Kautilya

India and Canada Target Comprehensive Trade Agreement by End of 2026

Canada has highlighted the progress made in recent discussions and sees the agreement as a potential driver of higher bilateral trade and fresh investment flows. For India, the negotiations form part of a wider strategy to deepen trade partnerships with major economies and create new opportunities for Indian exporters, manufacturers and service providers.

India’s Industrial Output Grows 6.7% in July as Manufacturing, Capital Goods and Power Drive Expansion

The overall IIP stood at 124.8 in July 2026, compared with 117.0 in July 2025. Manufacturing, which carries the largest weight in the industrial index, expanded by 7.3%, while Electricity and Gas Supply grew by 8.7%. Water Supply, Sewerage and Waste Management recorded growth of 7.4%. Mining and Quarrying was the only major sector to contract, declining by 0.9%.

DoT and C-DOT to Establish End-to-End Optical Network Testbed for Indigenous Telecom Technologies

Signed on 27 August 2026, the DoT-funded initiative is designed to bridge the gap between laboratory-stage innovation and commercial deployment. Indian startups, telecom companies, researchers and technology developers will be able to test optical networking solutions in a realistic network environment before taking them to market.

Kashmir’s First Dedicated Apple Train Set to Begin Operations From Anantnag on September 1

The planned service, being described as the “Apple Train,” is expected to provide growers and fruit traders with an alternative to the road-based transport system that currently carries the bulk of Kashmir’s apple crop outside Jammu and Kashmir. The initiative could become particularly important during the peak harvesting season, when enormous quantities of fruit have to leave the Valley within a relatively short period.