NITI Aayog urged to boost manufacturing as India's trade reaches $1.73 trillion in FY25

Current Context: On 7 October 2025, NITI Aayog released its report “Trade Watch Quarterly – Q4 FY25” in New Delhi.

• It highlighted that India’s total trade in FY25 reached $1.73 trillion, with $823B exports and $908B imports, leaving a deficit of ~$85B.
• The report flagged a mismatch between India’s export basket and global demand—India dominates in low‑demand goods (jute, tea, cotton) but lags in high‑demand sectors (electronics, automobiles, high‑tech).
• It recommended boosting manufacturing competitiveness by lowering costs of capital, land, labour, and utilities.
• Other suggestions included tariff reforms, R&D and branding hubs, and diversification into electronics, aerospace, pharma, and engineering goods.
• The report also urged greater focus on Asian markets like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore to capture future trade growth.

Question:

Q.1 What was India’s total trade in FY25 as per NITI Aayog’s “Trade Watch Quarterly – Q4 FY25” report?
a) $1.5 trillion
b) $1.73 trillion
c) $2 trillion
d) $1.25 trillion

Answer: b) The report highlighted that India’s total trade (exports + imports) in FY25 reached $1.73 trillion, which is the sum of $823 billion in exports and $908 billion in imports.