Import tariffs are not an economic consideration for the government of India anyway, with data from Budget 2025-26 showing that customs duty isn’t a key revenue source.
While tax has proved Nirmala Sitharaman’s strong suit, there have been policy negatives as well, including under-performance on privatisation and failure to fix banking mess.
Swadeshi has found a new wind in Indian politics as a form of popular resistance to China. But raising barriers to Chinese imports only affects those lower down the income pyramid.
Share of Indian export to Asian countries has dropped in the past decade despite forging major free trade alliances but it has gone up in traditional markets like US and Europe.
To boost exports, India must accept its challenge is internal, even though it keeps raising fingers at unfavourable external factors like trade protectionism.
Regulator seeks feedback on allowing firms to repurchase shares via exchanges after tax changes, as markets reel from war-led selloff and foreign outflows.
China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.
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