News on Indian Economy
The Index of Eight Core Industries tracks the performance of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. These sectors are important because they together carry a 40.27% weight in the Index of Industrial Production, making the core industries index an early indicator of broader industrial momentum in the economy.
The policy direction is now clearly visible. India’s Production Linked Incentive framework has become one of the central instruments for converting manufacturing ambition into factory-level investment. Across 14 sectors, PLI schemes had generated investments exceeding ₹2.16 lakh crore by the end of December 2025, while incremental production and sales crossed ₹20.41 lakh crore. The schemes have also resulted in more than 14.39 lakh direct and indirect jobs, with 836 applications approved across the PLI framework.
The seven stretches were earlier under the national highway wing of the West Bengal Public Works Department. According to the press note cited by PTI, the handover proposals had remained pending for nearly a year despite repeated requests from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The state’s latest approval now allows central agencies to begin development work without the earlier administrative blockage.
The development is more than a routine capacity addition. Kharkhoda is emerging as one of Maruti Suzuki’s most important manufacturing bases and is expected to become one of Suzuki’s largest four-wheeler production locations globally once it reaches its planned capacity of 10 lakh vehicles per annum. The second plant also fits into the company’s earlier plan to add 5 lakh units of production capacity during FY 2026–27.
India’s private space manufacturing ecosystem is set to receive a major boost, with Finnish space-intelligence company ICEYE preparing to establish a satellite production facility in the country. The proposed unit is expected to become the company’s first manufacturing hub in the Asia-Pacific region and will focus on small satellites used for defence, surveillance, environmental monitoring and disaster-response applications.
The project is strategically important because marine gas turbines are among the most critical systems on modern warships. They provide the high-power propulsion required by frontline naval platforms, and their maintenance, repair and overhaul cycles directly affect fleet availability. For a blue-water navy, propulsion is not a background engineering issue; it is the heart of operational readiness. A destroyer, frigate or carrier-support vessel may carry advanced missiles, radars and combat systems, but without reliable propulsion, its combat value is sharply reduced.
The latest addition came after the successful trial operation of Unit 2 of Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd, an NTPC group arm. With this, the group now operates more than 90 GW of installed capacity across India, while also maintaining a large pipeline of projects under construction. NTPC has stated that it has around 32 GW of capacity under construction, showing that the company’s expansion is not a one-time jump but part of a long-term buildout of national power infrastructure.
The report is important because it places India’s economic outlook against a difficult global backdrop. Many economies are still dealing with geopolitical tensions, uncertain trade conditions, commodity price volatility and pressure from elevated energy costs. In that environment, India’s advantage comes from the strength of its internal market, the scale of public capital expenditure, improving rural demand and a gradual recovery in private investment.
The forum brought together UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Dr. Deepak Mittal, India’s Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates Satish Kumar Sivan, and several senior trade and industry representatives. The core message from the event was clear: India and the UAE are no longer looking at their relationship only through the lens of traditional trade, but as a wider economic corridor linking investment, logistics, technology, energy, infrastructure and global supply chains.
For decades, India’s nuclear power sector was almost entirely state-driven, shaped by strategic restrictions, public-sector control and liability concerns that limited the participation of foreign and private companies. That structure is now changing. India has set an ambitious goal of developing 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, making nuclear energy a major pillar of its long-term energy transition and energy security strategy.
