Newspaper Summary - 281125

 The sources detail several significant Market and Financial Trends in November 2025, set against a backdrop of steady economic growth, key regulatory interventions, and shifting investment dynamics.

I. Stock Market Performance and Market Concentration Trends

A defining financial trend in November 2025 is the benchmark indices reaching fresh intraday records but failing to sustain them, suggesting profit-booking in large-caps. On Thursday (November 27, 2025), the Nifty 50 scaled an all-time high of 26,310.45, and the Sensex hit a peak of 86,055.86 during intraday trading, though both benchmarks closed marginally lower or flat. Market experts believe that large-caps will continue to drive the headline indices.

Despite the large-cap focus, there is a structural broadening of the market:

• Declining Concentration: Market concentration gauges, such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), have been falling sharply from their pandemic highs, signifying a dispersal of trading activity and institutional capital.
• Broadening Liquidity: The market-cap-based HHI for the National Stock Exchange (NSE) eased to 80 by October 2025, the lowest since March 2018. Equity cash-turnover HHI fell to 43.6 in October, down from 51.8 a year earlier.
• Small and Mid-Caps: Concentration in the mid-, small-, and micro-cap segments sits near multi-year lows (77, 47, and 47, respectively, for HHI). While large-caps dominate the current rally, history suggests mid- and small-caps usually pick up steam after large-caps push benchmark indices to new highs.
• Investor Behavior: This dispersion reflects the rising influence of sustained domestic demand. Domestic participation is robust, supported by record SIP inflows in October 2025 and a demat base exceeding 210 million accounts. Institutional portfolios (banks/insurers) show the sharpest dispersion, with their HHI falling to a near 20-year low of 203 in the September quarter.

II. Financial Market Regulation and Capital Raising

Regulatory bodies, particularly the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), are heavily focused on market integrity and expansion:

A. Scrutiny on Derivatives and Financial Advisers

• Commodity Derivatives (CDS): Following two studies revealing steep losses for individual traders in equity derivatives (EDS), Sebi is now scrutinizing the CDS segment. The regulator has requested top brokers to submit profit and loss (P&L) statements for clients trading in commodity derivatives (gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas futures and options) for the past three and a half years. Retail losses in equity derivatives swelled by 41% year-on-year to an aggregate ₹1.06 trillion between December 2024 and May 2025.
• Investment Adviser Compliance: Sebi cancelled the registration of 68 investment advisers in November 2025 for non-compliance, citing failure to renew registration every five years despite repeated reminders.
• Accredited Investors (AIs): Sebi has introduced amendments allowing Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to launch funds or schemes where all investors must be accredited. This move aims to expand India’s base of sophisticated investors, which currently stands below 1,000.

B. Capital Markets and Fundraising

The IPO market remains buoyant, with firms raising nearly $19.5 billion this year, following a record $21 billion in 2024.

• IPO Activity: Several companies are tapping the public market, including Meesho (seeking a valuation of about ₹53,000 crore or $6 billion) and home-furnishings brand Wakefit Innovations. Wakefit is raising ₹210-220 crore in a pre-IPO placement before its planned listing next month.
• Venture Capital and Debt: Incubate Fund Asia plans to launch its fourth India-focused seed fund with an initial corpus of $60 million, beginning next month. VentureSoul Partners closed its first debt fund at ₹300 crore and plans to raise an additional ₹300 crore by February 2026.
• Renewables Investment: Major investments are planned in the clean energy sector. Serentica Renewables plans to raise between $6 billion and $8 billion over five years to fund an expansion to 17 GW by 2029-30. Avaada Group is aiming to invest ₹1 trillion (approximately $12 billion) over five years in power generation and associated businesses.

III. Key Business, Economy & Regulatory Events (Nov 2025 Context)

The financial trends are supported by a largely positive domestic economic outlook, tempered by external factors and ongoing regulatory actions.

