India’s Manufacturing Export Strengthens as Merchandise Trade Stabilizes | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    India’s Manufacturing Export Strengthens as Merchandise Trade Stabilizes

    Posted 22 Sep 2025

    2 min read

    Article Summary

    Article Summary

    India’s merchandise exports rose 2.52%, manufacturing growth surged, electronics and pharmaceuticals led global rankings, FDI increased 18%, supported by government initiatives like PLI and NMM. 

    Merchandise exports grew 2.52% to US$184.13 billion in April–August 2025 from US$179.60 billion a year earlier.

    Manufacturing Performance

    • Strong Growth Momentum: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) surged to 3.5% Year-on-Year (YoY) in July 2025, primarily led by 5.4% YoY manufacturing growth.
    • Operating Conditions Improve: The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached 59.3 in August 2025, the fastest growth in over 17 years.
    • Investment Confidence: Manufacturing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) accelerated 18% in FY 2024-25.

    Engines of Growth for Manufacturing

    • Electronics Dominance: India is the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturer. Production has seen a sixfold rise and exports an eightfold surge over the past 11 years.
      • Dependence on imported mobile phones has dropped from 75% in 2014-15 to 0.02% in 2024-25.
    • Pharmaceuticals ("Pharmacy of the World"): The industry ranks 3rd globally by volume and supplies over 50% of global vaccine demand.
    • Automotive Sector: Contributes 7.1% to India’s GDP and is the fourth-largest automobile producer globally.
    • Textiles: It is the second-largest employer after agriculture, contributing around 2.3% to GDP. Nearly 80% of its capacity lies in MSME clusters, ensuring inclusive growth.

    Government Initiatives and Policy to boost Manufacturing

    • Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: It covers 14 key sectors and provides incentives based on incremental production.
    • National Manufacturing Mission (NMM): Announced in the Union Budget 2025–26, serves as a long-term strategic roadmap for industrial policy.
    • Skill India Programme: The restructured program, extended until 2026 focuses on building a demand-driven, technology-enabled workforce.
    • GST 2.0 Reforms: These reforms simplify the tax structure and have reduced GST to cut manufacturing costs and boost export competitiveness.
    • Tags :
    • Manufacturing Sector
    • National Manufacturing Mission (NMM)
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