Economy & Policy News

India manufacturing PMI rebounds in Jan to 55.4 as orders, output pick up

January manufacturing PMI: The overall growth remained strong, with the index staying well above the neutral mark

US pitches Venezuelan crude to India as its Russian oil imports slow

India became a major buyer of Russian oil after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered Western sanctions that drove down its price

Budget 2026: Food subsidy seen rising 12% in FY26 on higher procurement

Officials said the higher provisioning also means that the Food Corporation of India might not have to rely on borrowing or any other means in FY27 to fund its shortfall

Budget 2026 proposes seven high-speed rail corridors linking growth cities

Budget 2026 outlines seven high-speed rail corridors linking cities such as Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Varanasi, aiming to cut travel time, reduce carbon emissions and support balanced regional development

Budget 2026: Biopharma Shakti plan aims to make India a biologics hub

Union Budget 2026: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveils Biopharma Shakti, a ₹10,000 crore, five-year plan to boost domestic biologics, biosimilars, clinical trials and regulatory capacity

Budget 2026 keeps infra at core, raises capital spending to ₹12.2 trillion

Union Budget 2026 scales up capital spending to ₹12.2 trillion, keeping infrastructure at the centre of growth while signalling continued commitment to fiscal consolidation

Budget 2026: FM Sitharaman pegs fiscal deficit at 4.3% of GDP for FY27

FM Nirmala Sitharaman pegged FY27 fiscal deficit at 4.3% of GDP, signalling continued fiscal consolidation, with net tax receipts seen at ₹28.7 trillion and higher tax devolution to states

Why Budget 2026 GDP and inflation numbers may change within weeks

Key GDP and inflation metrics will be revised in February as MoSPI updates base years, meaning several assumptions underpinning Budget 2026 will be recalculated soon after the speech

Finalised eight FTAs with 37 developed countries in recent years: Goyal

Goyal added that talks for a trade pact have started with the Mercosur group of countries to expand the existing PTA (preferential trade agreement)

Gross GST collection rises 6.2% to over ₹1.93 trillion in January

Cess collection from tobacco products in January stood at ₹5,768 crore, sharply lower than ₹13,009 crore a year earlier, when a cess also applied to luxury, sin and demerit goods such as cars

Trump claims India will buy Venezuelan oil: 'We've already made that deal'

Donald Trump claimed India will buy Venezuelan oil instead of Iranian crude as Washington moves to cut Russia-linked oil trade and ease some sanctions on Venezuela

India, US working towards closing trade deal quickly, says Piyush Goyal

He expressed confidence that "good news" on this front will be announced in the near future

India-EU Free Trade Agreement will boost footwear, leather exports

The European Union is the largest market for India's footwear and leather sectors, accounting for 43 per cent of exports, Council for Leather Exports Executive Director R Selvam said

Political polarisation worrying investors: Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee

Banerjee cautioned that policy unpredictability, combined with internal polarisation, was undermining the country's credibility as a long-term investment destination

US pitches Venezuelan crude to India as its Russian oil imports fall

The US effort to supply Venezuelan crude to India comes as Washington also seeks to reduce Russian oil revenues that are funding the war in Ukraine

New CPI series expected to push India's headline inflation prints higher

India's new CPI series, with lower food weight and higher core components, may nudge headline inflation higher but is expected to improve policy predictability and ease RBI's targeting

World Bank to boost private jobs in India with $8-10 bn annual lending

New five-year partnership framework with India will focus on private sector-led job creation, skills, infrastructure and mobilisation of private capital

Fiscal deficit in April-December kept at 54.5% of Budget Estimates

India contained its FY26 fiscal deficit at 54.5% of Budget Estimates for April-December, aided by higher non-tax revenues and controlled spending despite a December capex dip

States utilise less than half of FY26 capex budget in Apr-Dec period

CAG data show states spent just 45.8% of their FY26 capital outlay in the first nine months, sharply lagging the Centre's capex performance

World Bank commits annual financing worth $8 bn-$ 10 bn to India over 5 yrs

New Country Partnership Framework aligns with India's Viksit Bharat vision, focusing on private sector-led job creation and infrastructure-led growth