India's tea exports rose to an all-time high of 280.40 million kg in 2025, driven by stronger demand from Iran and Iraq and a sharp jump in shipments to China

Tea, tea leaves

There was a sharp jump in offtake from the UAE, Iraq and China, while Russia and the US saw a drop

Business Standard

Recreational running is booming across the South Asian nation, driven by an increased focus on fitness in India's growing ranks of affluent consumers

Shoppers with Asics Corp. branded shopping bags in Mumbai

Bloomberg

While overseas experience has proven invaluable in other economies, it appeared to play a diminished role in India's contemporary tech ecosystem

china, gold, metals market

Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council hailed the India-US interim trade agreement noting that the sector had been facing significant challenges over the past six months due to US tariffs

apparel industry

India has made steady progress in consolidating earlier investments into a full-stack value chain of its semiconductor ecosystem under ISM 1.0

semiconductor

Credit reforms and Budget incentives aim to strengthen the MSME sector but persistent payment delays and global tariff uncertainties remain hurdles, reports Raghu Mohan

MSME, Training

As businesses expand beyond metros, labour codes are accelerating recruitment in smaller cities, pushing job postings in tier III and IV markets by up to 56 per cent, according to a report.
India's Labour Codes are triggering a dramatic redistribution of job opportunities across the country, with smaller cities emerging as the unexpected winners of regulatory reform, according to a report by blue and grey-collar recruitment platform WorkIndia.
It revealed that despite early fears about hiring freezes, the data found the total job postings grew by 8.4 per cent after the codes took effect.
Tier III and IV markets experienced a surge in hiring as Kolhapur witnessed 56.3 per cent growth in job postings, while Udaipur saw 55.3 per cent increase.
Goa recorded a 23.6 per cent jump, Vijayawada 20.2 per cent, Kochi 17.7 per cent, Coimbatore 14.1 per cent, and Raipur 13.9 per cent, added the report.
Collectively, the report revealed that these tier III and IV cities are growing at 12-15 per

Industry has called for the time-bound and uniform implementation of the four Labour Codes to improve ease of doing business

New labour codes are driving an 8.4% rise in job postings, with tier III and IV cities seeing up to 56% growth as companies expand formal hiring beyond metros

Press Trust of India

Zero-duty imports of Harley-Davidson motorcycles above 800 cc may sharpen competition at the premium end but are unlikely to disrupt domestic players such as Hero MotoCorp, analysts said

X440

The tariff removal will lower prices of Harley's large-displacement imported motorcycles, which retail between ₹14.5 lakh and ₹45.8 lakh

India's auto component exporters may see relief under the interim US-India trade framework, but industry bodies say clarity on Section 232 tariffs and quota rules is needed to gauge gains

auto components, auto sector

The India-EU deal is expected to reshape competitive dynamics and market access on both sides while providing better access to European markets for Indian auto and component exports, aiding the sector's long-term growth prospects, according to a report by Icra.
It is expected to give a boost to premium vehicle imports, but have limited disruption to the mass market, it added.
The sharp reduction in duties on EU-made vehicles (completely built units) is expected to drop from as high as 110 per cent to 10 per cent over time for a fixed quota/annum, above an import price of Euro 15,000/vehicle, the report said, adding that this will open India's car market to European original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
"Lower tariffs are expected to improve access for European brands like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche, enabling competitive pricing and new growth opportunities in India's fast-expanding auto market," the report pointed out.
It, however, said there will be a limited impact on th

India-EU FTA, Free trade, European Union, India trade policy

The sharp reduction in duties on EU-made vehicles (completely built units) is expected to drop from as high as 110 per cent to 10 per cent over time for a fixed quota/annum

Jaguar Land Rover will begin assembling premium cars at its new Tamil Nadu plant on February 9, marking a step towards full-scale luxury car manufacturing in India

The ₹9,000 crore unit will begin assembling the Range Rover Evoque on February 9. CM Stalin may launch the first vehicle from the unit (Photo: Company)

Compared with last year's Budget, the Union Budget 2026-27 builds on the credit framework while moving decisively towards equity funding, market-linked liquidity, and structured compliance support

MSMEs

TNC Rajagopalan answers SME queries related to GST, export and import matters

export

Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy unveiled third round of speciality steel PLI scheme with relaxed thresholds, updated pricing benchmarks, and wider MSME participation to boost steel manufacturing

H D Kumaraswamy (Photo: X/@hd_kumaraswamy)

Base year revised, thresholds relaxed to reflect current market trends

Trade expert cites FTP Para 1.08 and CBIC circulars requiring that export consignments not be detained beyond three days, and clarifies documentation norms under the Advance Authorisation scheme

trade

Thrissur-based ESAF Small Finance Bank will wait at least two years to seek a universal banking licence as it pivots to secured lending to improve asset quality and profitability

esaf sfb md paul thomas said that the bank would be maintaining the secured book at around 60-65%

Buoyed by the good health of public sector banks (PSBs), Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju has exuded confidence that the combined profit of these banks should cross Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year.
Stressing that the Indian banking sector is in good shape, he said credit growth of PSBs is at 12 per cent this year, which is tremendously "good", while deposit growth at 10 per cent is also reasonably very good.
"As I said, banks are at the bellwether for the strength of the economy. Therefore, they are resilient. We have very prudent management systems in place under the regulator RBI. So we are not much worried about the external factors negatively impacting our banking sector," he told PTI in an interview.
Asked about the profitability of PSBs, "this year (ongoing financial year) we will cross Rs 2 lakh crore. We already touched almost Rs 1 lakh crore in the first half...I think we will cross Rs 2 lakh crore."
The combined profit of PSBs would double in three ..

DFS secretary M Nagaraju

Stressing that the Indian banking sector is in good shape, he said credit growth of PSBs is at 12 per cent this year, which is tremendously "good"

The government will soon constitute a High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat to draw up a blueprint to create mega-lenders capable of meeting the financing needs of a developed India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
"We want the committee to tell us what kind of things we need to do so that banking is made available for funding Viksit Bharat," she told PTI Videos in an interview.
Asked if it would suggest a merger of public sector banks, Sitharaman said one should not narrow it down like that.
"It is for India's banking sector to be made big enough, big enough in the sense, made or primed to take care of Viksit Bharat funding. You have to reach Viksit Bharat destination...it (Viksit Bharat) needs money, it needs financing, it needs credit, it needs banking facility to reach the common man."
When asked about the timeframe for formation of the committee, she said, "We will do it at the earliest".
"I propose setting up a 'High Level Committee on Banking for Viksi

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala

We want the committee to tell us what kind of things we need to do so that banking is made available for funding Viksit Bharat, said FM

India will shift to risk-based deposit insurance premiums from April 1, replacing the decades-old flat fee system to reward banks with stronger risk management

Banks, Bank, Banking sector, Finance sector

Reuters

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