Category: Blogs

On Sunday, India and New Zealand finally announced the relaunch of FTA (free trade agreement) talks after a 10-year break. The announcement came on the eve of the meeting between Narendra Modi and New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon, who is on a four-day tour of India.

The final announcement was made after a meeting between the commerce minister, Piyush Goal, and Todd McClay, New Zealand’s minister of trade and investment.

In the statement, the commerce ministry said, the India-New Zealand FTA negotiations aim to obtain balanced results that improve supply chain integration and enhance market access.

This is the second attempt by both nations to sign an FTA. The first one was from 2010 to 2015. During that period, 10 rounds of discussion were done. One of the main sticking issues is New Zealand’s demand to access the Indian dairy markets. Dairy and agriculture are the most sensitive areas for negotiations. In no FTA that India has signed so far, has it agreed to open the door for the dairy market.

At present, India’s dairy imports from New Zealand are minimal; it is around $0.57. While India may think of limiting the value-added dairy products, it is against allowing raw dairy imports.

Another issue, as shared by Srivastava, was India’s demand for easier movements of its skilled professionals and better access for its IT and service sectors. India wanted New Zealand to grant career opportunities similar to those given to China and Australia, but New Zealand did not agree.

A significant hurdle in the renewed talk is the disparity in tariff structures. New Zealand’s average import tariff is just 2.3%. Over half of its tariff lines are duty-free. This means Indian goods already have significant access to the New Zealand market While India’s average tariff is around 17.8%. It means India will make a major reduction that makes traditional FTA less attractive for India.

On Monday, Spanish bank BBVA has increased its sustainable lending target to 700 billion euros ($732.7 billion) over the next five years.

Previously, the lender had set a goal of 300 billion euros for 2018-2025. Last year, BBVA established a new global finance unit focused on clean technologies and innovation to accelerate its sustainability efforts.

“Business opportunity in the second part of the decade will be driven by solid investment in infrastructure and by the maturity of certain new clean technologies, which will make them profitable,” said Javier Rodriguez Soler, BBVA’s global head of sustainability and corporate and investment banking.

As public pressure mounts for action on climate change, countries and corporations are committing to reducing emissions. Banks, in turn, are increasing lending for clean energy initiatives while limiting financing for polluting industries.

However, environmental advocates fear banks could be influenced by political shifts, particularly under new U.S. President Donald Trump, and could row back on their sustainability pledges.

Last week HSBC (HSBA.L) pushed back its net-zero emissions target by two decades to 2050, citing the slow pace of economic transition. BBVA, which also aims to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, continues to finance coal but has pledged to end such financing by 2030 in developed nations and by 2040 in other regions.

During America’s inflation crisis, shoppers have rushed to Walmart for groceries and clothing. They are looking for the best deals on all the essentials. But Walmart said that 2025 will be trickier as consumers are becoming frustrated with inflation and concerned about Donald’s tariffs.

Walmart said that its sales and profits would be low this year, sending its stock tumbling around 6%. In its statement, the company said its sales would go up to 4% and the profit would go around 5%. But this is short of investor expectations.

Walmart is the largest retailer in the US and a bellwether for consumer spending. Its project clearly demonstrates that the retail industry will face a tough year in 2025.

Customers earning more than $100,000 a year seeking to save on groceries have accelerated the growth of Walmart in recent years. The company built a robust online operation to compete with the giant e-commerce platform like Amazon. It allows customers to buy online and pick up in-store at those of its locations and Walmart+, a same-day delivery membership program.

Walmart said it will focus on navigating tariffs and overcoming other challenges.

US President Donald Trump recently enacted a 10% across-board tariff on goods from China and 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. For now, the tariffs are paused on Mexico and Canada until March.

Walmart expects a stable macroeconomic environment but also acknowledges that there are several uncertainties in consumer behavior and global economic and geopolitical conditions.

Walmart is better at handling tariffs than most other companies because it can easily apply its size and scales to reduce costs with suppliers. Smaller companies do not have this leverage and may have to increase the product cost for consumers. The company expects normal inflation this year of 1% to 2%, despite the hike in egg prices.

US President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceutical imports of around 25%, applicable from April. This would be a significant move that represents a dramatic widening of the president’s trade war.

Earlier, Trump announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum from March.  The new levies on automobiles will come with significant effects. Almost 8 million passenger cars and light trucks were brought into the US last year, which is around half of US vehicle sales. European brands, including Volkswagen AG and Asian companies like Hyundai Moto Co. would be among the most affected.

There is no clarity on whether the measures would target specific nations or apply to all vehicles imported to the US. It is still not clear whether cars manufactured under a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico would be spared from industry-specific duties, should they take effect.

Donald Trump’s threat to impose reciprocal tariffs is creating anxiety in the Indian export sector, from the agriculture sector to the automobile. Experts believe that it would cause a potential loss of around $7 billion a year.

