India will be unable to reach its exports target of $325 billion set for the current fiscal and is likely to end up below $300 billion.
"India has reported exports of $312 billion against the target of $340 billion in 2014-15. The government has set target of $325 billion for the current fiscal. It will be a happy situation if country achieves exports of $300 billion but it will end less than $300 billion," Business Standard quoted Department of Commerce Joint Secretary Ravi Kapoor, as saying.
India's exports declined for the eleventh consecutive month in October, as demand remains sluggish globally.
Exports declined sharply by 17.5% in October 2015 to $21.35 billion, as 20 out of the 30 sectors witnessed a drop in orders. A fall in China's imports made matters worse for Indian exporters.
Overall, exports fell 17.6% to $154.29 billion in the first seven months in the current fiscal.
"The decline in exports is worse than even that during the global slowdown. With this, reaching even $300 billion of exports this year looks difficult," The Economic Times quoted Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, as saying.
Exports have come under pressure due to a decline in petroleum product exports on the back falling global crude oil prices, Kapoor said.
Last week, the Modi government announced a 3% interest subsidy scheme for five years for exporters to enable them to scale up exports.
