The government has earmarked Rs 2,250 crore for export promotion schemes for 2025-26, down 17 per cent from Rs 2,718.73 crore allocated in the revised Budget estimates for 2024-25. According to the Budget document, allocation for Department of Commerce has dipped to Rs 5,300.99 crore for the next fiscal as against Rs 5,624 crore in the revised estimates (RE) for the ongoing fiscal year. Under export promotion schemes, no fund is allocated for market access initiative (MAI) and interest equalisation scheme. Though the scheme ended on December 31, 2024, the exporting community has been pitching hard for its extension. Now the government has announced plans to roll out an export promotion mission. "New scheme namely, Export Promotion Mission, has been formulated to act as a catalyst to facilitate India's export competitiveness," it said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Saturday said that through the mission, the government will facilitate exporters to get