1) India's exports to US fell 28.5% after tariff hikes: GTRI Report
According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's exports to the United States experienced a steep 28.5% decline between May and October 2025, falling from $8.83 billion to $6.31 billion. This significant drop is a direct consequence of escalating US tariffs, which rapidly increased from an initial 10% in April to a peak of 50% by late August, positioning Indian goods as some of the most heavily taxed in the US market, surpassing even China's effective tariff rate of around 30%. This development represents a major trade barrier and a considerable supply chain risk for Indian exporters.
The GTRI analysis highlights a concerning exposure across different export segments. The most severe impact, a 31.2% collapse in shipments, was observed in labour-intensive sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, and garments, which faced the 50% tariff rate. Even categories intended to be tariff-exempt, like smartphones and pharmaceuticals, were not entirely insulated, recording declines of 36% and 1.6% respectively. This indicates a broader market-wide reduction in demand elasticity for Indian products in the face of sudden price hikes.
The report urges the Indian government to mitigate the economic damage by accelerating the roll-out of the Export Promotion Mission, which has an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore for FY2025–31, to bolster MSME competitiveness and support labour-intensive sectors. Furthermore, diplomatic efforts are recommended to negotiate the removal of an additional 25% Russia-related duty, which would effectively halve the maximum tariff burden and provide crucial relief to the affected industries.
2) India's mobile user base market share in Oct 2025: Jio at 484.7 million and Airtel at 393.7 million, Vodafone falls to 9.9 million users.
The Indian telecom sector in October 2025 solidified its market structure as a dominant duopoly, characterized by the continued market penetration and subscriber growth of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) faced significant market share erosion. Reliance Jio's subscriber base swelled to 484.7 million users, adding nearly 2 million in the month, while Airtel's tally reached 393.7 million, gaining approximately 1.25 million new users. This aggressive subscriber acquisition by the top two players reinforces their competitive advantage and leadership in the world's second-largest telecom market, which has a total subscriber base of over 1.23 billion.
Vodafone Idea's position has become acutely precarious, as it lost over 2 million wireless subscribers, with its reported mobile user base dipping to 200.72 million in a different source, indicating a continuous negative churn rate. ** This ongoing decline raises serious concerns about Vi's long-term financial viability and ability to sustain the necessary capital expenditure for infrastructure investment in 5G and network upgrades. The disparity in subscriber figures, showing Vi at 200.72 million but the headline reporting 9.9 million, strongly suggests the user is referring to a different data metric or a misinterpretation of a specific segment like the 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) user base, which is a new competitive battleground, rather than the total wireless base.
The overall industry data shows a trend towards formalisation and broadband adoption, with the total number of broadband subscribers increasing to 999.8 million. The intense competition, primarily driven by Jio's deep pricing strategy and 5G deployment, is driving a clear consolidation in the market. Jio and Airtel collectively dominate the wireless segment, holding significant market share and leveraging their superior network capabilities and economies of scale to further widen the competitive moat against the struggling Vi.
3) India's unemployment rate declines to 3.2%, from 6% in 2018.
India's labour market has demonstrated a notable improvement in its macroeconomic indicators, with the unemployment rate (UR) for individuals aged 15 years and above declining substantially from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Economic Survey 2024-25. This sharp reduction indicates a significant increase in the workforce absorption rate and a positive outcome of the government's focus on job creation initiatives and post-pandemic economic recovery. The net addition of 168.3 million jobs between 2017-18 and 2023-24 supports the narrative of robust employment generation.
Beyond the headline UR, the data shows a structural shift toward formalisation and greater entrepreneurial activity. Net additions to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscriptions more than doubled from 6.1 million in FY19 to 13.1 million in FY24, reflecting a move from the informal to the formal economy. Simultaneously, the proportion of self-employed workers in the workforce rose from 52.2% to 58.4%, suggesting increased risk-taking and preference for flexible work arrangements, including the rise of the gig economy.
Furthermore, there is a substantial rise in the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR), which increased from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24. This is a critical factor for boosting India's long-term productivity and overall economic growth potential. While the overall trend is positive, addressing the persistent skills mismatch and high youth unemployment rate (around 10.2% for 15+ years in 2023-24) remains a key human capital development challenge for sustaining this momentum.
