At the heart of the decision is concern over the survival of Meghalaya's neighbourhood retailers.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the legal scrubbing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) text is expected to be completed within 10-12 days, with the final deal anticipated to be signed by December 31.
Indian companies' overseas expansion plans are holding strong despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia, driven by structural factors like supply-chain diversification, free trade agreements, and market expansion, according to Ajay Sharma, managing director and head of banking at HSBC India.
'Why not aspire for 8 or 9 or even 10 per cent?'
As India marks a decade of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the focus is shifting towards enhancing efficiency through artificial intelligence, data sharing, and process simplification. The reform, which unified India's indirect tax system, has significantly broadened the tax base and boosted revenues, with future plans including a streamlined two-tier rate structure and continued technological integration to reduce compliance costs and combat evasion.
A recently finalised peace deal between the US and Iran, set to be signed on June 19, is expected to significantly benefit India's economy by boosting exports to West Asia, stabilising the rupee, and easing inflationary pressures, according to exporters and experts.
The gems and jewellery industry anticipates challenging times following the government's decision to increase gold import duty to 15 per cent, a move that exporters warn could fuel the grey market and heighten smuggling risks.
For the foreseeable future, the most likely outcome remains continuation of the status quo. Taiwan will remain self-governing without formally declaring independence, while China continues to apply sustained pressure short of war, predict Krishnan Srinivasan and Manoj Mohanka.
India's gross GST collections increased by 3.2 per cent to over Rs 1.94 lakh crore in May, driven by improved supplies of goods and services and a continued expansion in collections from imports.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas unveiled the company's vision for AI operating systems at COMPUTEX 2026, highlighting Perplexity Computer's ability to coordinate multiple AI models and balance performance with privacy and cost. He emphasised the growing trend of hybrid AI, combining local device processing with data centre capabilities, and acknowledged Intel's partnership.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has publicly endorsed Marvell Technology as a potential 'trillion-dollar company,' citing its crucial role in developing advanced connectivity solutions for next-generation artificial intelligence infrastructure. This endorsement, made at Computex 2026, follows a significant Nvidia investment in Marvell and highlights the industry's shift towards optical interconnects to meet the demands of large-scale AI systems.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas presented the company's vision for advanced AI operating systems at COMPUTEX 2026, detailing how Perplexity Computer orchestrates up to 20 AI models for efficient task management. The system uses hybrid agentic inference to balance performance, privacy, and cost by deploying models locally or via data centres based on task complexity, a concept supported by Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's focus on on-device AI.
The Indian government is set to accelerate reforms, including measures to enhance foreign direct investment, speed up divestment, and boost asset monetisation, to maintain economic growth despite rising fuel and fertiliser import costs driven by the West Asia crisis.
Any reduction on purifiers would need consensus among state finance ministers.
The GST Council at its next meeting may consider a reduction in taxes on air and water purifiers as air quality across the country worsens and access to safe drinking water remains uneven.
India is the only significant power that all parties trust, or at least do not distrust, notes former defence secretary Ajay Kumar.
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.
Moody's Ratings has downgraded India's growth forecast for financial year 2026-27 (FY27) to 6 per cent from 6.8 per cent, attributing the revision to weaker consumption and industrial activity, elevated energy prices, and rising input costs stemming from the West Asia conflict.
Over the years, India-EU ties have grown, and covered trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, space, digital, mobility, and connectivity.
Leading Indian jewellery bodies, including the All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) and Malabar Gold & Diamonds, have expressed support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to reduce gold imports and are advocating for enhancements to the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to unlock India's vast idle gold reserves.
The country's exports rose marginally by 0.61 per cent to $36.56 billion in January, while trade deficit widened to a three-month high of $34.68 billion, government data showed on Monday.
The US-China rapprochement, however tenuous, is not without implications for India. Both China and Pakistan have become closer to the US, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Every year we import approximately $70 billion worth of gold -- closer to $72 billion in 2025-2026, an all-time record.' 'There is no parallel for this anywhere in the world. And this love for gold will not disappear overnight.'
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.
India's defence sector is on the cusp of a 'super cycle' of growth, driven by escalating geopolitical conflicts and a strong policy push towards indigenous manufacturing, with major players like BEL, HAL, and BDL poised for significant order inflows and technological advancements.
Beijing has been wary of Sanae Takaichi's efforts to boost Japan's military profile since taking office six months ago, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'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.'
Next week's three-nation foreign tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see India and Oman sign a free trade deal. The visit will also pave the way for agreements with Ethiopia and Jordan to increase India's bilateral trade and investments.
'There are very few issues and a political call needs to be taken about some of them.'
India's pharmaceutical exports have shown robust growth, reaching over USD 28 billion, despite global economic challenges. The sector is projected to reach USD 130 billion by 2030.
Exporters of gems and jewellery have said the free-trade agreement (FTA) has brought relief to their sector because this opens up the world's second-largest market and brings them on a par with China and Thailand, which face zero tariffs on shipments to Europe.
The inauguration of Noida International Airport (NIA) is set to significantly increase property values in micro-markets along the Yamuna Expressway, with projections indicating a 28 per cent rise for plots and 22 per cent for apartments over the next two years, according to Colliers.
India may adopt a "calibrated" and a "step-by-step" approach to easing norms on investments originating from China, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He was in a conversation with A K Bhattacharya on Day 1 of Business Standard's two-day annual event, Manthan 2026. The minister said foreign direct investment (FDI) from China was certainly not "banned", but it goes through an approval process. "The government's approach at the moment is to accelerate the approval process."
'The West Asia or the Gulf crisis has shown that what we develop as national infrastructure when things are not as bad as they could be, we forget to plan for adversities.'
Both India and the EU are likely to announce a conclusion of trade talks on January 27.
Textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union, according to exporters.
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 proposed trade deal with the 27-nation European Union (EU) is expected to provide zero-duty access to the $95 billion European market for Indian textile and apparel manufacturers. Currently, India's share of the European market is just 6 per cent, or $5.5 billion.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
