By Shailesh Yadav
New Delhi [India], May 6 : India's total exports scaled an all-time high of USD 863.11 billion in the financial year 2025-26, up from USD 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 USD 421.32 billion in 2025-26, compared to USD 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 USD 437.70 billion to USD 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 US 979.65 billion in 2025-26, up from USD 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 USD 774.98 billion, while services imports rose 3 per cent to USD 204.67 billion.