News on Indian Economy
The agreement eliminates customs duties on 100% of Indian exports to New Zealand, providing a major boost to Indian industries, particularly labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and leather. It is expected to enhance India’s competitiveness in global markets while expanding opportunities for exporters.
The latest update from the Ministry of Railways says the corridor will use the Japanese J-Slab ballastless track system, based on Shinkansen technology, for the first time in India. Unlike conventional railway tracks that use loose ballast stones, this system uses a reinforced concrete track bed, cement asphalt mortar, pre-cast track slabs, rails and fasteners to create a highly stable track structure suitable for high-speed operations.
The mission is expected to give mushroom cultivation a structured policy framework rather than treating it as a small side activity. Reports say the government wants to scale production sharply, support growers with subsidies, create new production units, and bring women’s self-help groups into the centre of the programme. Some reports have pegged the proposed outlay at ₹12,960 crore, with a focus on training, production infrastructure and rural enterprise development.
The pact comes after negotiations that began in March 2025 and were concluded in December 2025, making it one of India’s faster recent trade agreements. New Zealand’s Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has described the agreement as a major opening for exporters, while New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has projected it as a gateway to India’s 1.4 billion-consumer market.
The April data showed that manufacturing led the broader recovery in India’s private sector after growth had moderated in March amid disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict. The Manufacturing PMI Output Index climbed to 59.1 from 55.7, showing a sharper rise in production activity, while goods producers also reported faster growth in new orders compared with service providers.
The rise was led mainly by an increase in foreign currency assets, the largest component of India’s reserves. Foreign currency assets rose by $1.481 billion to $557.463 billion during the week. These assets include the effect of movements in non-dollar currencies such as the euro, pound and yen when expressed in dollar terms.
The Finance Minister urged SEBI to help drive common KYC norms and support the simplification and digitalisation of KYC processes across the Indian securities market. She said SEBI has the scale of investor participation, digital infrastructure and institutional credibility to take a lead role in this area. The larger objective is to create a more seamless, secure and portable KYC experience across the financial sector, reducing inconvenience for citizens while maintaining regulatory safeguards.
The Small Industries Development Bank of India will serve as the initial implementation agency for the scheme. SIDBI will manage the process of AIF selection, screening, due diligence and monitoring. DPIIT will also bring in an additional implementation agency to widen the scheme’s reach, improve sectoral expertise and strengthen institutional capacity for managing such large-scale startup financing programmes.
The conference was jointly organised by IIT Roorkee and Swadeshi Shodh Sansthan, with participation from more than 100 institutions from India and abroad. IIT Roorkee Director Prof. K.K. Pant and Padma Shri awardee Shridhar Vembu were among those present at the event.
The strongest push came from the manufacturing sector, where output improved on the back of better domestic demand and a rise in fresh orders. Factories reported stronger production requirements, suggesting that companies are seeing enough demand visibility to keep activity levels high. This rebound in manufacturing gave the overall private sector reading a clear lift in April.
