After a surprisingly lackluster Budget as far as the MSME and export sectors are concerned, stakeholders from these sectors face increasing worry about what the future holds for them. With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget largely focused on domestic sectors, exporters, in particular, are likely going to face some sleepless nights in the coming months. Factors like a stronger Indian rupee backed by external borrowings, rising trade tensions with the US, and increasing trade deficit with the likes of China and Indonesia are all matters of concern for the Indian export sector. Thankfully, there is a small silver lining -- the Central government has decided to take on the responsibility of paying ITC refunds to exporters for State GST as well. One hopes that this will resolve long-standing issues with delays in GST refund, but whether this will be enough to pull Indian exporters from their post-Budget blues remains to be seen.