Not necessary to be in SEZs to export, now it can be done from districts: FM Sitharaman
The Modi government's approach towards enhancing India's exports has meant that exporters no longer have to be located in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to export their goods, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday (June 24, 2025), adding that India's export growth has surpassed that seen globally.
Speaking at the Exim Bank Trade Conclave, Ms. Sitharaman said that the government was following a 'clustered' approach for developing export hubs through schemes such as Make in India, Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes, One District One Product (ODOP), and Districts as Export Hubs (DEH).
'So, the decades-old system of SEZs alone promote export, SEZs will have to be specified, specialised export promotion zones, may be where they are, but over the last one decade this government has brought in this dimension that you don't have to be in an SEZ to export, but you can do it from the districts,' she said.
She highlighted that, at a time when global exports grew 4%, India's total exports reached an all-time high of $825 billion and achieved a growth of 6.3% and a 'significant leap' of over $466 billion over 2013-14.
However, she added that the change in India's export scenario was not limited to the growth, but also in the items that were increasingly being exported.
'Exports are not just growing as they were earlier,' she said. 'Today they are technology-infused, high-end products that are being exported. High technology-infused areas where innovation and intellectual property will all come in handy. So India is not just bulk-exporting raw foods or commodities. It is exporting well-engineered products with high standards.'
According to the Minister, exports of goods in sectors supported by the PLI schemes have surpassed Rs 5.31 lakh crore or $62 billion, with the main items within this being large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, and telecom and network products.
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