The government's support and the strong efforts of exporters helped India's exports reach a record high of nearly $50 billion in October, CII's Sanjay Budhia said on Sunday.

India's goods exports increased 45 per cent to $49.47 billion in October, compared to $34.11 billion in the same month last year.

Imports also rose 16 per cent to $89.35 billion from $76.69 billion. As a result, trade deficit widened to a year high of $39.88 billion.

Budhia, Chair - CII National Committee on Exports and Patton International's MD, said strong shipments of petroleum, electronics, engineering products and gems and jewellery pushed the country's shipments last month.

"India's export performance for October is indeed encouraging and energising. It reflects the resilience, competitiveness and growing global footprint of Indian industry," he said.

The growth in non-petroleum exports is encouraging, with exports of electronic goods, engineering products, chemicals, gems and jewellery, and textiles showing strong growth, Budhia said, adding that this reflects the growing diversity and strength of India's exports.

This performance reflects the efforts of Indian exporters in dealing with challenges in the global market, he said.

"Equally, the government's sustained policy support, particularly through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the Export Promotion Mission, is helping create a more enabling ecosystem for Indian businesses to expand their global presence," he said.

He expressed confidence that, with continued collaboration between the government and industry, India is well poised to realise its ambitious vision of achieving $1 trillion each in merchandise and services exports.