Latest News: Indian share markets will be open for trading on Sunday, February 01, as the Union Budget is being presented on that day * Key Highlights of Economic Survey 2025–26: GDP & GVA Growth Estimates for FY 2026: First advance estimates at 7.4% and 7.3% respectively * India’s Core Growth Projection: Around 7%, with real GDP growth for FY 2027 expected between 6.8% and 7.2% * Central Government Revenue: Rose to 11.6% of GDP in FY 2025 * Non-Performing Assets: Declined to a multi-decade low of 2.2% * PMJDY Accounts: Over 552 million bank accounts opened by March 2025; 366 million in rural and semi-urban areas * Investor Base: Surpassed 120 million by September 2025, with women comprising ~25% * Global Trade Share: India’s export share doubled from 1% in 2005 to 1.8% in 2024 * Services Export: Reached an all-time high of $387.6 billion in FY 2025, up 13.6% * Global Deposits: India became the largest recipient in FY 2025 with $135.4 billion * Foreign Exchange Reserves: Hit $701.4 billion on January 16, 2026—covering 11 months of imports and 94% of external debt * Inflation: Averaged 1.7% from April to December 2025 * Foodgrain Production: Reached 357.73 million metric tons in 2024–25, up 25.43 MMT from the previous year * PM-Kisan Scheme: Over ₹4.09 lakh crore disbursed to eligible farmers since inception * Rural Employment Alignment: “Viksit Bharat – Jee Ram Ji” initiative launched to replace MGNREGA in the vision for a developed India by 2047 * Manufacturing Growth: 7.72% in Q1 and 9.13% in Q2 of FY 2026 * PLI Scheme Impact: ₹2 lakh crore in actual investment across 14 sectors; production and sales exceeded ₹18.7 lakh crore; over 1.26 million jobs created by September 2025 * Semiconductor Mission: Domestic capacity boosted with ₹1.6 lakh crore invested across 10 projects * Railway High-Speed Corridor: Expanded from 550 km in FY 2014 to 5,364 km; 3,500 km added in FY 2026 * Civil Aviation: India became the third-largest domestic air travel market; airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 164 in 2025 * DISCOMs Turnaround: Recorded first-ever positive PAT of ₹20,701 crore in FY 2025 * Renewable Energy: India ranked third globally in total renewable and installed solar capacity * Satellite Docking: India became the fourth country to achieve autonomous satellite docking capability * School Enrollment Ratios: Primary – 90.9%, Upper Primary – 90.3%, Secondary – 78.7% * Higher Education Expansion: India now has 23 IITs, 21 IIMs, and 20 AIIMS; international IIT campuses established in Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi * Maternal & Infant Mortality: Declined since 1990, now below global average * E-Shram Portal: Over 310 million unorganised workers registered by January 2026; 54% are women * National Career Service Portal: Job vacancies exceeded 28 million in FY 2025 and crossed 23 million by September 2026

 Agriculture & Environment

Even as the monsoon has made its footfalls felt across the country, there seems to be little respite from the searing heat – aided by steep rises in humidity levels -- in many pockets. The heat waves lashing India this summer are symptomatic of the anomalous temperature trends that are expected to worsen with growing climate change impacts.

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Restoring coastal vegetation – so-called ‘blue carbon’ habitats – may not be the nature-based climate solution it is claimed to be, according to a new study.

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The summer of 2022, one of the hottest in history, has witnessed widespread ozone exceedance, making the air of Delhi-NCR more toxic, says the latest analysis released here by the Centre for Science and Environment.

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Of the over 1,700 people who lost their lives to extreme weather events in India in the year 2021, 350 were from Maharashtra. Odisha followed with 223 casualties; and in Madhya Pradesh, 191 lives were lost.

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The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector of Indian industry accounts for close to 30 per cent of the country’s GDP. Despite such a substantial role played by the sector in India’s economy, its contribution to deteriorating air quality in cities and regions has rarely been assessed, analysed or highlighted.

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Biodiversity conservation is an absolute imperative today, but is India serious about it? Notwithstanding the alacrity that the country has shown in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, India’s record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been quite dismal – finds an investigative analysis done by Down To Earth magazine.

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