Goyal highlights India's growing appeal as global trade partner

NEW DELHI: India is emerging as a preferred trade partner, with countries across regions seeking preferential and free trade agreements with it, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, expressing confidence that the country’s exports would reach $1 trillion this financial year.

India recorded its highest-ever exports of $863 billion last year and set a 16% growth target for the current year, Goyal said at the Young Leaders Discourse Forum at Kirori Mal College in New Delhi.

Exports grew 14% in the first six months of the year to $480 billion, he said, expressing confidence that the annual target would be met.

India would need to achieve exports worth another $520 billion in the remaining six months to meet the annual target, Goyal said, adding that October had also been a good month. The government is yet to release official trade data for October.

He said India could have set an export target of $900 billion, representing 5% growth over the previous year's exports, but chose a more ambitious goal. The $900 billion target would itself have represented growth at more than twice the International Monetary Fund's projected global trade growth rate of 1.9% in its April-May projections, he said.

Goyal also noted that the IMF had recently revised its projection for global trade growth to around 3.5%, adding that India's export performance could have been one of the factors behind the revision.

Highlighting India's economic progress, Goyal said the country had come a long way from being a ‘fragile five’ economy to becoming one of the world's leading economies and the fastest-growing large economy.

He attributed the country’s economic progress to its talent pool, young workforce, democratic system, decisive leadership and domestic demand for quality goods and services. He noted that India’s average age was below 30 years and that its population of 140 crore generated significant demand.

Calling upon young people to contribute to India's ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Goyal said today's youth would be the architects of the country's journey towards the milestone.

Biopharma startups

Separately, Goyal chaired a high-level roundtable on strengthening India's biopharma startup ecosystem and accelerating bioeconomy growth at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi.

Organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in collaboration with NITI Aayog and NITI Frontier Tech Hub, the roundtable brought together policymakers, industry leaders and biopharma startups to deliberate on measures to accelerate the growth of India's bioeconomy.

Goyal called for faster regulatory approvals, improved access to finance, shared infrastructure and stronger collaboration among industry, academia and the government. He also urged time-bound action on the recommendations emerging from the discussions.

The discussions focused on streamlined regulations, faster approvals, a proposed Regulatory Sandbox, Single Window Clearance, global regulatory alignment and simplified patent application processes.

Participants also discussed Biopharma SHAKTI, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, and the need to develop shared laboratories, testing facilities and clinical trial infrastructure to lower costs and help startups scale up their innovations.

The roundtable also examined ways to strengthen domestic life sciences manufacturing, expedite customs clearance for laboratory equipment and reagents, and simplify access to government schemes and regulatory support. Participants called for greater inter-ministerial coordination to ensure coherent policy interventions and faster resolution of sector-specific challenges.

About the Author

Harsh Kumar is a policy reporter at Mint (HT Media Group), where he covers the Ministry of Commerce and Industry along with key departments of the Ministry of Finance, including the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS). With over five years of experience in business and economic journalism, he has developed strong expertise in tracking policy developments and their wider economic impact.<br><br>He has previously worked with Business Standard, Moneycontrol, and Outlook Money, where he reported extensively on banking, financial services, and the broader economy. Over the years, he has built a reputation for delivering accurate, insightful, and impactful stories, supported by a keen eye for detail and a consistent track record of breaking exclusive news.<br><br>An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, Harsh closely follows regulatory changes and key economic trends shaping India’s financial and industrial landscape. His reporting aims to simplify complex policy issues for a wider audience while maintaining depth and credibility.<br><br>Outside of work, he enjoys tracking policy developments, finding scoops, and travelling, reflecting his curiosity about how economic decisions shape everyday life.