Economy
In a major policy push to strengthen India’s industrial base, the Union Ministry of Steel has launched the third round of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for speciality steel, aiming to attract fresh investments worth ₹44,000 crore. The initiative, titled PLI 1.2, was unveiled by Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy on November 4,…
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the financial year 2025–26 (FY26) are projected to exceed the Union Budget’s revenue targets, according to a recent report by SBI Research. The report attributes this optimistic outlook to the robust performance of the Indian economy, improved compliance, and the successful implementation of GST 2.0, which introduced…
India’s long-term economic growth hinges on a decisive increase in its investment rate, according to S Mahendra Dev, Chairperson of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). Speaking at the First ISID@40 Distinguished Person Lecture in New Delhi, Dev emphasized that India must raise its investment rate from the current 31–32% to at…
India has taken a monumental step in its global trade strategy with the implementation of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal hailed the agreement as “historic,” emphasizing that it will bring in $100 billion in…
India and the European Union (EU) are entering a decisive phase in their long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, with the 15th round of discussions scheduled to begin on November 3, 2025, in New Delhi. The visit by EU trade negotiators follows Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s recent trip to Brussels, where he met with top…
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s high-stakes visit to Brussels on October 27–28, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing negotiations for the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA). With the self-imposed deadline to finalize the deal by the end of 2025 fast approaching, Goyal’s meetings with European Commission Executive Vice-President and Trade…
In a significant regulatory development aimed at enhancing risk sensitivity and capital efficiency in India’s financial system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the Draft Non-Banking Financial Company – Scale Based Regulation (NBFC-SBR) Amendment Directions, 2025. The proposed amendments focus on refining the risk weight framework for infrastructure exposures of NBFCs, aligning them…
India has emerged as the leading developing economy in offering duty-free market access to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), outpacing both China and the European Union, according to the latest report by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has credited India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme for significantly boosting exports from the world’s poorest nations,…
India’s eight core infrastructure sectors posted a 3% year-on-year growth in September 2025, up from 2.4% in September 2024, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. While the pace marks a slowdown from August’s revised 6.5%, the improvement over last year reflects resilience in key segments like steel, cement, electricity, and…
In a major Diwali-season boost for gold investors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the early redemption price for the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) 2020–21 Series-VII, offering a staggering 153% return over five years. Investors who subscribed to this tranche in October 2020 at ₹5,051 per gram can now redeem their holdings at…