4) Global arms sales rose to record $679 billion in 2024: Report
Global arms sales soared to a record $679 billion in 2024, marking a real-term increase of 5.9% among the world’s largest producers, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This unprecedented surge is fundamentally driven by escalating geopolitical risk and regional conflicts, specifically citing the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which have spurred significant demand for military equipment and a corresponding increase in global military budgets. The US remains the dominant global player, with 39 of its companies accounting for $334 billion—nearly half of the total—led by giants like Lockheed Martin.
The significant growth in defense spending has disproportionately benefited US and European firms, with Europe's arms sales rising by 13% to $151 billion, driven by German and other companies responding to the demand for air defense and ammunition. This spike reflects a strategic move by nations to bolster their defense readiness and sovereign capabilities in an increasingly unstable global environment. Russia's arms companies also saw a 23% revenue increase to $31.2 billion, largely due to domestic demand despite international sanctions.
In contrast to the global trend, the Asia and Oceania region saw a slight decline, primarily due to a 10% revenue drop among Chinese arms producers, stemming from corruption scandals and procurement delays which negatively impacted their operational efficiency. Meanwhile, India’s three major state-owned defense Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) recorded a steady combined growth of 8.2% to $7.5 billion, driven by domestic orders. This incremental growth aligns with India's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) initiative, aimed at reducing its dependence on foreign suppliers and bolstering its indigenous defense industrial base.
5) Two supertankers, each loaded with two million barrels of crude oil, have started a 18,000-km voyage from Guyana to India, as we find alternatives to Russian oil.
India, a major global oil importer, is executing a critical supply chain risk mitigation strategy by diversifying its crude oil sources following intensified US sanctions targeting Russia's major oil exporters, Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC. This has prompted the current long-haul shipment from Guyana. Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the Cobalt Nova and Olympic Lion, are en route, transporting a total of 4 million barrels of crude oil over an approximate 18,000-km voyage, marking the first such shipment from Guyana to India since 2021. This pivot away from discounted Russian crude oil, which had peaked at around 1.7 million barrels per day for India, is essential for maintaining compliance with international regulations and reducing geopolitical exposure.
The shipment involves different grades of Guyanese crude from the Stabroek block, including Golden Arrowhead, Liza, and Unity Gold, sourced from Exxon Mobil Corporation. The oil is destined for refineries operated by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Paradip and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam. This strategic move highlights the refiners’ need to secure stable, alternative supplies to ensure operational continuity and hedge against price volatility caused by the disruption of their primary supply routes.
This long-distance crude sourcing not only enhances India's energy security but also builds a new bilateral trade relationship. India's exploration of non-traditional suppliers like Guyana, and future plans for Brazil and Canada, is a proactive measure to manage the logistics complexity and high costs associated with deep-water procurement. This shift in India’s sourcing portfolio underscores the impact of global geopolitics on national economic planning and raw material procurement.
6) Centre brings Bills to impose new taxes on tobacco and pan masala.
The Indian government has introduced two legislative proposals, The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, to overhaul the fiscal framework for 'sin goods' like tobacco and pan masala. This strategic revenue protection move is necessitated by the impending expiry of the GST Compensation Cess, which currently maintains a high effective tax incidence on these products. The core objective is to prevent a significant tax reduction—and corresponding revenue shortfall, estimated to exceed ?50,000 crore annually—that would otherwise occur once the cess is withdrawn.
The Central Excise Bill seeks to empower the government to impose new, higher central excise duties on tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars, with proposed levies ranging from ?2,700 to ?5,200 per 1,000 sticks based on length and filter presence. The Health Security Cess Bill introduces a new capacity-based cess on pan masala manufacturing. This capacity-based taxation aims to address chronic tax evasion and under-reporting in the sector by linking the levy not to output quantity, but to the number or capacity of machines installed, thereby ensuring a more robust and difficult-to-circumvent tax collection mechanism.