A. Economy and Macro Trends

• Growth and Inflation: The Indian economy is expected to maintain strong growth through FY26. Independent assessments peg real GDP growth in the July-September quarter (Q2 FY26) at 7–7.5%. Inflation fell to a record low of 0.25% in October, influenced by GST rationalization and corrections in food prices.
• Currency Weakness: The Rupee experienced a sharp depreciation since July, hitting ₹89.30 per dollar (as of November 27, 2025), primarily due to tariff-related jitters and foreign fund outflows. The IMF reclassified India's foreign exchange regime to ‘crawl-like’.
• Global Positioning: India slipped to third place in Mint’s Emerging Market Tracker in October (behind Indonesia and China) due to a sharp export contraction (shipments down 11.8% year-on-year) and muted market performance.
• Corporate Strategy (M&A): Indian tech platforms are increasingly using mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as a route to achieve better margins, scale, and a stronger financial profile ahead of potential IPOs. This trend is driven by high customer acquisition costs (CAC) and post-2021 valuation corrections making assets more affordable.

B. Regulatory and Policy Environment

Several key regulatory shifts are shaping the business landscape in November 2025:

• I-T Foreign Asset Nudge: The Income Tax (I-T) department launched a "Nudge" campaign on Friday, November 28, 2025, to target roughly 25,000 high-risk taxpayers regarding undisclosed foreign income and assets.
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Reform: A revised bill amending the IBC is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha in December. The changes aim to introduce a cross-border insolvency regime, allow partial asset sales, and facilitate early debt settlement for bankrupt businesses.
• Antitrust Penalties (Apple Challenge): Global companies face heightened risks following a 2023 amendment to India's antitrust law allowing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate penalties based on a violator's global turnover (up to 10% of the average over three years). Apple is challenging this amendment, fearing a potential $38 billion fine. This move is intended to deter rule-breaking by global megacorps, as small fines proved ineffective.
• Labor Codes: New labor codes, notified on November 21, are set to bring uniformity and clarity to salary structures, expected to increase statutory benefits such as gratuity and leave encashment for employees.

Taken together, the market is showing resilience driven by domestic activity and policy support, reaching technical highs. Simultaneously, financial and corporate sectors are adapting to intensified regulatory focus, particularly concerning derivatives risk and antitrust enforcement against global giants, while capital continues to flow into buoyant IPOs and large-scale infrastructure investments.

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Analogy: The financial markets in November 2025 resemble a large ship sailing through slightly choppy waters. While the main engine (domestic economy and large-cap stocks) is running strong and pushing the ship to new speeds (record highs), the momentum is spreading from the powerful central engine to the rest of the hull (market broadening). Meanwhile, the crew (regulators) are rigorously checking all the lifeboats and controls (derivatives and governance) to ensure safety and compliance for everyone on board, especially as external conditions (rupee, global rankings) remain somewhat turbulent..

The sources indicate that in November 2025, Regulatory Enforcement and Policy were highly active across multiple sectors, characterized by market integrity initiatives, tax compliance drives, legislative reforms, and high-stakes international antitrust disputes.

I. Financial and Securities Regulation (Sebi & RBI)

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) intensified its focus on market integrity and investor protection, particularly concerning high-risk instruments and financial professionals:

A. Derivatives Scrutiny

Following studies that revealed steep losses for individual traders in equity derivatives (EDS), Sebi is now scrutinizing the commodity derivatives segment (CDS).

• Request for Data: Sebi has requested top brokers in the CDS segment to submit profit and loss (P&L) statements for clients trading in commodity derivatives (gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas futures and options) for the past three and a half years.
• Context of Losses: The push comes after studies showed that individual losses in equity derivatives swelled by ₹1.06 trillion between December 2024 and May 2025 (a 41% year-on-year increase). Individual investors lost an aggregate ₹1.8 trillion trading in equity derivatives, particularly weekly index options, between FY22 and FY24.
• Market Impact: The commodities market is considerably smaller than the equity market, with unique client codes in CDS (1.3 million) being only about 1% of those in equities (over 120 million). Some market participants fear that similar strictures applied to CDS as those implemented for EDS could "kill the market" which is still developing.

