India’s exports rose 6.01% year-on-year to an all-time high of $824.9 billion in 2024-25, propelled by a 13.6% on-year rise in services exports to a record $387.5 billion, showed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) final services trade data released.

March alone saw services exports surge 18.6% on-year to $35.6 billion, reflecting continued global demand for India’s IT, business, financial, and travel-related services. The merchandise segment also contributed to the overall rise, with non-petroleum goods exports reaching a new peak of $374.1 billion in 2024-25, up 6% from $352.9 billion a year ago.

This is the highest annual figure for India’s non-petroleum merchandise shipments, offering some reassurance when traditional goods exports have been under pressure from tightening global demand and geopolitical disruptions. This sharp rise in exports, which stood at $778.1 billion in 2023-24, comes when India is actively working to expand its trade footprint via bilateral and multilateral agreements, and is positioning itself as a resilient, service-driven exports economy amid shifting global supply chains.

India is attempting to consolidate its global trade presence through ongoing free trade agreement negotiations, particularly with the European Union and the UK, and amid efforts to mitigate the impact of retaliatory tariffs introduced by the US. Experts see the performance as an indication of India’s growing competitiveness in high-value services and diversified goods sectors.

While petroleum and other commodity-linked exports remained relatively subdued due to volatile global prices, the continued expansion in digitally driven services and value-added manufacturing suggests a structural shift in India’s exports composition. The RBI numbers are likely to boost policymakers’ efforts to promote trade-led growth as part of India’s broader 2047 development vision.

Meanwhile, India’s trade surplus with the US jumped 16.6% in 2024-25, ballooning to $41.18 billion from $35.32 billion a year ago, even as US President Donald Trump prepared to hike US tariffs in protest.

According to 15 April commerce ministry data, Indian goods exports to the US rose by 11.6%, from $77.52 billion in 2023-24 to $86.51 billion in 2024-25. Imports from the US also rose, but just 7.42%, from $42.20 billion to $45.33 billion.

Globally, India’s trade deficit widened sharply to $21.54 billion in March, rising from a three-year low of $14.05 billion in February. Merchandise exports for the fiscal year stood at $437.42 billion, marginally higher than the $437.07 billion recorded a year ago, while imports stood at $720.24 billion, up from $678.21 billion in 2023-24, showed the commerce ministry data. March’s goods exports stood at $41.97 billion and imports at $63.51 billion, compared with $36.91 billion of exports and $50.96 billion of imports in February.