Daily News - Tuesday, 23 December 2025
India and New Zealand FTA Sealed: $20 Billion Investment Pledge, 100% Zero-Duty Access and 5,000 Professional Visas (The Hindu Businessline)
On December 22, 2025, India and New Zealand officially concluded negotiations for a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after just nine months of talks, marking India’s fastest-ever deal with a developed nation. Under the pact, New Zealand will provide zero-duty access on 100% of Indian goods (8,284 tariff lines), providing a massive boost to labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, and gems. In exchange, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95% of New Zealand's exports, with immediate duty-free status for sheep meat, wool, and wood products, while strategically excluding sensitive dairy items like milk and cheese to protect domestic farmers. The agreement introduces a $20 billion (₹1.67 lakh crore) investment commitment from New Zealand over 15 years and a groundbreaking services framework offering access to 118 sectors. For mobility, a new Temporary Employment Entry Visa quota has been set for 5,000 Indian professionals (including IT, healthcare, and AYUSH practitioners), alongside uncapped post-study work visas of 3–4 years for STEM graduates. However, the deal has faced internal friction in Wellington, with some coalition members criticizing the "asymmetric" nature of the market access as "neither free nor fair" due to India's refusal to open its core dairy market.
World Bank Clears $600 Million to Help Indian states Haryana and UP to Fight Against Smog (World Bank)
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved approximately $600 million (₹5,000 crore) in financing to launch India’s first large-scale, airshed-based clean air programs in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, targeting health improvements for 270 million people. The Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Program (UPCAMP), backed by $299.66 million (₹2,500 crore), will provide clean cooking access to 3.9 million households and deploy 15,000 electric three-wheelers and 500 e-buses across cities like Lucknow and Varanasi. Simultaneously, the $305 million (₹2,500 crore) Haryana Clean Air Project will be managed by a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle called ARJUN, focusing on installing 200 EV charging stations and deploying 500 electric buses in Gurugram, Faridabad, and Sonipat. A significant portion of the funding, including ₹746 crore ($90 million) in Haryana, is earmarked for sustainable agricultural waste management to curb stubble burning and incentivizing 13,500 heavy-duty vehicle replacements in Uttar Pradesh. These multi-sectoral operations aim to reduce transboundary pollution by shifting from isolated city-level fixes to a collaborative regional approach, involving departments of transport, agriculture, and industries. The financing carries strategic long-term maturity periods, 10 years for Uttar Pradesh and 23.5 years for Haryana designed to foster "green" job creation and enhance the business attractiveness of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
India’s rice stocks have surged to a record 57.57 million metric tons as of December 2025 (Moneycontrol)
India’s rice stocks have surged to a record 57.57 million metric tons as of December 1, 2025, driven by aggressive government procurement. Since October, state agencies have purchased 42.2 million tons of paddy, far above buffer requirements. This rise represents a 12% year-on-year increase, strengthening India’s position as the world’s largest rice exporter. The swelling reserves could allow India to expand shipments, intensifying competition with Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan. A depreciating rupee further boosts India’s export competitiveness, making its rice cheaper in global markets. Meanwhile, wheat stocks also climbed to 29.14 million tons, underscoring the government’s strong procurement strategy.
India’s eight core infrastructure sectors grew by 1.8% year-on-year in November 2025, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Business World)
The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), which makes up 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose 1.8% in November 2025, compared to 5.8% growth in November 2024. Cement output surged 14.5%, while steel expanded 6.1%, fertilizers grew 5.6%, and coal production increased 2.1%. In contrast, crude oil production fell 3.2%, natural gas dipped 2.5%, refinery products contracted 2.1%, and electricity output declined 1.4%. The cumulative growth rate for April–November 2025 stood at 2.4%, highlighting modest industrial momentum compared to last year. The rebound was led by strong performances in cement, steel, fertilizers, and coal, offsetting weakness in the energy-linked sectors. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry emphasized that despite November’s recovery, the overall pace remains subdued relative to the 5.8% growth recorded in November 2024, signaling uneven sectoral performance.
