India's merchandise exports witnessed a slight downturn, dipping by over 3 per cent to USD 437 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24, while imports saw a sharper decline of 5.7 per cent to USD 675.4 billion during the same period. In response to these figures, the Ministry is setting ambitious targets, aiming to more than double the country's outbound shipments of goods by 2030.
Explaining the rationale behind this endeavor, a senior official emphasized the necessity of additional infrastructure and logistics capacity at key transport hubs including roads, ports, airports, and railways. The aim is to handle a projected trade volume of USD 2.5 trillion, which includes both exports and imports.
The correlation between higher exports and imports underscores the need for synchronized infrastructure development. This entails not only increasing capacity but also identifying industry clusters that will experience significant movement of goods. The ministry anticipates receiving a comprehensive report on these requirements by around August-September.
Upon receiving the report, the commerce ministry plans to collaborate with relevant ministries such as shipping, aviation, roads, and railways to assess investment needs for capacity development. Preliminary estimates suggest a substantial increase in infrastructure requirements, including additional capacity for ports, railways, and airports.
The study also aims to pinpoint specific infrastructure needs at exit points and identify clusters where goods movement will be most pronounced. Sectors expected to drive India's export growth include electronics, pharmaceuticals, marine products, and engineering.
Notable clusters for these industries include Chennai (Sriperumbudur) and Bengaluru (Sri city) for electronics, Gujarat, Odisha, and West Bengal for marine products, and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim for pharmaceuticals.
However, with projections indicating a significant surge in goods movement, officials emphasize the importance of thorough assessment and planning. This includes evaluating the need for additional infrastructure such as internal container depots (ICDs) to accommodate the anticipated rise in trade volume.
India's strategic push to revamp infrastructure aligns with its ambition to become a global trade powerhouse by fostering an enabling environment for robust merchandise exports in the coming years.
