India’s Textile & Apparel, including handicrafts exports, demonstrated remarkable resilience in the first half of FY 2025-26 despite global headwinds and tariff-related challenges in major markets. India’s global exports of textiles, apparel and made ups grew marginally by 0.1% during April–September 2025, compared to the corresponding period in 2024.
Some of the large export markets for India which clocked impressive growth rates were UAE (14.5%), UK (1.5%), Japan (19.0%), Germany (2.9%), Spain (9.0%) and France (9.2%). On the other hand, some of the other markets that recorded higher growth rates were Egypt (27%), Saudi Arabia (12.5%), Hong Kong (69%) etc.
These 111 markets contributed USD 8,489.08 million during April–September 2025, compared to USD 7,718.55 million in the previous year—reflecting a 10% growth and an absolute increase of USD 770.3 million. This performance highlights the sector’s adaptability and competitiveness in the face of global uncertainties.
India’s TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) reduced by 21% - from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024 - over almost double the pace of the decline observed globally at 12 %, as per the World Health Organization’s Global TB Report 2025.
India’s innovative case finding approach, driven by the swift uptake of newer technologies, decentralization of services and large scale community mobilization, has led to the country’s treatment coverage to surge to over 92% in 2024, from 53% in 2015 - with 26.18 lakh TB patients being diagnosed in 2024, out of an estimated incidence of 27 lakh cases.
Similarly, India’s TB mortality rate has decreased from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024, reflecting significant progress in reducing deaths due to TB. This progress has been achieved through strong government commitment evidenced by a historic near-ten-fold increase in government funding to the TB programme over last 09 years.
Since its launch in December 2024, India’s flagship TB elimination mission, the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has achieved extensive reach, screening over 19 crore vulnerable individuals for TB across the country leading to the detection of over 24.5 lakh TB patients, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic TB cases.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also expanded nutritional support provided to TB patients.The Direct Benefit Transfer under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana was increased from ₹500 to ₹1000 per month per patient for the entire treatment duration.Since its launch in April 2018,₹4,406crores have been disbursed directly into the bank accounts of 1.37crore Beneficiaries
Furthermore, to date, 6,77,541 individuals and organizations have enrolled as Ni-kshay Mitras and distributed over 45 lakh food baskets to TB patients, reflecting a strong and growing public-private-community partnership in India’s fight against TB.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi approved introduction of Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE) for providing 100% credit guarantee coverage by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) for extending additional credit facilities upto Rs. 20,000 crore to eligible exporters.
The annual awards in the genre of children’s literature, the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2025 of the Sahitya Akademi will be held on Friday, 14 November 2025, in the Triveni Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi. The awards will be presented by the President of the Akademi, Madhav Kaushik.
The awardees shall receive a cheque for Rs. 50,000/- each and a bronze plaque in recognition of their works.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) - a flagship initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025–26 to strengthen India’s export competitiveness, particularly for MSMEs, first-time exporters, and labour-intensive sectors.
The Mission will provide a comprehensive, flexible, and digitally driven framework for export promotion, with a total outlay of Rs.25,060 crore for FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31. EPM marks a strategic shift from multiple fragmented schemes to a single, outcome-based, and adaptive mechanism that can respond swiftly to global trade challenges and evolving exporter needs.
EPM is anchored in a collaborative framework involving the Department of Commerce, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Finance, and other key stakeholders including Financial Institutions, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, industry associations, and state governments.
Botswana will hand over Cheetahs for translocation to India under Project Cheetah. This was announced during the joint press briefing at the end of bilateral talks between President Droupadi Murmu and her Botswana counterpart Duma Boko.
The cheetahs will remain in the quarantine facility for some time, before being translocated to India. Botswana will be donating eight (8) cheetahs to India to assist in the regeneration of the cheetah population in India.
Project Cheetah is a unique initiative aimed at reintroducing cheetahs to India, decades after their extinction. In September 2022, eight cheetahs from Namibia were translocated to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, followed by twelve cheetahs from South Africa next year.
ICRA upgrades bank credit growth estimates on GST reforms with improved demand in retail and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segments after Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation, rating agency ICRA said banks in India are expected to lend an additional Rs 50,000 crore, taking total credit expansion to Rs 19.5–21 trillion in the current financial year (FY26)
The robust offtake in the first half was driven by partial upfronting of demand from the third quarter (Q3 FY26) to the second quarter (Q2 FY26), given the early onset of the festive season supported by GST cuts. As a result, the incremental credit offtake in the second half(H2 FY26), at Rs 9.4-10.9 trillion, is expected to be flattish relative to the level in the (H1 FY26)
Both public and private banks are expected to maintain comfortable solvency and asset quality metrics, though a slight rise in credit cost is anticipated in the second half (H2 FY26). The fresh non-performing asset (NPA) generation rate for the full year is expected to be slightly higher than that seen in FY25.
Consequently, gross NPAs are forecast to rise marginally in FY26 but stay within a comfortable range of 2.1–2.3 per cent. This would translate into a modest increase in credit costs to about 0.7 per cent in FY26 for the sector, from 0.6 per cent seen in the recent past.
India Ratings & Research has projected India’s GDP to expand by 7.2% in the second quarter (July-September) of FY26, driven primarily by strong private consumption and a resilient services sector. The Indian economy had recorded a 5.6% growth in Q2 of FY25, while it clocked 7.8% growth in the April–June quarter of the current fiscal, the fastest pace in five quarters.
