India's total exports scaled an all-time high of $863.11 billion in the financial year 2025-26, up from $825.26 billion in the previous year, registering a growth of 4.59 per cent, according to data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) and the Reserve Bank of India.
The milestone is significant not just for its record value, but because each of the four quarters of 2025-26 individually recorded their highest-ever export performance, a feat achieved for the first time in the country's trade history.
The star of India's export story this year is unambiguously the services sector.
Services exports surged to a historic $421.32 billion in 2025-26, compared to $387.55 billion in 2024-25, a robust growth of 8.71 per cent. Demand for India's IT, business solutions, and professional expertise continued to expand globally, cementing the country's position as a services export powerhouse.
On the merchandise front, exports grew modestly from $437.70 billion to $441.78 billion, a growth of 0.93 per cent. While global uncertainties in goods trade weighed on the pace of expansion, India's merchandise exports maintained their upward trajectory, providing a stable base to the overall trade basket.
However, the record exports came alongside rising imports. Total imports (merchandise and services) climbed to $979.65 billion in 2025-26, up from $919.92 billion, growing at 6.49 per cent, outpacing export growth and widening the overall trade deficit.
Merchandise imports alone jumped 7.46 per cent to $774.98 billion, while services imports rose 3 per cent to $204.67 billion.
Published on May 6, 2026