Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government is likely to drastically underperform on the export front this financial year, with the country's merchandise exports projected to fall 13% to $270 billion -- the lowest in four years.
Union Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia, while interacting with business chambers on Thursday, said it will be difficult to achieve more than $270 billion in exports in her presentation, according to PTI.
India's merchandise exports stood at $309.6 billion last financial year, down from $314.4 billion in 2013-14. The figure was $300 billion in 2012-13 and $306 billion in 2011-12. It was in 2010-11 that the country exported goods worth $249.8 billion.
The cumulative value of merchandise exports for the April-November 2015 period was $174.3 billion, down 18.46% from $213.77 billion in the corresponding period last year.
The country's exports dropped for the 12th consecutive month in November 2015 when merchandise exports were valued at $20 billion, down 24.4% from $26.48 billion in November 2014 and $21.35 billion in October 2015.
The realistic statement, so to speak, comes days after the World Bank said that the global economy is projected to grow at 2.9% in 2016, marginally higher than 2.4% in 2015, while terming India and the South Asian region as a "bright spot".
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was present at the meeting where Teotia made her presentation, was also given suggestions by business chambers to step up manufacturing and exports.
Earlier, dispelling the notion that exports have fallen drastically and are likely to hit the country's GDP growth, Sitharaman said that the contribution of exports to India's GDP has come down from 25.2% in 2013-14 to about 21% in the first half of the current fiscal.
If petroleum product exports, which plunged by 52%, are excluded, the fall in exports is 9.6% in dollar terms during the April-November 2015, as against the overall decline of 18.5%, she said on 22 December.
