- India's international services imports fell to $17,210 million in March, down 1.6% yearly
- Services exports rose 7.2% year-on-year to $38,208 million in March 2026
- Merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $20.76 billion in March from $21.69 billion last year
India's International services trade in the month of March saw imports falling to $17,210 million, according to trade data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday.
On a year-on-year basis, imports declined 1.6%, while Exports rose 7.2% to $38,208 million.
In February 2026, imports of international services had spiked 16.2% to $16,865 and exports had clocked an increase of 9.7% to $34,708 million.
Exports in January stood at $38,165, while imports stood at $16,631 million.
ALSO READ: India's Services Exports Could Overtake Goods Within Two Years: SEPC
On the other hand, India's merchandise trade deficit in March narrowed to $20.76 billion, as compared to $21.69 billion in the same month last year, according to the data released by the Commerce Ministry. The decline is sharper as compared to the preceding month, when it stood at $27.1 billion.
The plunge came as imports and exports cooled due to the slowdown in trade, linked to the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The war between the US-Israel combine and Iran raised insurance premium costs, and nearly blocked the trading route passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The imports during the month came in at $59.9 billion, marking a decline of 6% as compared to $63.74 billion in March 2025.The cumulative exports slipped by 7.5% to $38.92, as against $42.05 billion in the year-ago period.
India has recorded the highest ever monthly exports figure of $38.92 for the current fiscal year in March 2026, as per commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal. However, he added that the figure was still lower than $3 billion achieved in March last year.
In January 2026, the Services Export Promotion Council had said that India's services exports were on track to overtake merchandise exports.
In an interaction with NDTV Profit, SEPC Director General Abhay Sinha said services exports are growing at 12–13% annually, far outpacing merchandise exports, which have struggled amid global headwinds such as tariff uncertainties and geopolitical developments in Iran, Russia-Ukraine and elsewhere.
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