RAS question
What is the total financial outlay of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) approved in November 2025?
Correct answer: (B) ₹25,060 crore.
The Export Promotion Mission approved by the Union Cabinet has a total financial outlay of Rs. 25,060 crore for FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31.
Explanation
The approved outlay is Rs. 25,060 crore, covering the period from FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31. The PIB release says the Union Cabinet approved the Export Promotion Mission as a flagship initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to strengthen India's export competitiveness, especially for MSMEs, first-time exporters and labour-intensive sectors. This matters because the figure is not a one-year grant or a general export target; it is the financial envelope attached to the Mission across the stated six financial years. The release also frames EPM as a shift from multiple fragmented schemes to a single, outcome-based and adaptive mechanism, which is why the precise Cabinet-approved outlay is the key examinable fact.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Rs. 15,060 crore understates the Cabinet-approved EPM outlay; the PIB release specifies Rs. 25,060 crore for FY 2025-26 to FY 2030-31.
- (C) Rs. 35,060 crore overstates the approved amount; the cited Cabinet approval fixes the Mission's outlay at Rs. 25,060 crore.
- (D) Rs. 20,000 crore is not the figure attached to the Export Promotion Mission in the PIB release, which gives Rs. 25,060 crore.
Concept
This tests current economic policy and Union Budget-linked schemes, a recurring RAS area because Cabinet-approved outlays often become direct factual questions. It also checks whether candidates can distinguish an approved financial outlay from a broad policy objective.