Wednesday, March 18
India and the United States took a major step forward on Friday with the announcement of an India-US trade deal framework designed to lower tariffs, strengthen energy ties, and boost economic cooperation. The joint statement from both governments confirmed that while the framework sets a clear path, further negotiations will be needed to finalise a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.Read more: Key highlights of the India-US interim trade deal frameworkTrump Announces Tariff Cuts Under India-US Trade DealU.S. President Donald Trump had announced earlier this week that the U.S. would cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% as part of the India-US trade deal, in exchange for India halting purchases of Russian oil and lowering trade barriers. Half of the 50% tariff had been imposed as
Relying solely on the headline capital expenditure (capex) number in the Union Budget provides an incomplete picture of the government’s true infrastructure push. The budgeted capex for FY27, at Rs. 12.2 trillion versus the FY26 revised estimate of Rs. 10.96 trillion, does not fully capture the underlying trends for several reasons.First, the headline figure includes equity infusions (such as the Air India infusion in FY22 or the BSNL infusion under the Ministry of Telecom) as well as capex-oriented loans and advances. These items must be stripped out to understand the actual asset-creating expenditure. Second, many sectors that require significant infrastructure development—such as water supply, housing, metro systems, and commercial shipping—fall either under state jurisdiction or
At a time when markets are closely tracking fiscal discipline amid slowing revenue growth and higher capital expenditure, the government’s 4.3% fiscal deficit target has emerged as a key signal for investors.Sunil Sanghai, Founder and CEO of NovaaOne Capital Pvt. Ltd, believes the target strikes the right balance between growth support and macro stability, especially in a year marked by tax cuts and constrained revenues.In this ETMarkets Smart Talk, Sanghai explains why the deficit number is a positive for markets, highlights the importance of capex exceeding borrowing, and points to hidden structural reforms, from banking to FEMA guidelines, that could support long-term capital formation. Edited excerpts:Kshitij Anand: What exactly do you feel about the Budget?Sunil Sanghai: As you righ
