Question 1

The Export Promotion Mission creates entirely new taxes to fund MSMEs.

Accepted Answer

The EPM is not a tax; it is an overarching scheme with a Rs 25,060 crore budget that consolidates and streamlines existing fragmented export subsidies like IES and MAI to provide trade finance and capacity building.

Question 2

The mission violates WTO norms by reintroducing direct volume-based export subsidies.

Accepted Answer

The EPM is carefully designed to be WTO-compliant. It avoids direct export volume subsidies, focusing instead on non-actionable domains like compliance capacity building, technology upgrades, infrastructure logistics, and interest equalization.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) launched in 2025:
1. It is implemented by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) through a fully digital platform.
2. The 'Niryat Disha' sub-scheme primarily provides direct, collateral-free trade credit and interest subvention to MSMEs.
3. The scheme consolidates previous programs like the Market Access Initiative (MAI) and the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES).
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The mission merges IES and MAI under a digital framework managed by the DGFT. Statement 2 is incorrect because 'Niryat Disha' deals with non-financial enablers (logistics, compliance, branding). Financial assistance like interest subvention falls under the 'Niryat Protsahan' sub-scheme.

Question 4

Match the following components of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) with their primary focus areas:

List I (Component)
1. Niryat Protsahan
2. Niryat Disha
3. DGFT
4. Target Beneficiaries

List II (Focus Area)
A. Non-financial support like inland transport and quality compliance
B. Nodal implementing agency for the digital single-window
C. Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and marine products
D. Trade finance instruments and e-commerce credit cards

Accepted Answer

(a) 1-D, 2-A, 3-B, 4-C — Niryat Protsahan (1) maps to D, as it focuses on affordable trade finance. Niryat Disha (2) maps to A, providing non-financial support like warehousing and compliance. DGFT (3) maps to B, acting as the implementing body. Target Beneficiaries (4) map to C, which includes priority sectors like textiles and marine products facing global tariff pressures.

Question 5

Assertion (A): The Export Promotion Mission places significant emphasis on the 'Niryat Disha' sub-scheme to fund compliance certification and packaging for MSMEs.
Reason (R): High costs of compliance with international quality standards and fragmented branding act as structural non-tariff barriers that severely constrain Indian exports in Western markets.

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A — Both statements are correct. Western markets often utilize stringent non-tariff barriers (like ESG norms and phyto-sanitary standards). MSMEs struggle to afford these compliance certifications. Therefore, 'Niryat Disha' was explicitly designed to absorb these non-financial costs, making R the exact policy rationale for A.

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