Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed multiple announcements for the export oriented sector in the Budget 2026. These much-needed announcements come at a time when India is facing trade and tariff related global uncertainties.
Duty-free import limit raised for seafood exporters
FM Sitharaman proposed to increase the limit for duty-free imports of specified inputs used for processing seafood products for export, from the current 1% to 3% of the FOB (free on board) value of the previous year’s export turnover.
Export timeline extended for leather, textile sectors
For exporters of leather or textile garments, leather or synthetic footwear and other leather products, the FM proposed to extend the time period for export of final product from the existing 6 months to 1 year.
US tariffs hit labour-intensive exports
These announcements are important as these labour-intensive sectors are facing huge challenges in the US, which is a major export destination. US president Donald Trump administration has imposed a steep 50% import duty on Indian goods entering America in 2025.
The country’s leather and leather products shipments dipped marginally 0.23% to $3.3 billion during April-December 2025-26.
During the same period, India’s seafood exports rose 15.53% to $6.5 billion, up from $ 5.67 billion in the same period last year.
FM Sitharaman flags global trade risks
“Today, we face an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperilled and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted,” Sitharaman said in the Parliament.
The Budget is expected to provides Rs 2,300 crore for this mission in BE 2026-27.
Apart from this, outlay on electronics manufacturing has been increased to Rs 40,000 crore in FY27. A Rs 40,000 crore outlay has also been announced for semiconductors.
Set up of education-to-employment panel to boost services sector
The government also announced to set up a high-powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ standing committee to recommend measures that focus on the growth of the services sector. “This will make us a global leader in services, with a 10% global share by 2047,” FM Sitharaman said in her speech.
The service sector contributes over 50% in the country’s exports and GDP.