1) India-Myanmar to expand Rupee-Kyat Trade Settlement Mechanism.
India and Myanmar have discussed the importance of resuming border trade through roads and agreed to take steps on this issue, an official statement said on Sunday. The issue was discussed during a meeting between Myanmar's Deputy Commerce Minister U Minn Minn and Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada here on February 14.
They discussed possibilities to increase cooperation in areas such as pharmaceuticals, pulses, petroleum products and greater use of the recently launched Rupee-Kyat trade settlement mechanism. "During the meeting, both the leaders deliberated on the potential areas of collaboration to promote bilateral trade and also acknowledged the importance of resuming border trade through roads and agreed to take steps on this issue," the commerce ministry said.
India is the fifth-largest trading partner of Myanmar. The bilateral trade stood at $1.74 billion in 2023-24 against $1.76 billion in 2022-23.
2) Meta's 50,000 km undersea cable to enhance digital connectivity between US and India.
Meta has announced its most ambitious subsea cable project yet, Project Waterworth, a multi-billion-dollar initiative that will span over 50,000 km—longer than Earth’s circumference. Once completed, it will be the world's longest subsea cable project and will use the highest-capacity technology available to enhance global connectivity.
Project Waterworth aims to connect five continents, including the US, India, Brazil, and South Africa, significantly boosting digital infrastructure in these regions. “This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development,” Meta stated.
Subsea cables play a crucial role in global communication, carrying over 95% of intercontinental internet traffic. Meta has been a key player in infrastructure innovation, having developed more than 20 subsea cables over the past decade. “With Project Waterworth, we continue to advance engineering design to maintain cable resilience, enabling us to build the longest 24 fiber pair cable project in the world and enhance overall speed of deployment,” the company revealed.
3) Foreign investors withdraw nearly ?1 lakh crore from Indian markets in 2025 far.
The exodus of FPIs from the Indian equity markets continues as they pulled out ?21,272 crore in the first two weeks of this month, driven by global tensions after the US imposed tariffs on imports. This came following a net outflow of ?78,027 crore in January. With these, the total outflow by FPIs has reached ?99,299 crore -- near ?1 lakh crore -- in 2025 so far, data with the depositories showed.
Going forward, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, believes that reversal of FPI strategy will happen when the dollar index moves down. According to the data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth ?21,272 crore from Indian equities so far this month (till February 14).
Market concerns heightened as US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on several countries, Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director-Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said. These developments reignited fears of a potential global trade war, prompting FPIs to re-evaluate their exposure to emerging markets, including India, he added.
4) Husband can be held liable for wife's stock trading losses based on oral agreement: SC
The Supreme Court last week ruled that a husband can be held jointly and severally responsible for his wife’s stock market liabilities based on an oral agreement. The ruling came in the case of AC Choksi Share Broker vs Jatin Pratap Desai. The judgment highlights that the arbitral tribunal has the authority to exercise jurisdiction over the husband, referencing Bye-law 248(a) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Byelaws, 1957.
The court stated, “First, by interpreting Bye-law 248(a) of the Bombay Stock Exchange Byelaws, 1957 that provides for arbitration between members and non-members of the BSE, and considering the nature of respondent no 1’s (husband) involvement qua transactions conducted in respondent no 2’s (wife) account, we have held that an oral contract undertaking joint and several liability falls within the scope of the arbitration clause and the arbitral tribunal could exercise jurisdiction over respondent no 1.”
The case stemmed from a stockbroker’s attempt to recover a substantial debit balance in the wife’s trading account. Both the husband and wife maintained separate trading accounts with the appellant stockbroker, who alleged that they had agreed to operate them jointly. Following a transfer of funds from the husband’s account to cover the wife’s trading losses, the debit balance escalated sharply due to a market downturn. Seeking recovery, the broker initiated arbitration, holding both accountable for the outstanding dues. Although the husband challenged the arbitration proceedings against him, the tribunal ruled in favour of the broker, determining that his involvement in the transactions justified shared liability.
5) Luxury Fashion brand Hermès to give ?4 lakh bonus to all employees worldwide amid a surge in revenue.
Luxury brand Hermès has had an exceptional year in terms of revenue as well as its leadership position in the industry, resulting in the company's decision to award each of its employee a bonus of ?4 lakh (4,500 Euros) at the beginning of 2025. The French fashion brand's consolidated revenue touched 15.2 billion Euros in 2024, with a 15 per cent increase in constant exchange rates and 13 per cent surge at current exchange rates in comparison to 2023.
Hermès long-term development strategy and its deep-rooted heritage crafts have driven the company up this far. The luxury legend continued to internationally expand its brand by strengthening its distribution network across the globe and the dependence on its loyal customer base.
With its growing business, the fashion brand also indulges in sustainable development and strengthening of workforce. The Hermès group hired 2,300 new employees, including 1,300 in France, in the year 2024, bringing up its workforce tally to a total of 25,000 employees.
6) India completes first-ever commercial trial shipments of premium Sangola and Bhagwa pomegranates to Australia via sea.
