On Saturday, it was reported that a drone strike had targeted the Fujairah Port in the UAE, triggering a fire.
'No one can or will bar India from pursuing its energy goals as it wishes.' 'The US FTA wording may sound more restrictive, but the underlying reality will not undermine India's sovereign energy decisions.'
India's merchandise exports to the US contracted 21.77 per cent to $6.6 billion in January due to high tariffs imposed by America, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Exports contracted in September, October and December last year also. However, it rose 22.61 per cent in November.
India and the US are expected to sign the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement by mid-March, which will result in the US lowering import duties on Indian goods. India will then begin reducing import duties on certain US goods.
India and the US are expected to sign the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement by mid-March, which will result in the US lowering import duties on Indian goods. India will then begin reducing import duties on certain US goods.
'Based on the joint statement, a formal agreement will be drafted, which may take a month or month-and-a-half to finalise. We aim to sign the formal agreement by mid-March.'
The country's exports rose 1.87 per cent to $38.5 billion in December 2025 despite global economic uncertainties, though an increase in imports led to a marginal widening of the trade deficit to $25 billion.
'Despite a challenging FMCG environment, ITC Foods has grown at or above the industry rate.'
Ecommerce (ecom) and quick commerce (qcom) platforms are expected to lead gig worker hiring in calendar year 2026 (CY26), adding nearly 1 million workers on the back of sustained demand for last-mile deliveries, higher order volumes, and continued expansion of dark stores into non-metropolitan cities, industry experts have said.
After recording negative growth for two consecutive months, India's merchandise exports to the US rose 22.61 per cent to $6.98 billion in November despite steep 50 per cent tariffs on domestic goods, according to commerce ministry data. Imports during the month grew 38.29 per cent to $5.25 billion, the data showed.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
The ruling is expected to have wide-ranging consequences for global trade, businesses, consumers, inflation trends and household finances across the country.
The country's goods and services exports have crossed $820 billion in 2024-25, marking a nearly 6 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year despite global economic uncertainties, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. The exports stood at $778 billion in 2023-24.
'We frequently discuss AI, but we're waiting for other countries to develop solutions rather than creating intellectual property ourselves.' 'We haven't yet produced comprehensive AI solutions developed in India for global markets.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed calm, avoided public confrontation, and focused on India's long-term interests to steady ties with the United States.
'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
Prosus, the Amsterdam-based technology investor with net assets valued at over $200 billion spanning payments to e-commerce, has identified India as one of its most critical growth markets, and is increasing its strategic investments here.
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
The sovereign AI park will be a first-of-its-kind, purpose-built district in India, integrating AI compute infrastructure, secure data frameworks, model research labs, and AI innovation clusters, along with a dedicated institute for AI in governance.
'Headcount expansion is more likely in revenue-linked and product-critical teams than in broad based hiring.'
Data centres are increasingly becoming a key part of the real estate landscape, as reality firms - with rich expertise in land acquisition, construction and dealing with government approvals - are seeing them as opportunities to build long-term assets with continuous revenue flow.
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers. In contrast, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Maruti were among the laggards.
The government has infused over Rs 3,100 crore into women-led startups over the past six years, through its three schemes including the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to boost female entrepreneurship across the country, according to an update shared by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
A trade deal makes sense only if it is fair and reciprocal. If the cost is strategic dependence or loss of policy space, waiting is the wiser option, asserts Ajay Srivastava.
E-commerce giant Amazon plans to make a mega-investment of $35 billion, over Rs 3.14 lakh crore, in India by 2030 across its businesses with a focus on AI-driven digitization, export growth and job creation, a senior company official said on Wednesday.
The "construct of the DPDP Act" cannot be changed at this stage, though there may be some minor tweaks in the language of the Rules and formats in certain legitimate cases.
With a confident new generation of innovators, India now has the scale and self-belief to shape its own digital destiny marked by creation, observes Ajay Kumar chairman, UPSC.
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business, and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
Overall hiring volumes grew by 17 per cent year-on-year across key consumption-linked sectors during the August-October period, driven by heightened consumer sentiment, attractive festive promotions, and wider geographic penetration, according to a report.
The agreement addresses non-tariff barriers and promotes increased trade in technology products and cooperation between the two countries.
Over the years, India-EU ties have grown, and covered trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, space, digital, mobility, and connectivity.
India's merchandise exports grew in the first three weeks of November compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary government data, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. The uptick comes despite globa
From a surge in startups to crewed mission preparations, 2025 marks a transformative year as India eyes $44 billion space economy by 2033.
'Instant home services act as an on-demand household support system, bridging the gap between informal domestic help and structured service platforms,'
Non-metro cities drove this year's online Diwali shopping boom, accounting for nearly three-quarters of total e-commerce volume, with tier 3 cities contributing over 50 per cent, according to industry data. As per the industry data analysis of over 4.25 crore shipments by logistics intelligence platform ClickPost, these regions now represent the fastest and largest drivers of festive e-commerce, solidifying non-metro India's role as the epicentre of order volumes and growth.
