Mr. Sanjeev Agrawal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “The dynamic policy environment provided by the government along with efforts of the exporters to connect with global value chains have enhanced the export volumes. After a strong rebound from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pace of exports was slowing during the past few months, however, exports of goods and services are showing signs of significant revival after a brief spell of slowdown as October 2023 exports picked up by 9%. During the past ten years, exports have accelerated significantly, rising from USD 375 billion in FY 2011 to USD 770 billion in FY 2023. Going forward, ease of doing exports with calibrated reforms by the government will be crucial to achieve the target of USD 2 trillion by 2030. We need to focus on reducing the cost of business and increase the ease of doing business to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing. The Government should focus on reducing the cost of doing business including- Costs of capital, Cost of Power/ energy, Cost of Land and Availability of Land, Cost of Logistics, Cost of Labor. There is significant potential to increase exports by exploring new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the EU and the UK. There exist significant complementarities between, India-EU and India-UK. New FTA will increase India’s participation in the globa! value chains.”

Top 10 export destinations have consistently grown over the last five years (FY 2019 to FY 2023 average): Togo (73%), the Netherlands (36%), Brazil (28%), Israel (27%), Indonesia (24%), Turkey (22%), Australia (20%), South Africa (19%), Saudi Arabia (16%), and Belgium (13%), according to the report.

Top 10 growing export commodities over the last five years (FY 2019 to FY 2023 average) include Sugar and confectionery (43%), Mineral fuel and oils (36%), Electrical machinery and parts (27%), Aluminum and articles (18%), Inorganic chemicals, precious and rare-earth metals (16%), Miscellaneous chemical products (16%), Cereals (14%), Iron and steel (12%), Ships, boats, and floating structures (11%), Rubber and articles (11%), and Optical, photographic, medical apparatus (10%), as per the research report.

Dr. SP Sharma, Chief Economist, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “The industry body had identified 75 products on the basis of six-digit Harmonised system (HS code), these 75 commodities accounts for about 50 percent of India’s total exports for the FY 2023, suggesting that these commodities have a great potential to propel India’s exports. Nonetheless, India can scale up exports of these commodities exploring the massive untapped potential in the global markets, since they make up only 6% of global exports. These 75 products exports are USD 222 billion in the world exports of USD 3838 billion. These 75 products grew at 11% in 2022-23 as compared with 6% growth of India’s total merchandise exports in 2022-23. The growth of services during the last two years at 24% (average) is commendable as our services have shown a great resilience and price competitiveness in the globa! markets. The growth of services exports will also be a major growth driver to achieve the ambitious targets of USD 2 trillion exports by 2030.”

Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Executive Director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “The launch of India’s new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 with its five key elements of Duration, Dynamism, Decentralisation, Direction and Disaster proofing, is aimed at creating an enabling ecosystem for exporters. It shall bolster India’s export quantum while considering the size of the Indian economy and its manufacturing and service sector base. The FTP 2023 aims to increase India’s competitiveness in the global markets by promoting and developing each state to be able to integrate with the global trade which is a move in line with India’s vision of becoming Atmanirbhar.”

The YouGov survey of over 15,000 desk workers across nine markets – including 2000 in India – offers unique insights into the preferences and behaviour of Indian desk workers. With a diverse range of workplace personas, India stands at the forefront of AI adoption, driven by Problem Solvers and Expressionists.

Problem Solvers and Expressionists lead the way in AI adoption in India

In India, the Problem Solver workplace persona is the most prevalent, constituting 23% of the workforce. These individuals excel in tech and automation, displaying a strong enthusiasm for AI and workflow optimization. Notably, 92% of them are early tech adopters, with 77% expressing excitement about AI. The Problem Solver’s eagerness to enhance productivity is evident, as 43% are keen on leveraging AI. Their active pursuit of external tech training contributes to India’s leading AI usage rate of 54%, as revealed in the research, surpassing Singapore at 34%.

In India, the Expressionist workplace persona represents 21% of the workforce, characterized by a visual communication style using emojis, GIFs, and memes. Globally, 72% of Expressionists employ these visual tools to enhance communication, compared to 29% of all desk workers. They advocate for fun and lighthearted workplace interactions, using visuals to create virtual connections. Expressionists are also notable in South Korea (15%) and Singapore (12%).

Detectives and Road Warriors less prevalent in India

India has fewer Detectives, the investigative workplace persona, comprising 16% of the workforce, compared to higher percentages in France (38%), the U.K. (34%), the U.S. (33%), and Germany (33%). The research suggests India’s comparatively younger workforce is a factor here, with Detectives found to be most common amongst older workforces.

Road Warriors, who thrive on flexibility and remote connections, are most common in Japan (28%) and Singapore (26%), yet they make up just 18% of the Indian workforce. They are outgoing, adaptable, and prioritise working from various locations according to their schedules. They are more likely to work on geographically distributed teams, with 17% collaborating in groups without any physical presence, and put a high value on flexibility in how and where they work.

Derek Laney, Slack Technology Evangelist, APAC, Salesforce, said, “As India’s various work models continue to evolve, our research has found that every workplace, whether it has five or 5,000 employees, comprises a diverse ecosystem of personalities, skills, and approaches. In India, Problem Solvers and Expressionists are helping to drive technological transformation at work with their enthusiasm for AI and innovative communication styles. While Detectives and Road Warriors may be less common in India than in other markets, fostering diverse teams is pivotal for productivity. Having a range of workplace personas not only makes our work days more interesting, but allows for different strengths to come together. No two employees are alike and businesses need a platform that enables a range of different styles of work to be successful.”