The government has decided to export Hilsa fish to India ahead of the country's biggest religious festival Durga Puja scheduled to be celebrated next month.

"We have decided to export Hilsa to India, but the quantity and the names of the exporters have not been selected yet," Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh told The Daily Star over the phone today.

Almost every year, the government sends Hilsa to India ahead of Durga Puja upon request of the Indian government as the demand for this special variety of fish rises there, especially among the people in Kolkata, during the festival.