Ultimately, this legislative action is a dual-purpose strategy to maintain fiscal stability and strengthen the national commitment to public health policy. By keeping the overall tax burden high, the government aims to sustain the deterrence effect on consumption and combat the health externalities of tobacco use, while simultaneously securing a reliable revenue stream for the exchequer, which will contribute to national security and public health initiatives as outlined in the new cess's name.
7) Prada buys rival Versace for $1.45 bn, it also owns the Miu Miu label.
Italian luxury fashion conglomerate Prada Group successfully completed the acquisition of rival fashion house Versace for a total consideration of approximately $1.45 billion (€1.25 billion) from its previous owner, the US-based Capri Holdings. This transaction is a key example of consolidation and portfolio diversification within the high-end luxury market. The acquisition is strategically significant as it combines Prada's renowned minimalist aesthetic and its youth-focused label, Miu Miu, with Versace's distinct maximalist and flamboyant brand identity, thereby achieving a broader market reach and appealing to disparate consumer segments.
The deal is driven by Prada's intent to capture Versace's untapped growth potential. While Prada Group, which reported a 17% boost in revenues to €5.4 billion last year, has been robustly healthy, Versace's performance under Capri Holdings had been volatile, representing only about 20% of Capri's 2024 revenue of €5.2 billion. By integrating Versace, which will constitute an estimated 13% of the enlarged Prada Group's pro-forma revenues (behind Prada at 64% and Miu Miu at 22%), Prada aims to revitalize the iconic brand's market relevance.
Post-acquisition, Lorenzo Bertelli, the son of Prada's co-Creative Director Miuccia Prada, is set to become Versace's executive chairman, signalling a move to align corporate governance and leverage Prada’s strong in-house Italian supply chain and manufacturing expertise. This strategic maneuver positions the combined entity for enhanced competitive positioning against industry giants like LVMH and Kering, by presenting a more comprehensive luxury offering that spans diverse aesthetic preferences and price points.
8) Zee Entertainment cuts 200 jobs, to layoff 15% workforce, after merger talks with Sony Pictures fail.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) has embarked on an intensive organizational restructuring and cost optimization exercise, which includes an ongoing layoff of approximately 15% of its total workforce, or around 700 employees, with the latest phase affecting around 200 jobs. This decisive action is a direct consequence of the terminated $10 billion mega-merger with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), which collapsed due to unresolved disputes over corporate governance and leadership. The failure of the merger has fundamentally altered ZEEL's competitive landscape and financial outlook.
The workforce rationalisation is part of a strategic plan initiated by the management to create a "lean organisation structure" focused on greater operational agility and efficiency. The need for aggressive cost control is underscored by the company’s recent financial performance, which included a sharp 63% year-on-year decline in net profit for the September quarter and an 11% drop in advertising revenue to ?806 crore, primarily due to a slowdown in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) spending.
By streamlining its business divisions under an omni-channel approach, ZEEL is attempting to manage the pressures of a challenging media sector characterised by declining advertising budgets and subscriber churn. The ongoing staff reduction, which involves both full-time employees and consultants, is a critical turnaround strategy aimed at safeguarding the company's profitability and ensuring long-term financial viability as it pursues a standalone growth trajectory in the highly competitive Indian media and entertainment market.
9) Starbucks to pay $35 mn to 15,000 NYC employees over labour law violations.
Starbucks has agreed to a landmark settlement of over $35 million to resolve claims of widespread violations of New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, affecting more than 15,000 hourly employees. The investigation by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) found systemic breaches, citing over half a million violations since 2021, making it the largest worker protection settlement in the city’s history. The violations primarily involved failing to provide predictable schedules and arbitrarily cutting employee hours, which fundamentally compromises work-life balance and employee stability.
The terms of the settlement require Starbucks to pay a civil penalty of $3.4 million in addition to the compensation for workers, who will receive approximately $50 for each week worked between July 2021 and July 2024. The settlement also guarantees reinstatement opportunities for employees affected by recent store closures, demonstrating a commitment to remedial human resource management practices and legal compliance.
