External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio for bilateral discussions, as the high-level 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicks in.
India does not do trade agreements in a hurry or with a "gun to our head", Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. He said India is actively negotiating trade pacts with countries and regions, including the European Union (EU) and the US.
Among Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Trent and UltraTech Cement were the major gainers. However, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, ITC and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
India's exports rose 6.7 per cent to $35.1 billion in August annually, while imports declined 10.12 per cent to $61.59 billion, according to government data released on Monday. Gold imports were down nearly 56 per cent in August, helping to trim merchandise trade deficit to $26.49 billion in August, as against $35.64 billion in the year-ago month.
Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) members on Monday to discuss opportunities in his country, especially in the mining sector. The Taliban, who now control Afghanistan, is seeking to repair its ties with New Delhi, and is hopeful of Indian public and private sectors increasing investments in the mining and power sector, and greater trade and commerce.
India has formally invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore to investigate the death of singer Zubeen Garg. The Assam government seeks cooperation from Singaporean authorities in the case.
The commerce ministry has endorsed India Inc's stand against signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with China until it becomes a market economy that follows transparent pricing of manufactured goods and services.
India's goods exports rebounded in July after two months of contraction, with outbound shipments rising 7.3 per cent to $37.24 billion, led by a surge in exports to the United States before the country's reciprocal tariff kicked in and bolstered by a recovery in exports to other key markets.
The government on Wednesday approved two schemes worth Rs 45,000 crore to help exporters tide over the impact of high tariffs imposed by the US on Indian shipments.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the US is 'doing a trade deal with India' as the two sides continue to hold talks on the proposed trade pact.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has sought urgent steps to clear the huge backlog of income-tax appeals, simplify tax deducted at source (TDS) compliance, and ensure tax neutrality for fast-track demergers, during its consultation with Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27.
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Rubio and Jaishankar following President Donald Trump's imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India by the Trump White House to 50 per cent.
China accounts for about 70 per cent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of rare earth magnet production, making it a dominant player and giving it significant leverage in global supply chains.
Secretaries' panel fails to arrive at a decision. Sources told Business Standard the commerce ministry felt that the delay would add to the cost for the government as more and more factories could shut shop.
'What we are willing to do is definitely going to depend on what the Indian government wants to do.'
Senior officials from India and the US engaged in virtual talks to discuss bilateral ties, focusing on trade, investment, critical minerals, and energy security, including civil nuclear cooperation.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
'Where rostering systems are automated and duty time software interfaces directly with DGCA, the assertion that they suddenly discovered crew shortages is simply implausible.' 'If adequate crew planning hasn't materialised within 12 to 24 months from inception, how will 45 days -- from December 5 to February 12 -- suddenly resolve matters?'
While the formulation is being worked out by the commerce ministry, the industry and export community is also in touch with senior functionaries in the finance ministry.
Trump made the announcement in response to what he described as China taking "an extraordinarily aggressive position on trade" by sending "an extremely hostile letter to the world."
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
How the UN's flagship climate summit lost its direction and what's at stake.
Unlike the finance ministry which takes a larger view, the commerce ministry only looks at exporters' interests.
Stock markets will be driven by RBI's interest rate decision, tariff-related developments, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors in this holiday-shortened week, analysts said.
For Canada, important steps towards containing domestic elements that fuel pro-Khalistan sentiments can go a long way in signalling trust positively with regard to security and sovereignty, point out Harsh V Pant and Vivek Mishra.
Even as record foreign fund flows lifted the rupee to 39.43 against the US dollar today, the highest since 1999, the commerce ministry has started telling exporters to prepare for the rupee rising even further to 38 against the US dollar by December. The strong rupee is already hurting India's exporters, with companies cutting jobs and scaling back expansion. A further appreciation may have even worse consequences for sectors like textiles, infotech and automobiles.
The MEA release said that the embassy of India in Kabul will further augment India's contribution to Afghanistan's comprehensive development.
Rubio voiced "appreciation" for New Delhi's continued engagement on bilateral issues, including trade, defence and energy.
Amid controversy over USPresident Donald Trump's comments linking the use of Tylenol and other related paracetamol products by pregnant women to autism in children, experts and industry executives say that since India's export of the drug to the US is less, it will hardly affect the country's pharma exports to America.
Officials said the government-to-government engagement between the two countries on all other issues remains normal, but conceded rough spots over trade that need ironing out.
The comments came a day after US President Donald Trump said that Washington is "very close" to the trade pact with India.
Under an Executive Order issued by the US administration on July 30, 2025, goods valued above USD 100 will be subject to customs duties in America with effect from August 29 onwards.
'The state governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will be encouraged to consider measures of their own as the employment and economy in such export-oriented states will be affected.'
Worried over the impact of global slowdown on exports, the Commerce Ministry has initiated an exercise to revitalise SEZs, which contribute over Rs 3 lakh crore, or about 28 per cent, to the country's total outbound shipments.
'Just as we cannot surrender the interests of our farmers and dairy industry, Trump is also looking for markets for the produce of the farmers in the Midwest, which are his support base.'
Enthused by 174 per cent growth in services trade this year, India is readying to make an aggressive offer in the WTO negotiations on services.
After registering a positive growth for two months, India's exports slipped into negative territory again, contracting 2.17 per cent year-on-year to $38.73 billion in May due to a fall in global petroleum prices, while trade deficit narrowed at $21.88 billion during the month.
According to a senior commerce ministry official, the Budget sought to withdraw some significant stimulus measures "in a clandestine manner", which would affect exports and lead to impediments in efforts to achieve $450 billion worth of exports by 2013-14, from around $250 billion at present.
New Delhi 'will have to take a call which supply source suits us the best,' the finance minister said, pointing out that crude oil accounts for the bulk of India's foreign exchange spend.
The government on Wednesday asked e-commerce platforms to conduct annual internal audits to make sure that they are not resorting to manipulative tactics to mislead consumers and prevent them from making right choices -- a technique commonly referred to as dark pattern -- and submit reports to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA). It comes just a week after Uber was issued a notice by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) over its "advance tip" feature.