B. Investor Protection and Accreditation

• Investment Adviser Compliance Sweep: Sebi cancelled the registrations of 68 investment advisers in one of its largest compliance sweeps in recent years. The cancellations were effective immediately after the advisers failed to comply with mandatory norms, specifically neglecting to pay renewal fees required to maintain their license every five years, despite repeated reminders. This action is part of a broader compliance clean-up aimed at maintaining an accurate, credible, and investor-friendly register and preventing the misuse of inactive credentials by fraudsters.
• Accredited Investor (AI) Push: Sebi notified amendments allowing Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to launch funds or schemes where all investors must be accredited. These funds will also be exempt from the 1,000-investor cap that usually applies to AIFs. This policy aims to expand India’s base of sophisticated investors, which currently stands "below 1,000" despite the removal of the investment threshold for AIs allowing diversification through smaller amounts.
• Payment Aggregator Approval (RBI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) on November 26, 2025, to operate as a Payment Aggregator. The RBI also removed restrictions on PPSL onboarding new merchants, which had been imposed in November 2022 due to non-compliance with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules.

C. Corporate Governance Scrutiny (LIC Voting)

A review of the Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) voting decisions highlights a major concern regarding inconsistent corporate governance standards.

• Inconsistent Voting: LIC, the largest public shareholder in over 300 companies, consistently approved or never opposed resolutions proposed by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) or any Adani Group company since April 2022. However, it rejected or abstained from voting on similar proposals at other large companies for reasons like "excessive time commitments," "no cap on remuneration," or "governance concern".
• Breach of Policy: In one instance, LIC voted in favor of adopting the financial statements of Adani Enterprises for FY25, calling them "unqualified," despite the auditors issuing a qualified opinion, thereby breaching its own voting policy guideline which states that resolutions qualified by auditors "shall not be supported". This inconsistency raises questions about how LIC, managing ₹57.23 trillion in assets, upholds its fiduciary duty and sets benchmarks for corporate governance.

II. Government Policy and Legislative Reform

The government pursued major legislative and compliance reforms across economic and regulatory domains:

A. Tax Enforcement and Compliance Nudge

The Income Tax (I-T) department launched a "Nudge" campaign on Friday, November 28, 2025, targeting approximately 25,000 high-risk taxpayers.

• Purpose: The campaign is designed to urge these taxpayers to voluntarily declare their undisclosed foreign income and assets that the tax authority has identified.
• Legal Stakes: Under the Black Money Act of 2015, non-disclosure of foreign assets can lead to a penalty of ₹10 lakh, in addition to a 30% tax and a 300% penalty on the tax payable. Taxpayers have until the end of December to revise their returns and avoid these penalties.
• Success of Previous Drive: A similar campaign launched in November 2024 resulted in 24,678 taxpayers disclosing foreign assets amounting to ₹29,208 crore.

B. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Reform

The IBC is undergoing its biggest reform yet.

• Timeline: A revised amendment bill is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha in the second or third week of December, following review by a select committee.
• Key Changes: The amendments propose introducing a cross-border insolvency regime, allowing the partial sale of assets of bankrupt businesses, facilitating out-of-court debt resolution for regulated financial creditors, and expediting the overall debt settlement process. The bill also seeks to allow tribunals to first approve a company’s debt resolution plan, tackling disagreements over asset distribution later to prevent delays in corporate turnaround.

C. New Labor Codes Implementation

The four new labor codes, notified on November 21, aim to bring greater uniformity and clarity to salary structures.

