New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday launched the Market Access Support (MAS) Intervention under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), a new initiative aimed at strengthening India’s footprint in global markets by improving buyer connect and supporting exporters, particularly MSMEs and first-time exporters, official data showed.
Approved by the Union Cabinet in November, the Export Promotion Mission is being jointly implemented by the Department of Commerce, the Ministry of MSME and the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with Indian missions abroad, export promotion councils and commodity boards. The MAS intervention will be rolled out under the Niryat Disha sub-scheme of the mission.
Under the scheme, the government will provide structured financial and institutional support for activities such as buyer–seller meets, participation in international trade fairs and exhibitions, mega reverse buyer–seller meets hosted in India, and trade delegations to priority and emerging export markets. Officials said the approach is designed to move away from ad hoc participation to a more predictable, outcome-oriented export promotion framework.
A three-to-five-year calendar of major market access events will be prepared and approved in advance, allowing exporters to plan participation well ahead of time. To ensure wider participation, at least 35% of beneficiaries at supported events will be MSMEs, with additional preference for new geographies and smaller markets to encourage export diversification.
The government has also rationalised event-level financial support ceilings and cost-sharing ratios, with higher support for priority sectors and markets. Small exporters with export turnover of up to ₹75 lakh in the previous year will be eligible for partial airfare support to lower entry barriers for new exporters.
All processes—from event listing and proposal submission to approvals, fund release and monitoring—will be conducted through the trade.gov.in portal to enhance transparency and ease of access. Mandatory online feedback will be collected from participating exporters to assess buyer quality, business leads generated and market relevance, and the guidelines will be refined over time based on these inputs.