Daily News - Wednesday, 2 July 2025

India-US eye $500B bilateral trade by 2030: PM Modi after meeting President Trump (mint)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump announced plans to double India-US bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, building on the record $129.2 billion achieved in 2024, while also working toward a mutually beneficial trade agreement. Key areas of collaboration include artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and the development of resilient supply chains for strategic minerals, though tensions remain over tariff disparities, with Trump emphasising the enforcement of “reciprocal tariffs” to address what he called India’s high trade barriers. Despite these frictions, both leaders signalled a strong political will to deepen economic ties, with India already reducing some tariffs on US goods and further negotiations expected within the year.

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PM Modi on 10 years of Digital India: ‘It has become a people’s movement’ (The Indian Express)

⁠Marking ten years of the Digital India initiative, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the programme’s transformation from a governance tool into a people-driven movement, citing a jump in internet connections from 25 crore in 2014 to over 97 crore today and the laying of 42 lakh km of optical fibre. India now handles over 100 billion UPI transactions annually, conducts half of the world’s real-time digital payments, and has saved ₹3.48 lakh crore through Direct Benefit Transfers, while platforms like ONDC and GeM have empowered small sellers and women-led MSMEs across the country. With one of the world’s fastest 5G rollouts and the India AI Mission offering GPU access at less than $1 per hour, India is positioning itself as the most affordable and inclusive digital and compute economy globally.

Odisha leads in Q1 private capex (The Economic Times)

⁠New private sector project announcements fell to a four-quarter low of 324 in Q1 FY26, despite total investments rising sharply to ₹3.5 lakh crore from ₹1.4 lakh crore a year earlier, driven largely by big-ticket proposals in metals, electricity, and transport sectors. Odisha alone accounted for ₹1.4 lakh crore of the total, leading five states that together attracted nearly 86% of new investments, even as broader capex momentum remained subdued due to tariff uncertainties, muted demand, and geopolitical factors. Private capex is expected to decline to ₹4.9 lakh crore this fiscal from ₹6.6 lakh crore in FY25, though experts anticipate a rebound in the second half as festive-driven consumption picks up and external trade clarity improves.

Factory activity at 14-month high (The Economic Times)

India’s manufacturing PMI rose to a 14-month high of 58.4 in June, up from 57.6 in May, driven by strong growth in output and the sharpest increase in new orders in nearly a year, particularly from global markets like the US. The sector averaged a robust 58.1 PMI in the first quarter of FY25, with intermediate goods leading the surge in production, though consumer and capital goods saw a relative slowdown. Rising exports, job creation, and efficient inventory management reflect buoyant demand, but firms remain cautious amid inflationary pressures, competition, and evolving consumer preferences.