• Employee Impact: While statutory benefits such as gratuity and leave encashment are expected to increase, some experts believe the new definition of wages might unintentionally decrease maternity benefit payouts for some employees, although others argue the law intends to preserve existing protections.
• Gig Economy: The new Code on Social Security, 2020 requires platforms to contribute 1–2% of annual turnover, capped at 5% of payouts to gig workers, to a dedicated welfare fund. Food aggregator Swiggy welcomes the new rules for providing clarity and structure, and does not anticipate a material impact on its financial performance.

III. Major Antitrust and Telecom Regulatory Battles

A. Apple's Challenge to Antitrust Penalties

A critical event is Apple’s legal challenge in the Delhi High Court against a 2023 amendment to India’s antitrust law.

• The Policy Change: The amendment allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate penalties based on a violator’s global turnover (up to 10% of the average over three years), moving beyond the earlier method based primarily on "relevant turnover" in India. This change was made because tiny fines proved "too weak to deter rule-breaking by global megacorps," and the new framework is considered a "practical way to give the law enough teeth".
• Apple's Position: Apple argues that basing fines on worldwide revenue is "arbitrary" and "grossly disproportionate," especially when alleged misconduct relates only to a small part of its global business.
• Stakes: The case exposes Apple to a potential fine of $38 billion if found guilty in an ongoing investigation into its App Store practices. The outcome of this challenge will determine whether India’s newly strengthened antitrust penalty framework can withstand Constitutional scrutiny and set a precedent for all multinational firms operating in the country.

B. Telecom Regulatory Conflicts

• DPDP Rules Resistance: Major telecom operators opposed the newly notified Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules 2025, arguing that critical issues remain unresolved. These include difficulties in obtaining verifiable parental consent for minors (especially for SIM acquisition) and the problem of duplicative data breach reporting requirements across multiple regulatory frameworks (IT Act, CERT-In, DoT guidelines, and now DPDP).
• Financial Reporting Penalties (Trai): Telcos also opposed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) proposal to levy a turnover-linked penalty of up to 1% for filing incorrect or incomplete financial reports. Operators argued this penalty is "disproportionate" and "very stringent," especially for inadvertent errors. They contend that imposing such stringent financial disincentives goes against the government’s stated goals of promoting ease of doing business and de-criminalizing minor procedural errors.

The sources reveal a dynamic corporate sector in November 2025, characterized by robust capital raising, major strategic M&A and investment activity focused on technology, manufacturing, and energy transition, all occurring within a landscape of intensified regulatory scrutiny and specific governance concerns.

I. Corporate Strategy: IPOs, Debt, and Capital Raising

The period shows significant activity in capital markets, driven by both equity and debt fundraising:

A. IPO Market Buoyancy and Private Placements

India's IPO market remains exceptionally active, following a record year in 2024, with firms already having raised nearly $19.5 billion this year.

• Meesho IPO: Indian e-commerce platform Meesho Ltd plans to launch its IPO in the first half of December, seeking a valuation of about ₹53,000 crore ($6 billion). The offering will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹4,250 crore and an offer for sale of 175.7 million shares by existing investors. Meesho is also in talks with SBI Funds Management Ltd. for a pre-IPO placement.
• Wakefit Innovations IPO: Home-furnishings brand Wakefit Innovations is planning a listing next month. Ahead of this, a clutch of investors including 360 One, Steadview Capital, WhiteOak Capital, and Info Edge are investing approximately ₹210-220 crore in a pre-IPO placement. The company targets raising ₹468.2 crore in primary money (fresh issue of shares) to more than double its store count. This pre-IPO activity highlights the trend of big investors securing shares at desirable valuations before public subscriptions open.
• Other Listings: Other marquee listings this year include JSW Cement Ltd, Tata Capital Ltd, Ather Energy Ltd, and LG Electronics India Ltd. Companies like ICICI Prudential AMC are targeting a $20 billion valuation for their upcoming IPO.

