Rahul Gandhi met with farm union leaders to discuss concerns about the India-US trade deal and its potential impact on farmers' livelihoods.
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
A bill to repeal the MGNREGA and introduce a new rural employment law, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), has been circulated among Lok Sabha members.
Import duty cuts on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and footwear, as well as cars, and wines, are likely to be part of the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation bloc European Union (EU), the conclusion of which is set to be announced on January 27 here, sources said.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
The agreement addresses non-tariff barriers and promotes increased trade in technology products and cooperation between the two countries.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which aims to replace MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
While many areas compete for resources, defence, education, and adaptation deserve focus for maximum impact, suggests Laveesh Bhandari.
India has been on an FTA-signing spree of late. Since 2021, it has signed eight trade agreements, three of which -- with the UK, Oman and New Zealand -- were finalised in 2025 alone.
India has protected the interest of domestic farmers and MSMEs by not extending any duty concessions on products across several sectors, including agricultural items such as dairy, as well as chocolates, gold, silver, jewellery, footwear, and sports goods, under the trade pact with Oman.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced the conclusion and finalisation of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday said the negotiations for a free trade agreement with India have been concluded.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
India and the European Union are set to announce on January 27 the conclusion of negotiations and finalisation of a free trade agreement, which is aimed at boosting economic ties between the two regions amid disruptions in global trade due to US tariffs, an official said.
Following a Supreme Court setback, Donald Trump has announced an increase in global tariffs from 10% to 15%, impacting international trade relations and raising concerns about economic repercussions.
Dates occupy a special place among dried fruits. They're nourishing, budget-friendly and handy to have around -- 1-2 pieces makes for a good snack. Dates occupy a special place among dried fruits. They're nourishing, budget-friendly and handy to have around -- 1-2 pieces makes for a good snack.
'Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods.' 'At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion.' 'Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment.'
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
'They are totally disconnected with farm activities which their families have been involved in for years.'
Around 128.6 million people were employed in the unincorporated sector during July-September of FY26, showed the latest quarterly bulletin of unincorporated sector enterprises released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Tuesday. This is slightly higher than the 128.57 million in the previous quarter.
'Our politics is transparent -- it's about ensuring farmers don't die by suicide, about ensuring agriculture remains viable, about ensuring food security for the nation.' 'If that's politics, then yes, we do politics.'
India's labour market in the second quarter (July-September/Q2) of 2025-26 (FY26) showed resilience, with the jobless rate easing even as more people entered the workforce. However, a rise in youth unemployment and a fall in the share of salaried workers remain areas of concern.
Saudi Arabia has scrapped its decades-old Kafala system, freeing 13 million migrant workers, including 2.6 million Indians, from restrictive employer control and exit visa rules.
Mark Tully, the renowned journalist, author, and Indophile, has passed away at the age of 90. He spent a lifetime in India as a journalist, mingling with its people and telling their stories.
'Losing a house is a terrible feeling... We were not given enough time to shift our belongings.'
The Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2025-26, up from 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of better performance of manufacturing and services sectors, as per the government data released on Wednesday.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel allocated portfolios following a major cabinet reshuffle, with Harsh Sanghavi becoming Deputy CM and receiving Home and Industries. New ministers, including Rivaba Jadeja, were also assigned responsibilities.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'MGNREGA was about a guaranteed right to work.' 'The new law does not guarantee employment at all.' 'It removes everything that made MGNREGA a legal guarantee.'
The home portfolio of Bihar, which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept with himself all through his nearly 20-year-long tenure, has been given to his deputy, BJP leader Samrat Chowdhury, this time, according to an official notification issued on Friday.
'What we are willing to do is definitely going to depend on what the Indian government wants to do.'
'Traders and exporters will have to explore alternative markets.'
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
