Draft Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026 Released

1 March 2026National

DPIIT released the draft Bill for feedback; it gives electronic trade documents full legal validity equal to paper and provides for cross-border recognition and trust service providers.

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RBI's October 2026 MPC Minutes Say Rate Cuts Are Off the Table After the Unanimous Hike to 5.50%

The Reserve Bank of India published the minutes of its 63rd Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 21 October 2026, confirming that the 25 basis point repo rate hike to 5.50% on 7 October was unanimous (6-0) while the switch of stance from 'neutral' to 'calibrated tightening' passed 4-2, with Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh preferring neutral. The resolution said rate cuts are 'off the table in the near term' and that policy ahead can only be a hike or a pause. The MPC raised FY27 GDP growth to 7.1% and CPI inflation to 5.2%. The next meeting is 2-4 December 2026.

GK ByteThe Monetary Policy Committee was created by the Finance Act 2016 amending the RBI Act 1934 and has six members, three from the RBI and three external, with the Governor holding a casting vote | MPC minutes must be published on the fourteenth day after the policy decision under Section 45ZL of the RBI Act | India's flexible inflation targeting framework sets CPI inflation at 4% with a tolerance band of plus or minus 2 percentage points

📅 22 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

Jio Platforms IPO, India's Largest Ever, Fully Subscribed Within Hours of Opening

The Jio Platforms initial public offering, India's largest-ever IPO, opened for subscription on 21 October 2026 and was fully subscribed within hours. It is an entirely fresh issue of about 27 crore equity shares with no offer for sale, priced in a band of Rs 1,065-Rs 1,119 per share with a lot size of 12 shares, raising roughly Rs 30,000 crore (about USD 3.2 billion). At the upper band, Jio Platforms is valued at about Rs 10.3 lakh crore. Demand was led by qualified institutional buyers, who bid over three times their quota on day one. The issue closed on 23 October 2026.

GK ByteJio Platforms is the digital services arm of Reliance Industries, chaired by Mukesh Ambani | Public issues in India are regulated by SEBI, set up in 1988 and given statutory status in 1992 | Before this issue, Hyundai Motor India's 2024 offering of about Rs 27,870 crore was India's largest IPO

📅 21 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

India's Eight Core Industries Grow 7.9% in September 2026 as Electricity, Coal and Refinery Output Rebound

India's eight core industries grew 7.9% year-on-year in September 2026, up from a revised 5.9% in August, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 21 October 2026. Electricity (11.4%), coal (10.7%), refinery products (10.3%), cement (9.8%) and steel (4.9%) expanded, while fertilisers (-11.7%), natural gas (-4.6%) and crude oil (-1.4%) contracted. Cumulative growth for April-September 2026 stood at 5.1%, against 2.5% in the same period a year earlier. The Index of Eight Core Industries carries a 40.27% weight in the Index of Industrial Production, so the rebound points to firmer IIP readings for September.

GK ByteThe eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity | The Index of Eight Core Industries is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, with base year 2011-12 | Refinery products carry the largest weight in the index at 28.04%

📅 21 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Enters into Force on 20 October 2026 with Zero-Duty Access for Indian Exports

The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, signed on 27 April 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, came into force on 20 October 2026, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal confirming implementation alongside New Zealand's Todd McClay. New Zealand removed duties on 100% of its 8,284 tariff lines, while India liberalises 70.03% of its lines, covering about 95% of bilateral trade value. The Department of Revenue notified revised customs duty rates under Section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The partners target nearly Rs 35,000 crore in two-way trade by 2030, building on the Strategic Partnership agreed during the Prime Minister's July 2026 visit.

GK ByteNew Zealand's capital is Wellington, its largest city is Auckland and its currency is the New Zealand dollar | New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy with King Charles III as head of state, represented by a Governor-General | India's other major trade pacts include the UAE CEPA (2022), the Australia ECTA (2022) and the India-EFTA TEPA signed in March 2024

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