The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notice announced the institutional transition through Trade Notice No. 17/2026-27, issued today. The move follows a decision taken at the fourth Steering Committee meeting on the Interest Subvention Scheme and replaces the RBI with EXIM Bank as the implementing agency, while leaving the scheme's eligibility criteria and benefits unchanged.

Under the revised framework, EXIM Bank will oversee operational implementation, portal management, verification of claims and settlement of reimbursements with effect from (wef) April 1, 2026.

Export credit will continue to be sanctioned and disbursed by lending institutions in accordance with the RBI's consolidated directions on credit facilities.

Banks will continue to provide the interest subvention upfront to eligible MSME exporters. However, reimbursement claims, previously submitted to the RBI, will now be filed with EXIM Bank. The latter will verify that claims remain within the prescribed annual subvention limits for each Importer Exporter Code (IEC) before forwarding consolidated fund claims to the DGFT.

The DGFT clarified that the transition will not affect pending claims for the January-March 2026 quarter. Any supplementary or additional claims relating to that period will continue to be processed by the RBI to ensure a smooth handover.

The notice also updated the relevant provisions in the Handbook of Procedures and the operational guidelines issued earlier for the scheme, replacing references to the RBI with EXIM Bank in areas covering reimbursement, reporting and claim verification.

The scheme was initially introduced on a pilot basis through the RBI. It forms part of the government's Export Promotion Mission, which aims to improve access to affordable export finance for MSMEs and strengthen India's export competitiveness. In February 2026, the government launched seven additional interventions under the mission to support small exporters, broaden export growth and enhance India's presence in global markets.