Government employees are still waiting for more details on how the tariffs will be calculated. Although they are preparing a proposal for trade details with the US to reduce tariffs and improve the two-way trade.

With this new decision, chemical, metal products, jewelry, automobiles, food products, and pharmaceuticals are the major sectors at risk.

India’s merchandise exports to the US were around $74 billion last year, including gems, pearls, and jewelry worth $8.5 billion, petrochemicals worth $4 billion, and jewelry worth $8.5 billion.

At an aggregate level, India charged a weighted average tariff of around 11% in the year 2023. It is 8.2 percent points more than the U.S. tariffs on Indian exports.

To ease these trade tensions, India has reduced the tariffs on some items, including cutting tariffs on high-end motorcycles from 50% to 30% and on Bourbon whiskey from 150% to 100%. Further, the country has promised to review other tariffs, focus on energy and imports, and buy more defense equipment the the US.

On Tuesday, Humane announced that HP had acquired most of its assets for $116 million. The hardware startup company is immediately discontinuing the sales of its $499 AI pins. Humane notified its customers that their devices would stop functioning before the end of February 2025.

After February 28th these AI Pins will no longer be able to connect to Humane’s servers, and those devices will not be capable of calling, messaging, AI queries, or cloud access. So, the startup is advising its pin owners to transfer their data to an external device immediately. The organization also plans to dissolve its customer support team by 28th February, and those who bought an AI Pin in the last 90 days are eligible for a refund, but anyone who bought the device before that is not eligible.

This update brings a sudden end to the short-lived buzzy hardware startup. The organization made a wave in April 2024 by launching its AI Pin, which was supposed to be a mobile phone replacement. However, the actual product disappointed early consumers and reviewers. At some point, Humane’s returns for AI Pin started outpacing its sales. In October last year, the company dropped the AI Pins’ price by $200.

According to a blog post about the acquisition, HP is also acquiring Humane’s engineers and product managers. The team will become part of a newly established division within HP called HP IQ, described as an “AI innovation lab” dedicated to developing an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work.

In addition to talent, HP will acquire some of Humane’s technology, including its CosmOS AI operating system. Recently, Humane teased CosmOS in an ad, showcasing its potential use across various devices, including car entertainment systems, smart speakers, TVs, and Android phones. This technology could play a key role in integrating AI into HP’s personal computers and printers.

On Monday, a Delta Air Lines jet flipped on its roof while at Toronato’s Person Airport. Fortunately, all 80 people on board survived. Some hurt, but they had relatively minor injuries.

When the flight from Minneapolis carrying 76 passengers and four crew members tried to land on a dry runway at around 2:15 pm, snow was being blown by winds gusting to 40 mph.

A video shared on social media only showed the aftermath with the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR overturned, the fuselage seemingly intact and firefighters dousing, left of the fire as passengers climbed out and walked onto the tarmac.

According to the Meteorological Service of Canada, the airport has blowing snow and winds of 32 mph. The temperature was around 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to the audio recording from the tower at Toronto Pearson International Airport, the flight was cleared to land around 2:10 local time. The tower sent a warning to the pilots about an airflow bump in the glide path as the plane landed on land.

The CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operation Systems, John Cox, said it is very rare to see something like this.

It sounded to him like a controller trying to be helpful. However, the wind is going to give the flight a bumpy ride coming down, and it can be up and down through the glide path.

The transport minister of Canada, Anita Anand, issued a statement saying she was closely following up on the serious incident at the Toronto airport Delta Airlines fight 4819 from Minneapolis.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated after the crash and confirmed that people were evacuated and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be charging the investigation.

The 16-year-old CRJ900, made by Bombardier and powered by the GE Aerospace engine, has a seating capacity of 90 people.

Previous cases of planes flipping over on landing include McDonnell-Douglas’s MD-11 model. In the year 2009, a FedEx freighter turned over on landing at Tokyo’s Narita airport, killing both pilots. In 1999, a China Airlines flight inverted in Hong Kong, causing three of 315 people to die. In 1997, another freighter of FedEx flipped over at Newark but there was no fatalities.

India’s new-age IPO market witnessed notable growth last year, driven by rising confidence among investors and a positive macroeconomic ecosystem. The year 2024 was the year of initial public offerings, with companies like Swiggy, Bajaj Housing, Hyundai Motors India, NTPC Green Energy, and OLA Electric raising funds from the market. This year, India’s IPO boom is likely to continue with industry leaders like Flipkart, PhysicsWallah, HDFC Credila, and LG India getting ready to enter the market.

So, stay tuned!

Biggest IPOs of 2025: Here is the Quicklist of Companies

The Indian IPO landscape is expecting another growing year with numerous industry giants preparing for their public debuts.

