News on Indian Economy
Under the proposed benefits of the agreements, Indian toys are expected to receive zero-duty access in the UK and EU markets. At present, such imports face duties of around 5–6 per cent, which affects the final landed cost of Indian products. Removal of these duties can help Indian exporters offer more competitive pricing while expanding their reach among distributors, retailers and consumers abroad.
Amaravati’s selection reflects Andhra Pradesh’s fast-rising position in India’s deep-tech landscape. The IBM quantum system is expected to support researchers, startups, academic institutions and enterprises working in pharmaceuticals, materials science, finance, logistics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and advanced industrial research. These are sectors where quantum computing can help solve highly complex problems that remain difficult for conventional computing systems.
India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference Scheme has played an important role in strengthening this trade relationship. With Mali’s global exports valued at nearly US$4 billion, the untapped export potential in the Indian market is estimated at around US$3.96 billion, highlighting the large scope for future growth.
Vande Bharatam has been designed as a national platform for Indians with ideas, innovations, prototypes, early-stage ventures or established enterprises. The programme will reach all 36 States and Union Territories, more than 800 districts, and multiple Indian languages, making it one of the broadest entrepreneurial discovery initiatives in the country.
New quality standards to benefit over 80 crore people; phased implementation to begin from Kharif Marketing Season 2027–28
The market is expected to grow sharply from just under 2 lakh units sold in 2025. During the first half of 2026, electric passenger vehicle registrations have already approached 1.5 lakh units, while average monthly registrations have risen to approximately 27,000 vehicles over the past four months.
International Resources Holding, the Abu Dhabi-based natural resources investment platform and part of the IHC Group through 2PointZero, will partner with Adani Enterprises Limited, the flagship company of the Adani Group, for the project. The initiative is expected to create a full aluminium value chain in Odisha, covering key stages from raw material processing to value-added aluminium production.
The total value of UPI transactions also increased sharply, growing 20 percent year-on-year to more than ₹28 lakh crore. On an average day in June, UPI processed nearly 757 million transactions, reflecting the massive scale, reliability and public trust built around India’s digital payments ecosystem.
At its core, GAGAN strengthens ordinary GPS signals by correcting errors in real time. GPS is widely used by aircraft to determine position, but its signals can be affected by atmospheric disturbances, timing errors and other technical variations. In aviation, even a small positioning error can become significant. GAGAN addresses this challenge by giving pilots and aircraft systems more accurate navigation data, along with integrity alerts that indicate whether a signal is safe to use for navigation.
The development was discussed during a meeting between Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall. Both sides reviewed the ongoing audit, inspection and approval process for Indian ship recycling facilities seeking inclusion under the EU regulatory system.
