India eyes $1 trillion exports despite weak global trade outlook: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: India is targeting $1 trillion in exports this fiscal year even as global trade is expected to grow just 2.5-3%, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, setting an ambitious benchmark for the country’s push to expand its global footprint despite a fragile world economy.

India exported $863 billion in fiscal year 2026 (FY26) and will need nearly 16% growth to reach the target, Goyal said at the curtain raiser of the 31st CII Partnership Summit in New Delhi. The summit will be held in Visakhapatnam on 12-13 November.

Goyal expressed confidence that India would meet the target, saying it was being pursued not just by the government but by businesses across the economy, including 63 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), large and small industries, global capability centres and around 250,000 startups.

He also said India would continue to grow at more than 7%, citing the Reserve Bank of India’s latest growth projections, and remain the fastest-growing large economy.

“India began building bridges when the world was building walls,” Goyal said, describing India’s approach as one of deeper engagement through trade, technology and investment.

India is seeking to turn its expanding network of free trade agreements (FTAs) into greater market access for domestic companies. Goyal urged the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to establish FTA utilization desks across its state councils to help MSMEs understand market opportunities, rules of origin and other provisions of trade agreements.

Goyal said the FTAs were designed to protect sensitive sectors, including agriculture, fishermen and MSMEs, while creating export opportunities for agricultural, fisheries and marine products, precision goods, engineering products and electronics made by MSMEs.

The agreements would also create opportunities for foreign companies to invest in India and participate in the expansion of its domestic market, he said.

Goyal said India had moved from being defensive and hesitant about engaging with developed economies, including in automobiles and new technologies, to approaching global markets with greater confidence.

India now brings technology, talent and competitiveness to those engagements while seeking greater market access for its goods and services, he said.

Goyal said India’s economy, currently valued at around $4 trillion, could expand to $30 trillion by 2047, driven by its youthful, aspirational population and rising demand for a better quality of life.

Technology would be central to that expansion, he said. India was no longer avoiding new-age technologies over concerns about job losses, but was instead betting that adoption would create new opportunities for its workforce.

Emerging technologies would help improve productivity and efficiency, make Indian goods and services more competitive and create opportunities for young workers, including in cybersecurity and applications built around new technologies.

Goyal also presented reliability as a defining feature of India’s global economic engagement. During the covid-19 pandemic, India met its international commitments on merchandise and services, while export-oriented units continued serving customers during lockdowns subject to social protocols.

He cited continued broadband services and adherence to service-level agreements with global companies during the pandemic as further examples of India’s reliability as an economic partner.

Recalling the 2022 G20 Summit in Rome, Goyal said global leaders had described India as a “trusted partner of the globe”. He also pointed to recent credit-rating upgrades from several agencies.

Indian industry was increasingly focused on technology, carbon mitigation and sustainability, Goyal said, while labour reforms were intended to support industrial growth alongside better social security, wages and worker amenities.

The government was also working on ease-of-doing-business measures, governance and greater industry-government dialogue to meet business requirements and global standards.

Goyal linked the upcoming Partnership Summit to the five “T's” he highlighted at the 2025 summit in Visakhapatnam—technology, trust, trade, talent and tradition—which he said represented the foundations of strong partnerships and were becoming defining features of India’s growth story.

He called on countries to send strong delegations to the November summit, saying it would provide an opportunity to showcase India’s growth story and build partnerships globally.

The event was attended by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, with Goyal describing the state as a “sunrise state” for its technology-driven development and governance.

Google’s first AI hub was coming up in Visakhapatnam, while Amaravati was becoming a quantum valley, Goyal said. Naidu continued to focus on ease of doing business to attract investment and promote growth in the state, he added.

Goyal described cooperation between the Centre and Andhra Pradesh as “Team India at its best”, with the Centre opening global markets through FTAs and other opportunities while the state converts those opportunities into factories, data centres and jobs.

India was now aspirational, its businesses confident and the country commanding global respect, Goyal said, expressing confidence that the 31st CII Partnership Summit would mark another milestone in the country’s push to become a $30 trillion developed economy by 2047.

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.

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