In a significant milestone for India’s agricultural exports, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has facilitated India’s first-ever commercial trial shipments of premium Sangola and Bhagwa pomegranates to Australia via sea. Exports of Indian pomegranate have surged 20 per cent year-on-year. The sea shipment, made in collaboration with AgroStar and Kay Bee Exports, follows successful air trials in 2024 which helped assess market demand.
The sea freight departed from India on 6 December 2024, and arrived in Sydney on 13 January 2025, with 5.7 tonnes of pomegranates sourced from the Solapur region of Maharashtra. Another commercial sea shipment carrying 6.56 tonnes of the Bhagwa variety arrived in Brisbane, Australia, on 6 January 2025.
The shipment’s timing was strategically aligned with Australia’s non-producing season, maximising market opportunities for Indian exporters. APEDA chairman, Abhishek Dev, said the pomegranates received an overwhelmingly positive response in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and had already led to requests for additional shipments.
7) Air India and IndiGo don't hire each other's pilots, pilots allege such an arrangement is illegal.
A major pilots’ group has alleged that two of India’s leading airlines, Air India (AI) and IndiGo (6E), have informally agreed not to hire each other’s pilots. The group claims this could impact employment fairness in the aviation sector and has sought government intervention.
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India), which represents over 800 pilots, has raised concerns with the Civil Aviation Ministry, urging authorities to ensure a fair hiring process within the industry.
ALPA India, an affiliate of the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Association (IFALPA), has flagged the issue in a formal complaint to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu. The letter expresses concerns over reports suggesting that Air India (AI) and IndiGo (6E) have agreed not to recruit each other’s pilots.
8) At 6.4% urban unemployment in India remained unchanged in 2024.
Unemployment rate in urban areas during the third quarter (October-December) of FY25 remained unchanged at 6.4 per cent compared to the preceding quarter, according to the latest quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday. While the unemployment rate for men worsened marginally to 5.8 per cent in Q3 from 5.7 per cent in Q2, for women, it improved to 8.1 per cent from 8.4 per cent.
The survey measures the unemployment rate using the current weekly status (CWS). Here, activity status is determined based on the reference period of the past seven days preceding the date of the survey. The survey further showed that the jobless rate for the youth (15-29 age group) increased to 16.1 per cent in Q3FY25 from 15.8 per cent in the preceding quarter. It was led by a rise in the jobless rate for both young men and women.
This figure is important because people belonging to this age group are usually first-timers in the labour markets and this metric reflects their robustness. The labour force participation rate (LFPR), which represents the share of people either working or seeking employment in the urban population, also remained unchanged at 50.4 per cent in Q3.
9) USAID effectively ran India's National Family Health Survey from the 1990s till it was stopped two years ago.
Under the Joe Biden administration, the US provided $720 million in assistance to India in the past four years, with 64% allocated to health initiatives, mostly managed by the now-defunct USAID, and $20.1 million for democratic participation and civil society — a sector that is currently sparking political controversy in India over spending on voter turnout, according to an analysis of US government data by this newspaper.
Ranked between 4th and 5th among 15 South and Central Asian countries, India’s share of US aid over the past four years was 35% less than Pakistan’s $970 million, and significantly higher than China’s $49.7 million during the same period. However, in South Asia, Bangladesh received $1.89 billion, nearly 162% more than India. However, in 2022, India received $20 million more than Pakistan, totalling $250 million in aid, primarily due to post-COVID initiatives.
The health sector received a total of $462 million in the past four years for various programmes, including fighting HIV-AIDS administered through USAID. Elon Musk, involved in the White House’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, had previously called the USAID “a criminal organization” and claimed that Trump had agreed to shut it down. Sanjeev Sanyal, the government’s economic advisor, had accused USAID of playing a secret role in influencing policy in the health and social sector. “Those concerned about USAID’s interference in Indian elections should be equally concerned about USAID’s tentacles in India’s medical system and social policies. USAID effectively ran India’s National Family Health Survey from the 1990s till it was stopped two years ago,” he said.
10) PVR Inox ordered to pay ?28,000 to man for showing long commercial ads before movie.
A district consumer forum in Bengaluru ordered PVR to mention the actual time of screening on the movie ticket and not the time after the commercials start. A man moved the forum complaining about PVR ‘wasting his time’ by showing ads before the start of the movie, as per reports. Abhishek MR reportedly filed a complaint in January 2024 against PVR Cinemas, ticketing platform BookMyShow, and INOX (now merged with PVR) for wasting his time by showing long commercial ads in December 2023 during a show of ‘Sam Bahadur’.
He claimed that 25 minutes of his time was wasted because of these commercials, reportedly preventing him from returning to the office on time after the movie as he had planned. The forum, ruling in his favour, said that time is money and 25-30 minutes of sitting idle is not a less time. It said that it is very hard for busy people with tight schedules to watch unnecessary advertisements, as per reports.
