Q.Explain the composition of India's foreign trade, highlighting the major changes over time.

India's export-import basket has shifted dramatically from a raw-material-dependent economy toward manufactured goods and services.

Composition of trade means the commodity-wise break-up of what a country exports and imports.

India's exports (broad, illustrative categories):

• Petroleum products (refined and re-exported)
• Gems and jewellery (cut and polished diamonds, gold jewellery)
• Engineering goods (machinery, auto components, iron and steel goods)
• Chemicals and pharmaceuticals (organic chemicals, generic medicines)
• Textiles and apparel
• Agricultural products (rice, marine products, spices)
• Services — especially software and IT-enabled services, now one of India's single largest invisible-export categories

India's imports (broad, illustrative categories):

• Crude petroleum (the largest single import item by value)
• Gold and precious stones
• Electronics (mobile phones, computer hardware)
• Machinery and capital goods
• Coal, and industrial chemicals/fertilisers

Major changes over time: at independence, India's exports were dominated by traditional primary items such as jute, tea, and raw cotton, with very limited manufactured or service exports. Over the decades — accelerated after the 1991 reforms — the export basket diversified toward engineering goods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and, most strikingly, software and IT services, reflecting India's growing industrial and knowledge-economy base. Imports have also shifted, with electronics and capital goods growing alongside the traditional dependence on crude oil and gold. Gujarat itself illustrates this shift well: its refining, chemicals, and diamond-processing industries make it one of India's largest state-level contributors to export earnings.