B. Debt and Venture Capital Fundraising

The debt and venture capital markets also demonstrated strength:

• Venture Debt Fund Close: VentureSoul Partners closed its maiden debt fund at ₹300 crore and plans to raise an additional ₹300 crore through a green shoe option by February 2026. The fund is sector-agnostic but focuses on fintech, business-to-customer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.
• Seed Fund Launch: Incubate Fund Asia plans to launch its fourth India-focused seed fund next month with an initial corpus of $60 million. The firm is also evaluating a second vehicle with Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, targeting a corpus of around $200 million.
• Infrastructure Debt: Digital infrastructure provider CloudExtel raised ₹200 crore in debt from a private sector bank to accelerate the development of AI-ready digital infrastructure and expand its metro fibre network.
• Corporate Debt Reduction: Vodafone Idea Telecom Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Vodafone Idea, cut the size of its planned bond sale from ₹5,000 crore to around ₹3,200 crore, due to expectations of securing cheaper funding from lenders.

II. Strategic Deals, M&A, and Manufacturing Focus

Corporate activity indicates a significant shift toward inorganic growth, green energy, and domestic manufacturing, often supported by large investment commitments.

A. Tech Sector Consolidation via M&A

India’s new-age tech platforms are increasingly using the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) route to achieve better margins, scale, and a stronger financial profile ahead of potential IPOs.

• EdTech Deal: UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd is exploring a deal to acquire test-prep platform Unacademy.
• M&A Drivers: This trend is driven by high customer acquisition costs (CAC), weak performance marketing, and slowing digital penetration, making inorganic growth more appealing than building from scratch. Post-2021 valuation corrections have also made assets more affordable. In 2025 so far, the tech sector logged 95 domestic deals, including 26 inbound and 44 outbound transactions.

B. Energy Transition and Infrastructure Investment

Massive investment plans were announced for the renewables and data center sectors:

• Renewables Investment: Avaada Group is aiming to invest ₹1 trillion (approximately $12 billion) over five years across power generation and associated businesses, aiming to expand its solar capacity to 30GWp. Serentica Renewables plans to raise between $6 billion and $8 billion over five years to fund an expansion to 17 GW by 2029-30.
• Data Centers: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) outlined a multi-year $6-7 billion investment plan to build AI-focused data centers and recently bagged a $1 billion investment from private equity firm TPG Terabyte Bidco Pte Ltd for scaling its data center platform Hyper-Vault. RIL and L&T are also investing $13.5 billion on building data centers in Visakhapatnam.

C. Focus on Manufacturing and Supply Chains

There is a concerted government and private push towards strengthening India's manufacturing capabilities, particularly in high-tech and strategic areas:

• Family Office Investment: Billionaire N. R. Narayan Murthy’s family office, Catamaran Ventures, plans to make more growth-stage equity bets in precision manufacturing. Catamaran focuses on aerospace, EV OEMs, medical devices, and semiconductors, noting that supply chain manufacturing requires patient capital due to long gestation periods (10–15 years).
• Shipbuilding Initiative: The Shipping Corp. of India (SCI) and public sector oil refiners (Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd) are in talks with three large South Korean shipyards (HD Hyundai, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean) to set up a shipbuilding facility in India, potentially in Andhra Pradesh. The refiners plan to be equity partners and dedicated buyers, providing assured demand for the new yard. This initiative is driven by the aim of achieving self-sufficiency and energy security, as Indian refiners currently spend billions annually chartering foreign vessels.
• Electronics Manufacturing: Kaynes Technology India Ltd, which is aiming for $1 billion in revenue ahead of its initial FY28 target, is executing significant capital expenditure projects including an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility and a printed circuit board (PCB) plant. About 40% (₹3,500 crore) of its planned ₹8,500 crore capex is expected to come from government subsidies.
• EV Market Competition: Mahindra and Mahindra launched a new seven-seater electric SUV, the XEV 9s, seeking to reinforce its lead in revenue market share against competitors like Tata Motors.

