India's March 2026 trade deficit $20.98bn, merchandise exports down 7%+
Business
India's trade deficit dropped to $20.98 billion in March 2026, way better than February and much less than experts predicted.
But there's a catch: merchandise exports actually fell by over 7% compared with last year, hinting that exporting goods is getting tougher as the year wraps up.
Rajesh Agrawal: $860bn exports by 2025-26
Looking ahead, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal expects total exports (goods and services) to hit around $860 billion by 2025-26.
The real star here is the services sector (think IT and finance), which is set to grow faster than goods, while merchandise exports are only expected to inch up slightly.