Exports rise 15 pc in April-June despite global uncertainties

The country’s merchandise exports rose by about 15 per cent during April-June 14 this year despite global economic uncertainties, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday.

The Commerce Ministry will formally release the export and import data for June on July 15.

Goyal said that despite 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the US, India’s exports in 2025-26 recorded healthy growth. “Even now, if we see April, May and 14 days of June. I have data until June 14, it (exports growth) is 15 per cent,” he said during an interaction with chartered accountants in Mumbai.

India’s exports climbed to a six-month high of 18 per cent to $45.2 billion in May, while the trade deficit widened to $28.21 billion.

During April-May 2026-27, exports rose 16.09 per cent to $88.91 billion and imports jumped 15.14 per cent to $145.35 billion. The trade deficit stood at $56.44 billion during the period.

He also urged the chartered accountants to contribute to make India a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

“And where does Viksit Bharat begin? It begins in North Mumbai. We have to handle our own area first,” he said. Goyal is a Lok Sabha member from the Mumbai (North) constituency. He has called upon senior officials, including the municipal commissioner and corporators, to start a cleanliness campaign here tomorrow.

“We all have to make a collective effort for this. We keep our house clean, we also have to keep our area clean, keep our society clean, keep our kaarobaar (business) also clean,” the minister said.

CineNow Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered company, is in the process of closing a Rs 1,350 crore fund with commitments from overseas investors and family offices to finance films in India.

Most of the commitments have come for this close-ended fund with a tenure of 6 years, CineNow founder director Rohit Dalmia said.

“CineNow is building a new category at the intersection of finance, entertainment and technology by transforming film intellectual property (IP) into a structured, investable asset. At its core is a Secured Participation Fund that provides exposure to a curated slate of films rather than a single title, with capital backed by enforceable rights across OTT, satellite, music and ancillary revenues,” he said. It is going to create a platform where global capital and creative opportunity can converge within a disciplined and professionally managed environment, he said.

The firm has on-boarded the Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty as a founding member of the strategic council, apart from Abhay Sinha.

“Indian cinema IP needs a structured, multi-stage financial approach that ensures sustained value and leverage. CineNow’s model disrupts traditional methods by offering slate-based portfolios, staged capital deployment, and comprehensive value-timed exits,” he said.

CineNow is also pioneering the application of tokenisation within the entertainment sector, introducing a technology-led framework that enhances liquidity, transparency, and accessibility.

By tokenising participation in its investment platform, the company is creating a bridge between traditional entertainment finance and next-generation digital capital markets, he said.

This innovative structure enables broader investor participation while ensuring that intellectual property ownership remains with creators and production partners, he said.

With a long-term mandate to support more than 30 films and content properties across diverse genres and languages, he said, CineNow is going to build a platform designed for the future of entertainment finance.