India's exports surged 37.5 per cent to US$177 billion in the financial year ending March 31 to reach a record US$260 billion compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

"For the first time, the figures have reached the $200 billion mark, which was a target set for last fiscal year and exports have indeed exceeded our expectations," said Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. "Based on the current trade performance, we are confident that we will achieve the export target of US$450 billion set for fiscal 2013-14."

According to the ministry, export growth was led by engineering goods, petroleum products, cotton yarn, readymade garments and pharmaceuticals.

Provisional government statistics showed that the US container trade with India in March alone jumped 43.9 per cent to US$29.1 billion compared with the same month in the previous fiscal year. During the same period, imports totalled US$34.7 billion, up 17.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Total imports during the year rose 21.5 per cent to US$350.3 billion on a year-on-year basis, creating a trade gap of $104.4 billion.