It did not put any blame on BookMyShow as a ticketing platform for the ads shown by the movie halls. The complainant had recorded 23 minutes of commercials shown at the PVR. Which, the latter argued that the complainant had breached the privacy laws, which was rejected by the forum stating that no part of the movie was recorded. PVR also stated that they were also showing Public Service Announcements (PSAs) mandated by the State and Central Government, however, it was found that only 5% of the time was occupied by the PSAs among all the commercials.
11) LNG imports are rising as India aims to boost gas in its energy mix to 15%.
India’s natural gas consumption is expected to see a significant jump by the end of this decade, which in turn is set to lead to a surge in the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday.
According to IEA’s estimates, India’s gas consumption is seen rising nearly 60 per cent over to 2023 levels to 103 billion cubic metres (bcm), while LNG imports are set to more than double between 2023 and 2030 to 65 bcm a year, driven by steady demand growth and a much slower rise in domestic production.
In view of the anticipated growth in gas consumption, the multilateral energy agency recommended that India should completely deregulate pricing of domestic natural gas, unbundle gas marketing and transportation businesses, and focus on enhancing gas-related infrastructure and ensuring gas supply security, among others.
12) India-UAE trade doubles to $83.7 bn in 3 years post economic pact.
February 18, 2025, saw the 3rd anniversary of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Signed on February 18, 2022, during a virtual summit between India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the agreement came into force on 1st May 2022. The bilateral merchandise trade has experienced remarkable growth since the signing of the CEPA. The trade went double from USD 43.3 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 83.7 billion in FY 2023-24. In the current fiscal year (April-December 2024), trade amounted to USD 71.8 billion.
CEPA has effectively diversified trade, with non-oil trade reaching USD 57.8 billion in FY 2023-24, accounting for more than half of the total bilateral trade. This success marks the target of achieving USD 100 billion in non-oil trade by 2030.
India’s non-oil exports to the UAE reached USD 27.4 billion in FY 2023-24, reflecting an average growth rate of 25.6% since the agreement came into effect. Key sectors include refined crude oil products, gems & jewellery, electrical machinery, high-tech goods like boilers, and chemicals. Smartphones have also emerged as a major export, with shipments valued at USD 2.57 billion during FY 2023-24.
13) Families join Samsung employees' strike against firing of some employees and suspension of 3 union leaders in TN.
For the first time after protests erupted again at the Samsung India unit near Sriperumbudur over the suspension of three workers, family members of the staff joined them in a protest held at the Bazaar Area of Sunguvarchatram on Monday morning. The suspended workers are office-bearers of Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU), which is affiliated to CITU. A conciliation meeting between the management and the workers, facilitated by the Tamil Nadu labour department, has been scheduled for Wednesday (February 19).
A sit-in protest taken out by another section of workers has been going on since February 5 on the premises of the manufacturing plant. The CITU has planned a protest on Tuesday involving Samsung workers in Sriperumbudur. Members of the CITU said that if the conciliation talks fail on Wednesday, protests will be organised outside Samsung showrooms across the state on February 21.
Calling the strike “illegal”, sources in Samsung said the protesters have been provided with access to toilets and food although they had not been working since February 5. Denying claims that the three workers were suspended without any valid reason, the sources said around 300 workers had allegedly attempted to forcefully enter the management offices on the second floor, prompting the action.
14) Al-powered visual merchandising platformSpyne raises $16 million.
Spyne, an AI-powered visual merchandising platform for the automotive industry, has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures. The round also witnessed participation from existing investors, including Accel, Storm Ventures, and Alteria Capital, which doubled down on their investments in the startup.
This investment will fuel Spyne’s growth trajectory, focusing on aggressive expansion in the US and developing its next-generation AI solutions designed to transform automotive retail.
"This investment marks a pivotal moment for Spyne as we accelerate our US expansion and push the boundaries of what AI can do for automotive retail," said Sanjay Varnwal, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Spyne. "Our vision is to make digital vehicle showcasing smarter, faster, and more immersive for dealerships worldwide."
15) Madhya Pradesh has announced its Civil Aviation Policy-2025, planning helipads every45 km and airports every 150 km.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday (18 February) announced a major expansion in the state's civil aviation infrastructure. The state government is planning to construct a ‘pucca’ helipad every 45 km and an airport every 150 km under the newly approved Madhya Pradesh Civil Aviation Policy-2025, reported PTI.
Speaking at a dialogue with industrialists in Indore ahead of the ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit’, scheduled for 24-25 February in Bhopal, Yadav emphasised the state government’s commitment to improving air transport. The cabinet headed by Yadav on Tuesday approved the Madhya Pradesh Civil Aviation Policy-2025.
"As per the policy, a pucca helipad will be built in every 45 km radius and an airport in every 150 km radius across the state," Yadav was quoted as saying by PTI. To attract airlines, the government has introduced financial incentives:
A Rs 7.50 lakh grant will be provided for every new domestic flight connecting Madhya Pradesh to other states. A Rs 10 lakh grant will be offered for each new international flight launched by aviation companies.