III. Corporate Governance and Legal Challenges

The corporate sector faces simultaneous challenges concerning internal governance and external regulatory actions:

A. Governance Concerns at LIC

A review of the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) voting decisions revealed inconsistent corporate governance standards. LIC, the largest public shareholder in over 300 companies, consistently approved or never opposed resolutions put forth by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) or any Adani Group company since April 2022.

• Contrasting Votes: LIC voted in favor of Mukesh Ambani’s reappointment at RIL but abstained from voting on Venu Srinivasan’s re-appointment at TVS Motor, citing concerns over separation of Chairperson and MD/CEO roles.
• Policy Breach: In a critical instance, LIC voted in favor of adopting the financial statements of Adani Enterprises for FY25, calling them “unqualified,” despite the auditors issuing a qualified opinion, thereby breaching its own voting policy guideline.

B. Legal and Regulatory Disputes

• Antitrust Challenge (Apple): Apple has legally challenged a 2023 amendment to India's antitrust law that allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate penalties based on a violator's global turnover, potentially leading to a $38 billion fine. The amendment was instituted because previous tiny fines proved too weak to deter rule-breaking by global megacorps.
• TCS Lawsuits: TCS is facing legal troubles, including a long-standing trade secrets dispute with US-based CSC (now DXC Technology) where a US appeals court upheld a $194.2 million damages judgment against TCS. It also faces a fresh lawsuit over patented technology use.

Overall, the corporate sector is experiencing aggressive growth and strategic realignment, particularly toward deep technology, green energy, and domestic manufacturing, underpinned by strong investor confidence. However, this growth is concurrent with intense regulatory scrutiny on market practices, financial reporting, and corporate governance compliance, posing significant legal and reputational risks to key players.

The sources indicate that Global Trade and Geopolitics in November 2025 are dominated by heightened tensions related to shifts in U.S. foreign policy, India’s efforts to manage trade vulnerability, and strategic regulatory actions targeting multinational corporations.

I. Geopolitical Instability and U.S. Policy Shifts

Geopolitical uncertainty, primarily attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s "quixotic policies and flip-flops," is influencing global dynamics.

A. Undermining U.S. Alliances

U.S. adversaries, specifically Russia and China, are exploiting President Trump’s eagerness to strike deals to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its allies and undermine the Washington-led security order.

• Russia and Ukraine: Russia is seeking to exploit Trump’s desire to halt the war by shaping a peace plan that meets many of its strategic objectives, potentially resulting in Russia winning chunks of Ukrainian territory and blocking Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations. European governments are concerned that the Trump administration sees its interests diverging from the NATO alliance, underscored by a peace plan that appeared to reflect Russian objectives and would reward aggression.
• China and Taiwan: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is attempting to steer Trump toward abandoning Taiwan in exchange for an expansive U.S.-China trade accord. Trump reportedly advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke Beijing over Taiwan, though this was denied by Takaichi’s office.
• Impact: Moscow and Beijing see an opportunity to advance long-held goals, leading to the fraying of U.S. alliances and a sense that adversaries have "figured him out".

B. India’s Trade Vulnerability to U.S. Policy

India faces significant exposure to U.S. policy turmoil, especially regarding its thriving services sector.

• Service Exports Risk: The vulnerability of India’s service exports is high, as the U.S. accounts for well over half of these exports. Proposed U.S. legislative actions, such as the Halting International Relocation of Employment Act (HIRE) that seeks to impose a 25% outsourcing tax, and increased H-1B visa fees threaten this sector.
• Strategy: India’s trade policy priority must be to diversify away from the U.S., particularly in service exports, as quickly as possible for true resilience against policy instability. Meanwhile, India must negotiate hard with the U.S. for a fair trade deal.
• Goods Export Management: India’s goods export exposure to the U.S. is considered "limited and manageable," as about 80% of merchandise exports go to other countries. While exports like drugs and pharmaceuticals have high U.S. exposure (nearly a third), the U.S. tariffs are imposed mainly on patented products, not the generics that account for the bulk of India's sales.

