Ø Government Expands Global Market Access
for Indian Service Providers Through FTAs and Trade Promotion Initiatives
·
India's services exports increased to USD 421.3
billion in FY 2025–26, up from USD 387.5 billion in FY 2024–25.
·
Over the last five years, services exports grew from USD
254.5 billion (FY 2021–22) to USD 421.3 billion (FY 2025–26).
·
Top contributing sectors:
o
Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services: USD 206.6
billion (49.03% of total services exports).
o
Business Services: USD 124.2 billion (29.5%
of total services exports).
·
The Government follows a multi-pronged strategy
to boost services exports by:
o
Targeting key markets and sectors.
o
Addressing domestic challenges through stakeholder consultations.
o
Expanding market access through Free Trade Agreements
(FTAs).
o
Promoting exports through trade fairs and international
exhibitions.
·
Through FTAs, India has secured:
o
Improved market access and national treatment
for Indian service providers.
o
Easier cross-border digital trade and commercial presence.
o
Faster and more transparent regulatory approval processes.
o
Easier temporary mobility of skilled professionals.
·
FTAs also provide for:
o
Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) to facilitate
recognition of professional qualifications.
o
Supportive frameworks for students in FTAs with
Australia and New Zealand.
o
Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with partners
including Oman, New Zealand, the UK, and the EU to avoid double social security
contributions.
o
Provisions for traditional medicine in agreements
with Oman and the EU.
o
Commitments to eliminate double taxation on India's
IT services under the India–Australia ECTA.
·
The Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) promotes
services exports through:
o
Market development and trade facilitation.
o
Policy advocacy and capacity building.
o
Buyer-seller meets and international outreach.
·
Major SEPC initiatives included:
o
Medical Value Tourism Summit 2025 in Tamil Nadu.
o
Indian Pavilions at international events such as Arabian
Travel Market (Dubai), GETEX (Dubai), MIPCOM (France), Malaysia
Health & Pharma Expo, Tokyo Game Show, and Gamescom (Germany).
o
Conferences on logistics, higher education, legal-tech,
fintech, and school education.
·
These initiatives aim to strengthen India's global presence
in services trade, enhance competitiveness, and create new opportunities for Indian
service providers in international markets.
[ABS News Service/25.07.2026]
The trend in India’s services exports
over the last five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, along with the major sectors driving
this growth are:
|
Sectors |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
Share in
Total Services exports |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(FY26) |
|
|
Total Services |
254.5 |
325.3 |
341.1 |
387.5 |
421.3 |
100.0% |
|
Sub-sectors
contributing to major share of services exports |
||||||
|
Telecommunications,
computer and information services |
125.6 |
152.3 |
163.6 |
183.3 |
206.6 |
49.03% |
|
Business
services |
58.9 |
80.3 |
88.6 |
107.2 |
124.2 |
29.5% |
Source: RBI
In order to enhance services exports,
Government of India follows a multi-pronged strategy. It comprises the following:
1. Focused strategies for enhancing exports
are undertaken for specific markets and sectors.
2. Domestic sectoral challenges impeding
services exports are identified in consultation with the stakeholders and addressed
through concerned departments/ ministries.
3. Through Free Trade Agreements
·
Government has secured comprehensive market access and national treatment
in services to allow Indian service providers to provide services in key sectors
on no less favourable terms through different modes such as cross-border (including
digital mode), commercial presence in the FTA partner country and temporary movement
of professionals to the partner country. India’s recent FTAs have incorporated disciplines
on domestic regulation to ensure that authorisation processes for key services are
time-bound, predictable, objective, impartial, and transparent. This ensures that
Indian service suppliers do not face challenges in partner countries due to opaque,
unpredictable or burdensome regulatory procedures. Through FTAs, India has been
able to obtain structured, expedited routes that will facilitate temporary mobility
of skilled Indian professionals to provide services in foreign markets.
·
Facilitative provisions for time-bound negotiations of Mutual Recognition
Agreements (MRAs) between relevant professional bodies, to facilitate recognition
of qualifications and associated licensing requirements. Such MRAs aim to ensure
that partner nations accept each other's certifications, and professionals do not
have to go through duplicative local testing, additional training, or lengthy re-certification
processes before they can practice.
Some other beneficial provisions are highlighted
below :-
§ India has secured supportive framework
for Students in FTAs with Australia and New Zealand.
§ Supportive framework related to Social
Security Agreements (SSA) to avoid double payments and ensure continuity of social
security protection have been secured in recent FTAs such as India-Oman CEPA, the
side letter on SSA provisions in India-New Zealand FTA, Double Contribution Convention
in India-UK CETA, and in India-EU FTA. Based on the understanding arrived under
the India- UK CETA, an agreement on Social Security Contributions was signed on
Feb. 10, 2026. This Agreement will ensure that workers will not be required to pay
double contributions towards their social security, when they work temporarily in
each other’s territory.
§ Traditional Medicine: Dedicated provisions/
annexes are secured in agreements with Oman and EU.
§ Double Taxation related provisions negotiated
in India-Australia ECTA, securing commitments to eliminate Double taxation on India's
IT services.
4. Trade promotion through schemes, and participation
in and organization of international fairs/ exhibitions
SEPC, set up by the Department of Commerce,
plays a key role in services trade promotion and undertakes market development,
trade facilitation, policy advocacy, capacity building, buyer-seller engagement,
international outreach and export-promotion activities across major services sectors.
They are supported in this through financial assistance under the Export Promotion
Mission of Government of India. Few of the recent activities undertaken by SEPC
are highlighted below:
·
2nd edition of Medical Value Tourism (MVT) Summit on 4-5 April 2025 organised
with Tamil Nadu government, featuring hospitals, wellness centres, AYUSH centres
and medical institutions from Tamil Nadu.
·
Indian Pavilions in association with relevant ministries and departments:
at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, from 28 April to 1 May 2025 at the Dubai
World Trade Centre, Dubai; at Global Education & Training Exhibition (GETEX)
held from 30th April 2025 – 2nd May 2025 at Dubai International Convention &
Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE; at MIPCOM 2025 in Paris, France from 13-16 October
2025 on the theme "Waves Bazaar"; at Malaysia Health & Pharma Expo
from 7-9th October 2025 in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia; at Tokyo Games Show from 24-26
September 2025 at Tokyo, Japan; and at GAMESCOM 2025 from 20-24th August 2025 at
Cologne, Germany showcasing Indian companies’ capabilities in gaming and entertainment
segments.
·
Organised events such as Future-Ready Logistics in India on 29th August 2025;
International Conference on Transforming Higher Education & Skilling towards
Viksit Bhat@2024 & Education Excellence Awards 2025 on 19th September 2025;
Finolegal Convergence Summit 2025 on 5th December 2025
on the theme: “Regulation. Innovation. Globalization– Building India’s Legal–Fintech
Edge”; and a National Dialogue on School Education Building Future- Ready Learners
for a Skilled India on 13th December 2025 at New Delhi.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada in a written reply in
Rajya Sabha on 24 July, 2026.