Archive

1. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are duty-free enclaves treated as territory outside India’s customs area for authorised operations, including manufacturing, services, and warehousing through Free Trade Warehousing Zones in India.

2. India had 368 notified Special Economic Zones as on 28 February 2026, reflecting the scale of the country’s export-oriented enclave network across multiple sectors and states of India.

1. India’s installed power generation capacity reached 520.51 GW (Gigawatt) by January 2026, reflecting record annual additions and a broad expansion across conventional and renewable energy sources nationwide during FY26 (Financial Year 2025–26).

2. During 2025–26 up to 31 January 2026, India added a record 52,537 MW (Megawatt) capacity, including 39,657 MW renewable, surpassing the previous annual addition benchmark achieved in FY25 (Financial Year 2024–25).

1. The 56th GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council meeting on 3 September 2025 introduced a simplified tax structure, reducing rates across trade sectors to lower costs, improve compliance, and strengthen business competitiveness.

2. Leather materials prepared after tanning, composition leather, and chamois leather saw GST fall from 12% to 5%, while footwear priced up to ₹2500 per pair also moved lower.

1. The Income Tax Act, 2025 was posted on 3 September 2025 and is scheduled to become effective from 1 April 2026, replacing the earlier framework.

2. The new Act introduces the concept of Tax Year, replacing the earlier terms Assessment Year and Previous Year with a single twelve-month financial period concept.

1. India’s gig workforce is projected to expand from 1 crore workers in 2024–25 to 2.35 crore by 2029–30, reflecting rapid growth in app-based and platform-mediated employment.

2. The Code on Social Security, 2020 gave legal recognition to gig workers and platform workers, formally bringing them within the framework of social security and welfare provisions.

1. Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Inclusion Index reached 67.0 for the year ending March 2025, rising from 64.2 in March 2024 and showing broad improvement nationwide.

2. Since its launch in 2021, the Financial Inclusion Index has increased by 24.3 percent, reflecting stronger access, usage, service quality, and expanding financial literacy initiatives across India.

1. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) became the core of India’s fast payment ecosystem, transforming person-to-person and merchant transactions since 2016 through instant transfers, interoperability, low cost access, and widespread usability.

2. In June 2025, UPI processed 18.39 billion transactions worth ₹24.03 lakh crore, showing massive scale and reflecting about 32 percent annual growth over June 2024 levels.

1. India recorded real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.5 percent in 2024–25, maintaining its position as the fastest growing major economy despite global uncertainty, trade tensions, and weakening cross-border investment conditions.

2. The Reserve Bank expects India to sustain 6.5 percent real GDP growth in 2025–26, while other estimates project similar momentum, reflecting confidence in domestic demand and macroeconomic stability.

1. Budget 2026–27 proposes a tax holiday till 2047 for eligible foreign cloud service providers using India-based data centres for global operations, aiming to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure position.

2. The policy targets foreign companies providing global cloud services through Indian data centre infrastructure, while ensuring domestic transactions remain taxable through Indian reseller entities under specified conditions.

1. India secured preferential access to the United States market valued at about 30 trillion dollars, marking a major trade breakthrough across goods, technology cooperation, and multiple export-oriented sectors.

2. India’s exports to the United States stood at 86.35 billion dollars in 2024, and the agreement significantly improves competitive access across major manufacturing, agriculture, services, and technology sectors.