Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: It was a week defined by trade. India moved to the brink of two landmark agreements at once — finalising the customs rules that will bring the India–UK free-trade pact to life on July 15, while negotiators in Washington described an interim India–US deal as “very, very close” ahead of a July 24 tariff deadline. Together they sketch a country steadily widening its access to the world’s richest markets on its own terms.
The macro backdrop stayed strong. India held its place as the fastest-growing major economy with 7.8% first-quarter growth, even as the Reserve Bank kept a deliberately cautious 6.6% full-year forecast. Markets reflected the confidence: the Sensex held above 77,500 and the Nifty near 24,176, powered by the best single day for IT stocks in 14 months.
Beneath the headlines, the development story kept building — a record $170 billion energy-investment year, the Tata–ASML semiconductor tie-up anchoring an $11 billion fab, and India’s Kalpakkam fast breeder reactor reaching criticality. The one cloud was the monsoon, running about 38% below normal, a challenge the country is better cushioned to weather than ever before.
Numbers of the Week
| Metric / Value | Description |
|---|---|
| 7.8% | Q1 GDP growth — still the fastest-growing major economy |
| 77,502 | Sensex close; Nifty near 24,176, led by IT |
| 99% | of Indian exports go duty-free to the UK from July 15 |
| $500bn | India–US “Mission 500” trade goal by 2030 |
| $170bn | record energy investment flowing into India this year |
| 38% | below-normal monsoon rainfall so far this season |
