Budget 2018: FM Arun Jaitley says India's exports will expand by 15% during current fiscal

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the country’s exports are likely to expand by about 15% during the current fiscal. “Our exports are expected to grow at about 15% in 2017-18,” he said while presenting Union Budget 2018-19 in New Delhi. The country’s merchandise shipments rose 12.36% to $27.03 billion in December 2017. Cumulatively, exports during April-December 2017-18 grew by 12.05% to $223.512 billion. Total exports value was recorded at USD 274.64 billion in 2016-17, up from $262.29 billion in the preceding year. Currently, the government provides export incentives through two schemes merchandise and services export from India scheme. In December last year, the government announced incentives worth Rs 8,450 crore to boost exports of goods and services, mainly from labour-intensive sectors. Click here for full coverage of Budget 2018 Follow Live updates on Budget 2018 here