Page 139 - SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT FOR 2020-2021

Overview
India figures among the top ten exporters of services and among the top twenty exporters of goods in the world. India’s share in global export of commercial services is 4.1% and in global merchandise exports is 1.6%. Exports of goods from India for the year 2020-21 stands at Rs. 20.58 Lakh Crore. The last decade witnessed a 63% increase in India’s merchandise exports. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp decline in international trade and commodity prices, globally.
The calibrated easing of lockdown restrictions has, however, meant that the contraction in Indian exports was less compared to some advanced economies. In particular, the pharmaceutical exports from India witnessed a growth of 18% during the period April-October 2021, in comparison to that during April- October 2020, which helped in
reducing the balance of trade gap. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant disruption of global supply chains have brought into focus - the importance of India’s vision for an “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India). Increase in exports is a healthy sign of greater self-reliance and improved competitiveness of Indian industry.
Indian Customs has been consistently striving for improving the ease of doing business across frontiers by undertaking several path-breaking measures. Move towards contactless, paperless and faceless customs clearances under the Turant Customs framework ensured smooth flow of trade, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown conditions. The trend in merchandise exports for the past five years is shown below:
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Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt of India