India, New Zealand seal FTA, open door to 1,667 skilled work visas yearly
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India and New Zealand have concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after nine months of intensive effort. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, and they jointly announced the successful conclusion of the deal.
The deal, alongside sweeping tariff cuts, opens a new pathway for Indian professionals to work in New Zealand under a capped skilled visa programme.
In a statement, the government said, "The FTA would significantly deepen bilateral economic engagement, enhance market access, promote investment flows, strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries, and also open up new opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, MSMEs, students and youth of both countries across various sectors."
During their conversation, both leaders expressed confidence in doubling bilateral trade over the next five years as well as an investment of $20 billion in India from New Zealand over the next 15 years.
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India's pharmaceutical industry is stepping into 2026, marking the beginning of a critical five-year period to build the required ecosystem to establish itself as an innovation hub in its bid to become a $500 billion sector by 2047, amid near-term challenges of tariff fluctuations and global trade realignments.
The predominantly generic medicines-driven domestic drug industry, which has grown from $3 billion to $60 billion in size over the past 25 years, is shifting towards innovation in next-generation drugs.
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Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday strongly criticised the Union government's VB-G RAM G act 2025 that replaced MGNREGA, claiming that changes in the new legislation weaken and undermine the previous act's core promise as a rights-based rural employment programme.
In a post on social media platform 'X', Priyank Kharge said the act would gradually make the scheme untenable by transforming it from a demand-driven legal entitlement into a supply-driven arrangement, thereby stripping citizens of their right to demand work.
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A Mumbai-bound Air India's Boeing 777 flight returned to Delhi on Monday after the right engine shut down mid-air, according to a report by The Times of India. Flight Al 887, which took off at 6.10 am, made an emergency landing at the Delhi airport around 6.52 am.
All the passengers were deboarded safely. A twin-engine aircraft can land safely on one engine.
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Indian Railways has rationalised its passenger fare structure with effect from December 26, 2025, keeping suburban travel and short-distance journeys insulated while introducing marginal increases for select long-distance categories.
Under the revised framework, there will be no increase in fares for suburban services and monthly season tickets. Ordinary class travel for distances of up to 215 kilometres will also remain unchanged.
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Foxconn has rapidly expanded its workforce at its new iPhone assembly facility near Bengaluru. In nine months, the company has hired close to 30,000 workers at its Devanahalli unit, making it the fastest hiring ramp-up seen at any manufacturing plant in India so far, according to a report by The Economic Times.
A key feature of the Devanahalli plant is its workforce composition. Around 80 per cent of the employees are women.
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