Goyal said the government does not interfere in the exchange rate and noted that it is a matter of market forces and due to global factors.

“Our exports continue to grow robustly. In the last three weeks (month of May), the pace of growth is similar to that witnessed in April,” he told reporters, adding that the economy has been able to demonstrate resilience in the face of so many adversities.

Despite the ongoing West Asia war, India’s merchandise exports in April 2026 grew 13.78% to 43.56 billion, as compared to $38.28 billion during April 2025.

The minister further noted that the Centre has absorbed significant amounts of costs in terms of elevated fertiliser prices, which have not been passed on to farmers.

“India has shown to the world an economy which is self-confident, powering on the path of self-reliance, engaging with the world on equal and fair terms,” Goyal said, adding that this is reflected in the nine free trade agreements signed by India in the recent past and successful five nation tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Goyal further said that the government has been able to remain agile and abreast with current developments and pointed to the fact that gross foreign direct investment inflows into India hit a record of $95 billion last fiscal. He expressed optimism that this will continue to grow given the favour that the country enjoys amongst global investors as a preferred investment destination.

On questions around the current account deficit, the minister underlined that the government is taking several measures and is continuously addressing challenges related to increased self-reliance as well as in supply chains dependent on certain geographies.

Goyal said that he had also undertaken a meeting with industry chambers and sectors that have high imports such as electronics, chemicals and also have a huge potential for exports. The meeting led by the ministry of commerce and industry also had officials from line ministries and discussed data on principal Indian imports and exports. “We believe opportunity and demand will pull in investments,” the minister said.

BHAVYA scheme launch

As a further initiative for ease of doing business, the minister on Saturday also launched guidelines for BHAVYA (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna) scheme that aims to establish 100 investment ready plug and play industrial parks. The scheme with an allocation of Rs 33,660 crore was cleared by the Union Cabinet on March 18.

In the first phase, the government is looking for applications for 20 parks in the next two months and then will seek applications for another 30 parks over another two-month window. In all, the government is hoping to get applications for 50 parks in the next four months.

BHAVYA will be implemented in partnership with states and private sector players and it is expected that the parks will be operationalised in the next three years.

Indicating high interest amongst states, Goyal said that the newly formed government in West Bengal is also keen to participate in the scheme. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has also spoken to the Union commerce and industry minister about it.

Published on: May 23, 2026 4:27 PM IST