The global geopolitical situation is disrupting trade and business, deeply impacting India and reducing projected economic growth. At this critical juncture, the country is focusing on improving its infrastructure to boost foreign investment and overall economic stability. The Government has taken several key actions to strengthen the overall economic environment. It is expected that these strategies will help absorb some of the global shocks.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – The OECD recently released its Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2026, Testing Resilience. According to the report, global GDP growth is projected to ease to 2.9% in 2026, then rise to 3.0% in 2027. The energy price surge and the unpredictable nature of the evolving conflict in the Middle East will raise costs and lower demand, offsetting the tailwinds from strong technology-related investment and production, lower effective tariff rates, and momentum carried over from 2025. The report notes that the decline in tariffs should support growth in India, though gas rationing will disrupt some production activities and fiscal support is expected to fade, with growth easing from 7.6% in fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 to 6.1% in FY 2026-27 and 6.4% in FY 2027-28. In several large emerging-market economies, such as India, labour market conditions remain generally favourable, with unemployment rates relatively low. In India, the fading deflationary impact of past food and energy price-reducing shocks will be exacerbated by the recent surge in global energy prices, pushing inflation up from 2.0% in FY 2025-26 to 5.1% in FY 2026-27 and 4.1% in FY 2027-28.
E-Courts Mission Mode Project – The Project is being implemented in phases across the country to strengthen the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the judicial system. Phase I (2011-2015) was primarily focused on basic computerisation and internal connectivity in courts. As a result, 14,249 courts were computerised, and local area networks (LANs) were installed at 13,683 courts. Phase II (2015-2023) focused on ICT facilitation of judicial services to citizens. The components included computer hardware, computerisation of District State Legal Authorities (DSLAs)/ Taluka Legal Services Committees (TLSCs), wide-area network (WAN) connectivity, stakeholder training, establishment of eSewa Kendras, etc. An advanced case information system (CIS), the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), and systems for digital filing and payments were developed, revolutionising public access to the judiciary’s services. The e-Courts project is currently in Phase III (2023-2027). Over the last year, the e-Courts project has seen continued progress through the expansion of e-filing and e-payments, increased adoption of virtual and hybrid hearings, digitisation of court records, strengthening of CIS, and enhanced public access to case information through the NJDG.
Free Trade Agreements – India has steadily expanded its network of free trade agreements over the past few years, now covering 9 FTAs with 38 countries. The India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in 2021, followed by the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in May 2022. The India-Australia Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force in December 2022. India then signed the EFTA TEPA on 10 March 2024, which entered into force on 1 October 2025. The India-UK CETA was signed in July 2025, and the India-Oman CEPA was signed in December 2025. The India-New Zealand FTA was announced on 22 December 2025, followed by the India-EU FTA on 27 January 2026. With the United States, we have delivered a framework for an interim agreement on 7February 2026 and cemented our global trade footprint.
New GDP Series – The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) recently released a New Series of Annual and Quarterly National Accounts Estimates with a base year of 2022–23, replacing the previous series with a base year of 2011–12. As per international best practices, base year revisions are undertaken periodically and differ from regular revisions in national accounts primarily because of the nature of changes. Annual revisions rely solely on updated data, without altering the conceptual framework or using new data sources, to ensure strict year-over-year comparisons. This marks one of the most significant methodological upgrades in the country’s national accounts framework in over a decade. While such revisions aim to improve statistical accuracy and better reflect structural changes in the economy, their extent beyond measurement remains unclear. In particular, they assume critical importance given the 16th Finance Commission’s decision to assign a 10% weight to states’ Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in the tax devolution formula. The revamped national income accounts, with 2022-23 as the new base year, have revealed major differences in sectoral performance compared with the earlier 2011-12 series. According to data from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the most striking divergence has occurred in manufacturing, “mining and quarrying,” and “public administration and defence and other services.”
FDI Policy Change – To curb opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government had amended the FDI Policy vide Press Note 3 (2020) dated 17.04.2020 (PN3), as reported by Asia Law Portal. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved changes to the guidelines, including incorporation of the definition and criteria for determination of ‘Beneficial Owner’ (BO) and LBC investments in specified sectors/activities of manufacturing in capital goods, electronic capital goods, electronic components, polysilicon and ingot-wafer, shall be processed and decided within 60 days. It is expected that the new guidelines will provide clarity and ease of doing business in India, and facilitate investments that can contribute to greater FDI inflows, access to new technologies, domestic value addition, expansion of domestic firms, and integration with the global supply chain. This would help leverage and enhance India’s competitiveness as a preferred investment and manufacturing destination. These changes will be effective upon notification, in accordance with applicable foreign exchange regulations.
Proposed Amendments to Corporate Laws – The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently introduced the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, and the Companies Act, 2013, in the Lok Sabha. The Bill has been referred to a 31-member Joint Committee of Parliament for a detailed analysis. The committee, comprising 21 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members, will be selected and will submit its report on the last day of the first week of the Monsoon Session. The Amendment Bill aims to streamline regulatory processes for companies and decriminalise minor offences by shifting from criminal penalties to monetary fines, thereby reducing the compliance burden on businesses. The Bill also proposes to tweak norms for convening hybrid annual or extraordinary general meetings, unpaid dividends, investor protection framework, along with the introduction of a framework for conversion of specified trusts (registered under SEBI / IFSC authority) into Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and an increase in the profitability threshold for applicability of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
