‘Mann ki Baat’: PM Modi hails India’s historic achievement of crossing $400 bn export targets

Asserting that the demand for Indian products is increasing all over the world and therefore, the supply chain of India is getting stronger by the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly address to the nation ‘Mann Ki Baat’, hailed the achievement of crossing the USD 400 billion mark in goods export by India.

PM Modi said, “Last week, India has achieved the export target of $ 400 billion, i.e. 30 lakh crore rupees. At first instance, it might come across as a matter related to the economy; but more than the economy, it is related to the capability of India, the potential of India.”

Further, appreciating India’s potential and the strength of the country’s farmers, artisans, weavers, engineers, entrepreneurs, PM stated, “At one time, the figure of exports from India used to be 100 billion, at times 150 billion, sometimes 200 billion… but today, India has reached 400 billion dollars….It is only due to their hard work that the goal could be achieved. I am happy that this power of the people of India is now reaching new markets in every nook and corner of the world.”

Registering the ‘First’ in history:

India achieved its highest export target of USD 400 billion on 23 March 2022, nine days ahead of schedule. Asia’s third-largest economy had set this ambitious export target for FY 2022. In the April-December period, this figure was about $300 billion. This is the first time in history that India has achieved such a milestone mark.

Congratulating the country on this achievement, Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “India set an ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports and achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success. This is a key milestone in our Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey.”

It is pertinent to mention that the milestone achievement has taken place even when Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal warned that the Russia-Ukraine war could lead to some disruption in trade. The government is now looking forward to clocking USD 410 billion of exports by the end of March 2022, as India has been shipping out goods worth more than USD 1 billion a day.

Total exports registered a growth of 37% in FY22

Topping out at $400 billion, exports registered a growth of 37%  as compared to $292 billion in the previous fiscal and 21%  over the previous record high of USD 330 billion in FY19, before the pandemic.

Engineering goods export grew by 50% in FY22

Engineering goods were the biggest contributor to the growth in exports, growing at around 50% and expected to reach USD 110 billion by the end of FY22. Electronics goods exports grew by 42.8% in the first 11 months of the financial year, while gems and jewellery exports grew by 57.3%.

Petroleum products export increased by 147.6% in FY22

The export of petroleum products increased by 147.6% due to the continuous increase in crude oil prices. Other products registering strong growth in exports include organic and inorganic chemicals, readymade garments, meat and dairy products as well as marine products.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted that India had significantly increased exports to major trading partners with outbound shipments to the UAE growing by 65% during the financial year and exports to the US increased by 46%.

It is worth noting that the top five export destinations are:

• UAE
• US
• China
• Bangladesh
• Netherlands

Watch the full coverage of PM Narendra Modi’s address to the nation in his monthly Radio broadcast here: