India’s Services Trade Surplus Rises to $19.2 Billion in September
Key Facts
Indian services exports rose 7.2% year on year to $39.3 billion in September 2026, according to preliminary Reserve Bank of India data cited by Moneycontrol. The services trade surplus stood at $19.2 billion during the month, compared with $16.5 billion in August and $17.6 billion in July. The figures reflect a wider surplus month on month for a second consecutive month, with September remaining the highest of the three months cited. Imports rose 12.6% year on year to $20.1 billion, growing faster than exports. The bank’s reading shows export growth alongside a relatively larger increase in imports, while the surplus remained above its levels in the previous two months.
On a monthly basis, exports rose from $35.47 billion in August to $39.3 billion in September, while imports climbed from $18.93 billion to $20.1 billion, according to figures reported by Moneycontrol. The comparison shows export value increasing between the two months, alongside a rise in import value. September export growth of 7.2% was year on year, a measure comparing the month with the same month a year earlier, not the change from August. Annual import growth was 12.6%, alongside a monthly increase in value between August and September. This places the $19.2 billion surplus in the context of higher flows in both directions during the month.
The figures are based on preliminary Reserve Bank of India data for July to September, as reported by Moneycontrol. The source said growth rates were revised based on balance-of-payments statistics. The article said the quarter’s figures remain preliminary, meaning the published values for the period are subject to revision. On October 15, the Commerce Ministry had published an estimate of September services exports at $36.35 billion, compared with $36.67 billion in September 2025. The ministry estimated imports at $19.44 billion, compared with $17.84 billion a year earlier, noting that services figures for that month were estimates because the latest bank data available at the time covered August.
The bank’s subsequent reading for September exports, at $39.3 billion, differs from the ministry’s earlier estimate of $36.35 billion; the later import reading, at $20.1 billion, also differs from the ministry’s estimate of $19.44 billion. In its earlier estimate, the ministry published a year-on-year comparison showing exports down from $36.67 billion in September 2025, while the bank’s subsequent data showed annual growth of 7.2%. The figures differ because the ministry’s estimate was issued before the latest bank data for the month became available, according to the ministry’s explanation cited in the article. The ministry also announced an estimate of total merchandise and services exports at $80.75 billion in September, up 10.99% from the same month a year earlier. It estimated total merchandise and services imports at $94.05 billion, up 8.19% year on year.
For April to September of financial year 2026–27, the ministry estimated services exports at $216.31 billion, compared with $199.02 billion in the same period of the previous financial year. It estimated services imports over the six months at $113.60 billion, against $100.24 billion in the corresponding period. The estimated services trade surplus for the period was $102.71 billion, compared with $98.77 billion a year earlier. The ministry said services exports in April–September grew 8.69% year on year. These totals provide a picture of the six-month period based on ministry estimates and differ in time scope from the Reserve Bank of India’s preliminary monthly data for September.
The previous financial year’s data place the services sector in a broader context: exports reached $421.3 billion in 2025–26, after $387.5 billion in 2024–25, according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry data. Telecommunications, computer and information services accounted for $206.6 billion, or 49.03% of services exports in 2025–26. Business services totaled $124.2 billion, equivalent to 29.5% of the total. These components show that telecommunications, computer and information services were the largest items cited in the annual data, followed by business services. September’s monthly reading comes within a sector that recorded these annual exports in the previous financial year, while the preliminary July–September figures remain subject to revision based on balance-of-payments data.