How big were India’s services exports in 2025-26, and what do the numbers mean for small exporters?

How much does India earn from services exports?

The authoritative figures come from the Reserve Bank of India’s balance of payments (BoP), which records every services export as a credit. In its release of 8 June 2026, RBI put India’s services exports for 2025-26 at US$421.3 billion (preliminary) against US$387.6 billion in 2024-25, a rise of about 8.7%. Services imports were US$204.7 billion, leaving net services receipts of US$216.6 billion.

The release of 27 June 2025 gives the year before: US$341.1 billion of services exports in 2023-24, so 2024-25 grew by about 13.6%. In two years, India’s services exports rose by roughly US$80 billion.

Two things stand out. Services exports grew much faster than goods exports, which were almost flat over the period. And services were worth about 94% of goods exports in 2025-26. Net services receipts, together with remittances, are what kept India’s current account deficit at 0.6% of GDP in 2025-26, even with a goods trade deficit of US$337.3 billion.

Which services does India export most?

RBI’s BoP releases name computer services and other business services as the categories driving growth. For the detail, RBI’s annual survey of software and IT-enabled services exports, released on 18 September 2026, is the best public source. It estimates India’s software services exports, excluding sales through overseas affiliates, at US$221.4 billion in 2025-26, up 8.2% from US$204.7 billion. Including services delivered by foreign affiliates of Indian companies, the total was US$239.3 billion.

Within BPO, finance, accounting, auditing, bookkeeping and tax consulting brought in US$8.0 billion and business consulting, including public relations, US$4.0 billion. Engineering services grew fastest of the four headings, from US$10.8 billion to US$12.0 billion. The survey and the BoP measure different things, so the software figure is not a slice of the BoP total that can be subtracted from it.

Where do India’s services exports go, and in which currency?

The survey shows how concentrated the market is. The United States took 54.1% of software services exports in 2025-26 (US$119.7 billion), Europe 31.8% (US$70.3 billion), with the United Kingdom alone at 15.4%. Asia took 6.3%, Australia and New Zealand 2.5%, and Canada 1.3%.

Invoicing follows the market: 72.6% of software exports were billed in US dollars, 9.6% in euros, 6.3% in rupees, 6.0% in pounds and 2.0% in Australian dollars. And 91.7% was delivered off-site, from India, rather than by people working at the client’s premises. Services exported across the border from India are the normal case, not the exception.

Who does the exporting?

Big companies dominate the totals, but the survey hints at the long tail. Private limited companies accounted for 60.8% of software exports (US$134.6 billion) and grew 9.3%, faster than the total. Public limited companies had 36.9%. The "others" category, which RBI says mostly includes LLPs and proprietor firms, was 2.3%, about US$5.1 billion, up from US$4.4 billion. RBI contacted 7,569 software exporters for the survey and 2,363 responded, together accounting for around 89% of estimated exports.

The survey does not separately count freelancers who invoice as individuals, and the BoP does not break exports down by firm size, so there is no official figure for how much of India’s services exports comes from SMEs. Any number you see quoted for that should be treated with care. What the data does show is that the smallest legal forms are growing alongside the giants, selling into the same market: mostly American and European buyers paying in dollars or euros for work delivered from India.

Is growth continuing in 2026-27?

So far, yes. RBI now publishes monthly BoP data. Its release of 15 October 2026 shows services exports of US$180.0 billion for April–August 2026, against US$162.3 billion in the same months of 2025, an increase of about 11%. August 2026 alone was US$35.5 billion. These are preliminary numbers and are revised later.

What do the numbers mean for an SME exporter?

• You are selling into a large, growing market. Overseas buyers already buy services from India at scale, which shortens the trust gap for a new supplier.
• Expect to bill in dollars. Nearly three-quarters of software exports are invoiced in USD. Decide your invoice currency per client; see invoice currency for export clients.
• Concentration is a risk. With more than half of software exports going to one country, a single market’s tariffs, tax rules or slowdown matter. The US tariff changes of 2025-26 are a reminder.
• Engineering and business services are growing. Not every export is code: consulting, accounting and engineering work are sizeable and rising.
• Watch the realisation clock. Under RBI’s 2026 export regulations, services exports must be realised within nine months of the invoice, or twelve when invoiced in rupees. At volume, a few slow payers can leave several open entries with your bank; see the export realisation period.
• Paperwork scales with you. Every one of these dollars arrives through a bank or payment provider with a purpose code and an export record; see receiving international payments in India.