Ind-Ra estimates private consumption to have grown 8% year-on-year in Q2 FY26, compared to 7% in Q1 and 6.4% in Q2 FY25. A favourable base effect, record low inflation, and steady rural wage growth are seen as major contributors to this uptick.
On the investment front, the agency said demand grew 7.5% year-on-year during Q2 FY26, with steady government capital expenditure playing a key role in sustaining momentum amid global uncertainty.
Mahindra & Mahindra and Manulife joined hands to establish a 50:50 life insurance joint venture, subject to regulatory approval, strengthening their existing footprint in India. Upon regulatory approval, the JV will expand on the collaboration between Mahindra and Manulife in India, following the successful launch of Mahindra Manulife Investment Management in 2020.
The total capital commitment from each shareholder is up to Rs 3,600 crore, with each shareholder expected to invest Rs 1,250 crore in the first 5 years. Following the signing, Mahindra and Manulife teams will work together to apply for an insurance license. "Kotak Investment Banking acted as financial adviser and AZB & Partners acted as legal counsel to Mahindra Group.
India’s life insurance industry recorded a sharp revival in October 2025, with new business premiums rising 12.1% year-on-year to Rs 34,007 crore, marking the second straight month of double-digit expansion. The growth, though slightly below the 13.2% rise seen a year earlier, represents a strong rebound from the 5.2% contraction in August 2025.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, on Wednesday launched the Startup Common Application journey on the Jan Samarth Portal during the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) review meeting in New Delhi. The Startup Common Application journey has been developed by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in collaboration with PSB Alliance.
The portal provides a single digital platform for startups to access credit across all PSBs.It enables them to apply for loans, compare offers, and track their applications seamlessly through a unified digital journey.Backed by a Model Loan Scheme, this initiative provides loans up to Rs. 20 crores under the Government’s Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups.
The platform integrates data sources such as PAN, GST, Udyam, ITRs, and Credit Bureaus, ensuring faster processing and greater transparency. Special interest concessions are also extended to women entrepreneurs, further promoting inclusivity.
According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2025, by 2035, India will not only become the epicentre of global oil demand growth, surpassing China, but will also solidify its position as the leading exporter of transport fuels. On the flip side, import dependence of the world’s third largest crude oil importer will rise to a whopping 92 per cent by 2035.
According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2025, India’s energy demand, growing at an annual rate of 3 per cent through 2035, is the highest globally, which is supported by growing demand from households and industries. Oil and natural gas demand will increase 16 per cent by 2035 and continue to rise through to 2050.
Their prices will also generally rise over this period. Oil demand in 2050 is expected to be 113 million barrels per day and natural gas demand is projected at 5,600 billion cubic meters (bcm), according to IEA. India will be the largest contributor to growth in oil demand in this period (2025-2035), the second-largest for electricity generation and coal demand growth.
India oil use will increase from 5.5 mb/d in 2024 to 8 mb/d in 2035 as a result of rapid growth in car ownership, increasing demand for plastics, chemicals and aviation, and a rise in the use of liquefied petroleum gas for cooking. IEA expects gas demand in India to nearly double by 2035 hitting 140 bcm, which will be led by growth in its city-gas distribution (CGD) sector.
JSW Energy has commissioned its first and India's largest green hydrogen manufacturing plant, marking a significant milestone in the nation's clean energy transition. The project is under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme Tranche I. Strategically located adjacent to the JSW Steel facility at Vijayanagar, Karnataka.
Under a seven-year offtake agreement with JSW Steel, the plant will supply 3,800 tons per annum (TPA) of green hydrogen, along with green oxygen of 30,000 TPA. This forms part of the Company's 6,800 TPA allocation under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
Additionally, the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with JSW Steel to progressively supply 85,00090,000 TPA of green hydrogen and 720,000 TPA of green oxygen by 2030. These initiatives align with the Company's sustainability vision and India's green hydrogen plan of ~5 MTPA by 2030.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated a riverine terminal, said to be the first of its kind in India, on the Brahmaputra in Guwahati. The Gateway of Guwahati Terminal and Jetty, which she inaugurated, is a functional floating terminal constructed at a cost of Rs 304.95 crore by the Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society.
It includes a terminal building with an integrated command and control centre, observatory lounge, sewage treatment plant, and advanced fire safety systems. She also inaugurated the Brahmaputra Riverfront in Guwahati, part of the Guwahati Smart City project, which will be a promenade on a 1.2-kilometre stretch of the riverbank.
Vietnam and India have agreed that the Vietnam–India Bilateral Exercise 2025 (VINBAX 2025) is the most vivid demonstration of their substantive and effective defence cooperation, highlighting India as the only international partner to conduct annual field training exercises with Vietnam in United Nations peacekeeping.
Under the theme 'Engineering Units in Coordination with Relevant Components in UN Peacekeeping Missions,' VINBAX 2025 aims to enhance operational capacity, technical proficiency and joint coordination among participating troops.
Building on the success of VINBAX 2024 held in India, this year’s exercise marks the fourth field-based UN peacekeeping training between the two militaries. It carries important practical significance, further strengthening friendship, solidarity and mutual trust between the two sides.