This significant financial penalty and corrective action comes amidst an ongoing national labour relations challenge, with the Starbucks Workers United union actively campaigning for better pay and staffing. The settlement sends a strong signal regarding the severe reputational risk and regulatory exposure major corporations face when perceived non-compliance affects employee welfare and organizational commitment, highlighting the increasing pressure for companies to adhere to evolving municipal and state labour legislation.
10) To improve IMF's 'C' grade for India's national accounts statistics to B grade, India will change base year to 2022-23: FM
India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a significant statistical reform by changing the base year for calculating national accounts statistics, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP), from the current 2011-12 to 2022-23, effective from February 2026. This technical adjustment is a direct response to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assigning a 'C' grade to India's national accounts data, a rating attributed to the use of an outdated statistical framework rather than the quality of the data itself.
The revision is an essential step towards enhancing the credibility and global comparability of India’s economic figures. The decade-long gap since the last revision (2011-12) has meant that key structural shifts, such as the growth of the digital economy, the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and post-COVID-19 consumption patterns, were not adequately reflected in the data's weighting structure. The new base year, 2022-23, will incorporate these contemporary economic realities, providing a more accurate measure of economic growth and sectoral contribution.
The modernization is critical for improved policy formulation and greater investor confidence. By recalibrating economic indicators like real GDP growth and ensuring better representation of emerging sectors such as fintech and the gig economy, India aims to improve its overall standing with international bodies. This strategic move is expected to alleviate concerns regarding data reliability, enabling the country to achieve the desired 'B' grade from the IMF, thereby strengthening its macroeconomic data integrity.
11) Due to DGCAs new flight duty time limitation cap crew members' flight hours at 8 hours/day, 35 hours/week, IndiGo had to cancel flights.
IndiGo, India's largest carrier with over 60% market share, faced massive operational disruption and a plunge in its on-time performance (OTP) following the full implementation of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms in December 2025. The new rules, aimed at enhancing aviation safety and combating pilot fatigue, significantly increased the weekly rest period from 36 to 48 hours and sharply curtailed night-time operations by limiting permitted night landings from six to just two. IndiGo's November OTP had already plummeted to 67.7% from 84.1% in October, with 755 of its 1,232 cancellations in the month attributed to FDTL and crew constraints.
The airline's low-cost carrier (LCC) business model, which relies heavily on high aircraft and crew utilisation rates, was disproportionately affected by the new regulations, especially the phase restricting night flights. The resulting acute crew shortage led to chaos and over 600 cancellations in the first few days of December alone, with the airline operating only 19.7% of its flights on time on one day. The DGCA has summoned the airline to present a concrete mitigation plan to stabilize operations.
IndiGo has responded by initiating "calibrated adjustments" to its schedule, involving the temporary cancellation and rescheduling of a portion of its 2,300+ daily flights to align with reduced crew availability. The airline is also seeking an exemption from the DGCA for the full implementation of the reduced night flying hours until February 10. The situation underscores the immense compliance risk and capacity planning challenge facing the aviation sector as it balances aggressive growth targets with increasingly strict regulatory requirements for crew welfare.
12) Chip industry faces shortage of 7 lakh workers by 2030: IESA chief
The global semiconductor industry is projected to face a critical talent shortage of approximately 700,000 workers by 2030, according to Ashok Chandak, President of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA). This impending shortfall poses a significant human capital risk to the industry's sustained growth and the ambitious expansion of manufacturing capacities worldwide.
The IESA chief highlighted that this global deficit presents a substantial market opportunity for India to become a major contributor to the global talent pool, leveraging its large population of engineers and scientists.
To effectively capitalize on this opportunity and support India's own Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which anticipates the domestic market growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13% to reach $103.4 billion by 2030, a comprehensive skill development strategy is imperative. The current technical curriculum is deemed inadequate for future industry needs, which are rapidly evolving with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and advanced manufacturing techniques like digital twins.
IESA is advocating for a two-pronged approach: immediate curriculum reform in partnership with academia to update technical education, and the establishment of dedicated manufacturing-related training programs to build a pipeline of skilled workers. Addressing the skills mismatch through focused industry-academia collaboration is crucial for India to not only meet its local value addition targets—projected to be 40% by 2030 in electronics manufacturing—but also to establish a robust and competitive semiconductor industrial base.
