Daily News - Monday, 8 September 2025

India, Israel likely to sign bilateral investment treaty next week (The Hindu)

During Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s upcoming visit to India from September 8–10, both countries are expected to sign a concluded draft bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that will provide robust protection to investors, ensure non-discrimination, set arbitration-based dispute resolutions, and pave the way for greater comfort and confidence among investors, while also laying the groundwork for a free trade agreement (FTA) aimed at deepening economic and financial ties between India and Israel, which currently engage in nearly $4 billion of annual bilateral trade and have seen cumulative investments of hundreds of millions of dollars over the past two decades. The BIT reflects both nations’ shared commitment to enhancing strategic cooperation, boosting investments, and creating a resilient investment climate by drawing on international precedents and practices, while also opening avenues for co-financing Multilateral Development Bank-backed projects and joint initiatives, especially in third countries across the global south. This visit, marking the fourth by an Israeli minister to India this year, builds on longstanding partnerships and promises to further strengthen trade, investment flows, and collaborative development efforts between two active global economies aligned through platforms such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

GST reforms will boost consumption, economy: Finance Minister Sitharaman (The Hindu)

⁠Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed confidence that the estimated ₹48,000-crore GST revenue shortfall caused by tax cuts on nearly 400 products—ranging from essentials like bread and milk to goods like EVs and air conditioners—will be offset by a surge in consumption and income buoyancy, allowing the government to stick to its fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP for FY26 without impacting public finances, while also potentially boosting GDP growth beyond the projected 6.3-6.8% due to the consumption-driven demand. The revamped GST structure, which introduces a two-tier tax system of 5% and 18%, exempts essentials and reduces rates for many goods and services, with the reform being hailed as a “people’s reform” that touches every household, especially benefiting lower-income families by making daily goods more affordable and improving economic activity across sectors such as farming, trade, hotels, and real estate. With India’s first-quarter GDP growth already at a robust 7.8%, driven by agriculture and services, and maintaining its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy compared to China’s slower pace of 5.2%, the consumption boost from the GST overhaul and the better-than-expected economic performance makes an upward revision of the growth forecast highly likely for the fiscal year.

India raises issues of trade imbalance, export controls at SCO meet (Financial Express)

⁠At the 24th SCO economic ministers’ meeting in Vladivostok, India raised serious concerns over export controls being weaponized to create scarcity or disrupt markets, stressed that trade imbalances—particularly with China, where the deficit hit $100 billion—must be addressed through market access, standardization, and trade facilitation, and urged that export measures be transparent and calibrated to build trust in global commerce while calling for greater cooperation to resolve pending issues such as rare earth mineral exports and non-tariff barriers. Against the backdrop of rising global protectionism, India emphasized the need for reforms at the WTO to ensure a fair, open, and development-centred multilateral trading system, advocating for permanent solutions on food security stockholding, differential treatment for developing nations, and a functional dispute resolution mechanism, while also highlighting services trade, movement of skilled professionals, and MSME participation as key growth drivers. India further proposed SCO-led cooperation in the digital economy with frameworks based on fairness, transparency, and capacity-building, showcasing its Digital Public Infrastructure solutions—such as UPI, India Stack, and ONDC—as scalable models for real-time payments, identity management, and cost-efficient commerce that can boost global inclusion and market access, especially for small enterprises.