'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.'
The reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates has increased the momentum in India's economic activity both on the supply and demand sides, while robust agricultural activity - reflected in the strong onset of rabi sowing and adequate reservoir levels - has reinforced the outlook for food supply and rural incomes, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
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.
Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
LG Electronics India saw its net profit decline by 27.3 per cent due to margin pressures witnessed in the second quarter. Its net sales in the quarter marginally rose 0.9 per cent to Rs 6,170.4 crore in the July-September quarter.
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments.
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
India must act decisively to fully leverage the vast opportunities that exist in India for developing the entire rare earth magnet ecosystem, SIAM president Shailesh Chandra said on Thursday. The government is considering incentives for the production of rare earth minerals and magnets in response to China's restrictions on its global supply, which have disrupted the supply chain.
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
Adani Enterprises' subsidiary Kutch Copper (KCL) and Australian Securities Exchange-listed Caravel Minerals on Thursday signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration on the Caravel Copper Project in Western Australia's Murchison region, for an undisclosed amount, according to a joint statement.
India's exports rose 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion in April, the highest in six months, driven by healthy growth in sectors such as electronics and engineering goods, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $26.42 billion. According to the commerce ministry data released on Thursday, imports increased by 19.12 per cent year-on-year to $64.91 billion in April due to a rise in shipments of crude oil and fertiliser.
India's manufacturing sector activity strengthened in October, buoyed by Goods and Services Tax relief, productivity gains and tech investment, even as international sales rose at a weaker pace, a monthly survey said on Monday.
The next many decades belong to India as the global economic powerhouse, and it will be essential to continue demonstrating policy stability, as the country aspires to be the world's manufacturing hub, Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said on Friday.
Credit quality of Indian corporate is expected to be stable in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26), supported by easing monetary cycle, and declining inflation, coupled with income-tax relief and rationalisation of the goods and service tax (GST) rates, among others.
'If the near-term economic pain is absorbed more by those who have the ability and the financial strength to do so, then small and medium enterprises in downstream industries will emerge stronger from the trade imbroglio.'
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra, and Deputy Governors Poonam Gupta, T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J, and S C Murmu on Friday addressed issues during the post-policy media interaction.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
Indian auto component exporters may suffer a hit of 2,700 crore to 4,500 crore on their earnings after the imposition of steep US tariffs on key automotive parts, credit rating agency ICRA said in a note on Monday. The new 25 per cent tariff on engines, transmission, electrical components, and other auto parts may moderate the overall auto component industry's revenue growth to 6-8 per cent in 2025-26 (FY26), down from an earlier projection of 8-10 per cent.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
India's economy could reach $20.7 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2030 and may emerge as the second-largest economy by 2038 with $34.2 trillion GDP, an EY report said on Wednesday. The report also said that with appropriate countermeasures, India can limit the adverse impact of higher US tariffs on selected Indian imports to about 10 basis points of real GDP growth.
In a bid to promote the use of domestic currency for cross-border settlements, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced a slew of measures, including allowing banks to lend in Indian Rupees to non-residents from Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka for bilateral trade.
Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a 272 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in consolidated net profit, attributable to owners, at Rs 3,101.75 crore in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26) led by higher sales volumes in India and planned cost takeouts across geographies.
Deloitte India on Thursday projected India's economy to grow 6.7-6.9 per cent in the current fiscal amid buoyant demand and policy reforms. Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of current fiscal.
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), economists remain torn between a reduction in rate cut and a pause.
The decision to hike US H-1B visa application fee to $100,000, trade talks and the GST rate cut will be the key drivers for stock market movement this week, analysts said.
Global rating Moody's on Monday affirmed India's long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings and the local-currency senior unsecured rating at 'Baa3' with a 'stable' outlook on the back of robust economic growth and sound external position. The rating agency also affirmed India's other short-term local-currency rating at P-3.
India's merchandise exports dipped by about one per cent to $38.01 billion in December 2024 against $38.39 billion a year ago, according to government data released on Wednesday. Imports increased by 4.8 per cent to $59.95 billion in December 2024 compared to $57.15 billion in the year-ago month.
Private sector banks slipped in market capitalisation (mcap) during the July-September quarter, underperforming their government-owned peers as trade uncertainties dragged market sentiment, said S&P Global Market Intelligence. According to its analysis, HDFC Bank shed 4.8 per cent in mcap during the third quarter, while ICICI Bank's dropped 6.7 per cent.
The 50 per cent US tariff on Indian goods pose a downside risk to growth but the impact is expected to be short-lived for the economy, and consumption demand could see an uptick after the new goods and service tax (GST) rates are implemented which could even offset the external uncertainty, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran reckoned on Friday.
Festive buying spree unleashed by lower tax rates pushed gross GST collection to about Rs 1.96 lakh crore in October, registering a 4.6 per cent year-on-year growth -- the slowest rate so far this fiscal.
Donald Trump's tariffs, meant as political punishment, have avoided the predicted chaos, lifting US growth, weakening rivals, and letting him claim victory in a resilient global economy, observes T T Ram Mohan.
Among Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Trent, Eternal, Asian Paints and Infosys were the major gainers. However, Sun Pharma, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Titan were among the laggards.
Private investment projects constitute well over 70 per cent of the nearly Rs 34 trillion of fresh investments announced in H1 this year.
US President Donald Trump's announcement of 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty, is expected to impact Apple's plans to expand iPhone manufacturing in India as well as export of other electronics to the US. The move comes at a time when Indian electronics production is reeling under pressure due to restrictions imposed by China on supply of several critical components, capital goods and even skilled technology professionals.
Equity markets this week would keenly track the upcoming GST Council meeting, macroeconomic data announcements and trading activity of foreign investors for further movement, analysts said. Moreover, developments related to tariff negotiations, global market trends and auto sales data would also drive investors' sentiment.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'The primary market's rhythm mirrors investor confidence. While sentiment may appear cautious, it reflects maturity, not weakness.'