13) Tata Group donates ?758 crore to BJP, weeks after approval for semiconductor units.
The Tata Group, through its Progressive Electoral Trust (PET), made a substantial political donation of ?758 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April 2024. This contribution, which represented a dominant 83% of the BJP’s total intake from electoral trusts in the 2024-25 fiscal year, was revealed to have occurred just weeks after the Union Cabinet approved significant government subsidies for the group's nascent semiconductor manufacturing ventures. This juxtaposition raises questions about corporate-political nexus and the potential for quid pro quo in large-scale government approvals.
The Cabinet had previously approved two semiconductor units for the Tata Group in February 2024, located in Gujarat and Assam, with combined central government subsidies reportedly totaling over ?44,023 crore ($5.3 billion). The close proximity of the massive donation to this strategic regulatory approval, which provides substantial financial support for the group's foray into the high-risk semiconductor fabrication sector, has fueled public debate on corporate governance and transparency in political funding, particularly following the Supreme Court's striking down of the non-transparent electoral bond scheme.
While electoral trusts are a more transparent mechanism than electoral bonds, the timing of the donation—just days before the 2024 General Elections—highlights the continued use of political funding channels by major conglomerates seeking strategic government support. This scenario underscores the complexities of stakeholder management and the perceived necessity for corporations to engage with the political system to secure favorable policy decisions and large-scale industrial incentives.
14) YouTube has warned that Australia's upcoming ban on under-16s using social media could make children less safe online.
YouTube, owned by Google, announced it would comply with Australia's landmark law banning users under the age of 16 from major social media platforms, but cautioned that the legislation could ultimately compromise child safety online. The law, which takes full effect in December, mandates platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok to implement "reasonable steps" to block access, with potential fines reaching A$49.5 million (about $32 million) for non-compliance. YouTube argues that its platform is unique, and this blanket ban misunderstands its role, particularly its educational content and the parental controls it offers.
In compliance, YouTube is automatically signing out all Australian users under 16, who will lose access to account-dependent safety features. Losing signed-in status means children forfeit the benefits of parental controls and well-being settings like "Take a Break" reminders, which are only active when logged in. Furthermore, the ban affects approximately 325,000 users aged 13 to 15 on YouTube, including young content creators who will lose the ability to upload and manage their channels, thereby eliminating a crucial digital literacy and entrepreneurial outlet.
YouTube’s risk assessment suggests that forcing younger teens into a "logged out" state could expose them to unverified or unfiltered content, making them less safe than they were under supervised accounts. The company's resistance highlights the broader regulatory challenges faced by global tech platforms as they navigate diverse national policies attempting to balance child protection with digital access and the enforcement complexity of reliable age verification on a global scale.
15) AI hunger for energy is straining global power supply. Will need multiple small nuclear reactors in next few years: Nvidia CEO
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has definitively identified the immense and rapidly escalating energy consumption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers as the ultimate bottleneck to the industry's continued exponential growth, proposing nuclear power as the necessary strategic energy solution. AI's power demand is soaring, with some estimates suggesting that within three years, it could require as much electricity annually as a small country like the Netherlands or Sweden, driven by the massive computing needs of training and running generative AI models.
Huang, whose company dominates the AI chip market with an estimated 70-95% market share, stated that this concentrated power need—referring to data centers as "gigawatt factories"—cannot be reliably sustained by the existing public grid. He predicted the deployment of "a whole bunch of small nuclear reactors (SMRs)" in the hundreds of megawatts range, capable of providing reliable, dedicated, and off-grid power to data centers within the next six to seven years. This shift represents a fundamental change in infrastructure strategy for tech giants.
This endorsement by the AI industry's key figure has provided a substantial market tailwind for SMR developers like NuScale and Oklo. Major tech firms, including Microsoft and OpenAI, are already investing in nuclear startups to secure the firm power supply needed to guarantee operational continuity and meet their soaring sustainability targets, positioning nuclear technology as a crucial enabler for the future of large-scale AI deployment.