Practice • Improve • Repeat
Textile parks and semiconductor units only fly if goods can move quickly and cheaply across India. That is why the National Logistics Policy and the LEADS Index sit at the heart of India’s competitiveness story. Indian logistics costs have historically been estimated at around 13 to 14 percent of GDP, much higher than the global … Read more
MSME credit and labour reforms together create the workforce for export oriented sectors. The most labour intensive of all, textiles, has its own dedicated flagship called PM MITRA. PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks, or PM MITRA, is built on the 5F vision that links farm to fibre to factory to fashion to … Read more
Rural employment is one pillar. The other pillar of mass employment is the MSME sector, which the Budget 2025-26 strengthened with a fresh definition and a much larger credit guarantee. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises contribute around 30 percent of India’s GDP and a very large share of total employment outside agriculture. The Budget 2025-26 … Read more
Urban and platform workers are getting new rights through the Labour Codes. Rural workers face a parallel transformation through the proposed replacement of MGNREGA itself. MGNREGA, in force since 2005, has been the largest rural safety net in the world. In December 2025, the government introduced the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission … Read more
External trade pressures often expose internal labour rigidities. India’s four Labour Codes finally consolidated 29 old laws into a single, modern framework that came into force in late 2025. India’s labour landscape was governed by 29 separate central laws, many of them dating from the colonial era. The four Labour Codes, namely the Code on … Read more
While India was busy signing trade deals with friendly partners, the United States imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods. New Delhi’s reaction shaped much of the policy debate in 2025. Soon after taking office, the Trump administration in 2025 imposed sharp tariffs on a range of Indian exports, citing trade imbalances and India’s continued purchase … Read more
A stable rating attracts capital, but real economic gains come from market access. In 2025, India closed more major trade deals than any single year of the past decade. If 2025 had a single foreign economic theme for India, it would be free trade agreements. The India UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was signed … Read more
Tax reforms, fiscal discipline, and steady growth have a direct impact on how the world sees India’s creditworthiness. In August 2025, S&P recognised this in a way India had not seen in nearly two decades. On 14 August 2025, S&P Global Ratings upgraded India’s long term sovereign credit rating from BBB minus to BBB with … Read more
Direct tax reform sets the tone, but every consumer in India also pays GST every single day. The 56th GST Council Meeting on 3 September 2025 gave us GST 2.0. If you have followed Indian indirect taxation since 2017, you know that the four slab structure of 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent created endless … Read more
The Budget 2025-26 set the stage for a much bigger change in direct taxation. The Income Tax Act of 1961 is finally being replaced after more than six decades. The Income Tax Act of 1961 grew so complicated over the years that even seasoned chartered accountants needed flowcharts to interpret it. The New Income Tax … Read more