Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges small firms to leverage India’s growing free trade agreements, aiming to integrate them into global supply chains and boost exports amid a surge in international trade pacts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for small businesses to make fuller use of India’s expanding free trade agreement network comes at a moment when exporters are looking for a clearer route into overseas markets. Business leaders say the agreements can do more than cut duties: they can help smaller firms plug into international supply chains, widen their customer base and raise standards in areas such as quality, compliance and pricing.
Speaking on Independence Day, Modi said India has finalised trade pacts with about 40 countries since 2014 and urged enterprises to seize the chance rather than let it pass. He said the aim should be to take Indian goods further abroad, including textiles, machinery and medicines, while making sure smaller manufacturers benefit from the openings created by the deals.
Export groups broadly welcomed the message. Aqeel Panaruna, former chairman of the Council for Leather Exports, said the new trade arrangements and foreign trade policy had created fresh prospects for Indian industry, while Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said the real value of these pacts lies in turning tariff concessions into actual orders. Sahai added that his group would work with MSMEs on rules of origin, standards and market awareness so smaller firms can compete more confidently overseas.
The policy push also reflects the scale of the sector at home. MSMEs account for roughly 35.4% of manufacturing, 48.58% of exports and 31.1% of gross domestic product, according to the Business Standard report, and employ more than 32.82 crore people across over 7.47 crore enterprises. India has recently brought into force agreements with the UAE, Mauritius, Australia, the UK, the EFTA bloc and Oman, while trade pacts with the European Union and New Zealand have been concluded. Modi has separately said India is negotiating from a stronger position than in the past, with talks still under way with partners including Chile, Peru and Canada, and officials have also highlighted the potential of a wider deal with the United States.
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