II. International Trade Agreements and Market Access

India is actively pursuing bilateral and multilateral agreements to minimize non-tariff barriers and boost exports:

• Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs): India is working with the U.S., European Union, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, and the Asean bloc to mutually accept inspection, testing, and quality certification systems for farm produce. These MRAs aim to reduce the frequency of clearance delays and rejections of Indian agricultural consignments over sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks. The products covered—including basmati rice, spices, tea, coffee, marine products, and fruits/vegetables—account for 45–50% of the agricultural export basket. Exporters currently report frequent hold-ups and refusals due to destination markets not recognizing Indian testing systems.
• India-UAE CEPA Review: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met on Thursday (November 27) to review the working of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aiming to resolve operational frictions. Discussion points included gold import quotas, data-sharing, rules of origin certification, and technical clearances for products. Higher access to the UAE market is considered critical not only for boosting direct exports but also for leveraging the UAE’s role as a re-export hub for Africa and West Asia. Bilateral trade rose by one-fifth to $100.06 billion in FY25.
• Canada Uranium Deal: India and Canada are reportedly close to finalizing a 10-year uranium export deal worth $2.8 billion with Cameco Corp..

III. Geopolitics and Strategic Supply Chain Development

Geopolitical risks are driving India to pursue large-scale domestic manufacturing and strategic partnerships, focusing on self-reliance (Atmanirbharta).

• Defense Cooperation (Indonesia): India and Indonesia reiterated the necessity of maintaining a free, open, and peaceful Indo-Pacific. They agreed to establish a joint defense industry cooperation committee to promote bilateral collaboration, including the transfer of military technologies and supply chain linkages.
• Energy Security and Shipbuilding: State-run oil refiners and the Shipping Corp. of India (SCI) are in talks with major South Korean shipyards (HD Hyundai, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean) to set up a shipbuilding facility in India, possibly in Andhra Pradesh. This move is motivated by the need for energy security and reducing the billions of dollars spent annually chartering foreign vessels. An indigenous fleet would provide support during times of turmoil and ensure bans or sanctions on foreign vessels do not majorly impact supplies.
• Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: U.S. reliance on China for raw materials (KSMs and APIs) used in crucial medicines is a major geopolitical risk, as China could potentially weaponize this dominance. The ultimate goal for the U.S. is to create a supply chain involving India and other allies that is independent of China for specific priority medicines. India, already the world’s top supplier of generic medicines, is challenged by its own reliance on China for KSMs.
• Rare Earths and Manufacturing: The Union cabinet approved a scheme with a ₹7,280 crore outlay to promote the domestic manufacturing of rare earth magnets, signaling a push for self-reliance in this strategic area.

IV. Global Economic Context and Regulatory Conflicts

A. Economic Performance and Currency

Despite strong expected GDP growth domestically (7–7.5% in Q2 FY26), India's standing in the global emerging markets context softened.

• Emerging Market Ranking: India fell behind Indonesia and China to third place in Mint’s Emerging Market Tracker in October.
• Causes: The ranking dropped due to India experiencing the biggest export decline among emerging markets (shipments down 11.8% year-on-year), alongside muted market performance and depreciation of the Rupee.
• Currency Weakness: The Rupee hit ₹89.30 per dollar (as of November 27, 2025). The IMF reclassified India's foreign exchange regime to a ‘crawl-like’ arrangement, defined as remaining within a narrow 2% margin relative to a statistically identified trend for six months or more.

B. International Regulatory Dispute

A key regulatory event involves a major clash between India's sovereignty and a global technology giant.

• Apple Antitrust Challenge: Apple has legally challenged a 2023 amendment to India’s antitrust law which permits the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate penalties based on a violator’s global turnover (up to 10% of the average over three years). This policy change exposes Apple to a potential $38 billion fine. The amendment was enacted because "tiny fines had proven too weak to deter rule-breaking by global megacorps," demonstrating a practical way for the law to have sufficient deterrent power.