The South Korean electronic giant LG Electronics has already filed its Draft Red Herring to Prospectus to SEBI last year, showing its focus to launch a significant IPO. This IPO will mainly be on Offer for Sales, where the existing shareholders, mainly the parent company LG, will sell a part of their stakes to the public.

Hexaware Technologies is another company gearing up for a major public offering. It is believed to be one of the largest IT services sectors in the last few years and is expected to capture investors’ major attention.

Flipkart’s IPO is going to be one of the largest in India’s history; it will capture the interest of numerous investors. Flipkart is backed by global leaders like Google and Walmart and has been a key player in the Indian market for years. Although the exact time for its IPO is still not clear, it is expected that the company is planning to go public.

The quick-commerce startup Zepto has emerged as an industry leader in the Indian market. It is renowned for the instant delivery of groceries and other essentials. The company has recently raised major funding from investors and has shown excellent growth potential. The IPO of Zepto seems promising, enabling investors to be part of this dynamic sector.

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility is a subsidiary of Tata Motors and is playing a crucial role in the electric vehicle market in India. Its IPO timeline is yet to be finalized; its public offering is expected to come. This IPO will empower the company’s manufacturing capabilities, invest in advanced technologies, and empower its industry position.

NSDL (National Securities Depository Ltd) has a significant role to play in India’s capital markets by maintaining electronic records of securities. Experts believe that the IPO can generate notable interest from investors worldwide.

Ather Energy is a leading electric two-wheeler manufacturing company in India. It is well-known for offering cutting-edge and high-performance scooters. The company filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI last year. The company leaders expect that the IPO will help them raise funds to empower the company’s expansion initiatives, including increasing its manufacturing capacity, making a significant investment in R&D of new products, and also making strong charging setups.

The Key Highlights of IPO 2025

• Unlike the past three years, when tech companies moved for public offering, this year, tech-enabled startups are going for public listing. For example, PhysicsWallash is aspiring to emerge as the country’s first edtech platform to the public and also holds a significant position in offline coaching.
• In the same way, coworking companies like WeWork, Table Space, and Smartworks use technology to enable business work through their services, but in terms of the business model, they are mostly the same as their traditional counterparts.
• Here, companies need to find the difference between tech-enabled companies and pure tech firms before setting the valuation premium and the growth potential.
• It is expected that Lightspeed will earn profits from some of its major portfolio startups like OYO, Zepto, PhysicsWallah, and Zetwerl. Several other VCs are hoping for significant outcomes this year.

The IPO market in India is set for remarkable growth. There might be a few temporary dips and market cycles, but the country’s strong economic momentum and growth across sectors ensure that the appetite for Indian equity has never been greater. Presently, India’s IPOs have become national as well as international agendas.

US President Donald Trump has sought to revoke the birthright citizenship with a flurry of executive order just after starting his second term. In the list of Presidential Actions on the White House website, the order title protecting the meaning and value of American Citizenship specifies that those born in the US but not subject to the jurisdiction thereof aren’t included in birthright citizenship. As the US president signed the executive order for this, the future millions of H1 B vias B-holding Indians now hang in limbo.

According to the new order, the US will provide automatic citizenship to newborn babies after 19th February 2025. A child born in the US will not be granted the country’s citizenship automatically unless at least one parent is a US citizen or holds a green card. It also prohibits federal agencies from recognizing relevant documentation providing US citizenship for such children. The purpose of this order is to target children born to unauthorized immigrants and people living in the US legally but on temporary vias.

During the inauguration speech, Trump said that all illegal entries would be stopped immediately and they would soon begin the process of returning millions of illegal people to the places from where they came.  The heads of different executive departments and agencies have been asked to issue public guidance within 30 days of the date of the order regarding implementation.

Birthright citizenship came from the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, it was ratified in 1868, three years after the conclusion of the American Civil War ended the practice of enslaving Black people in Southern states.

The Impact on the Indian-Americans

As per the data of Paw Research, around 250,000 babies born to immigrant parents in the US in 2016 were not authorized. It shows a reduction of 36% from a peak in 2007. In the year 2022, there are a total of 1.2m US citizens born to unauthorized parents.  These children also have children, hence revoking birthright citizens would ultimately increase the number of unauthorized immigrants in the nation.

The new law will affect people legally living in the US including students, tourists, and those living on temporary work visas like H-1B. This news will affect more than a million Indian Americans who are currently waiting for green cards. Data says that over a million Indians are waiting for their green card applications to be processed.

Trump’s executive order for revoking birthright citizenship for children of H1B visa holders will affect their future. Without automatic citizenship, they may lose access to in-state tuition, scholarships, and federal support.

The Key Reason behind the Decision

Trump said that he wishes to revoke birthright citizenship because he wants to discourage illegal immigration.

He argued that nationals of countries with the highest number of immigrants to the US, including India and China particularly exploited this system.

Once Trump said he did not want to be breaking up families. The only way to not break the family and keep them together, we will have to send them all back.