Marine product export growth hits record high, led by frozen shrimp dominance and widened global market demand.
India's marine product exports in FY 2021-22 registered an all time high driven largely by frozen shrimp, which contributed the majority of export value and quantity. Key commodity groups-frozen shrimp, frozen fish, squid, cuttlefish, chilled, live and other items-showed growth in either quantity or value, with improved unit value realization for several categories. Major markets (United States, China, European Union, South East Asia, Japan, Middle East) together accounted for the bulk of exports and recorded growth in shipments and earnings, underscoring broader market diversification and stronger export performance.

Monetary policy accountability mandates reporting and corrective action when inflation persistently breaches tolerance bands.
Geopolitical shocks have raised inflation and external vulnerabilities, prompting the central bank to shift from accommodation to withdrawal of accommodation and to tighten policy to anchor expectations, prevent second round effects from food and fuel, and stabilise capital flows. The RBI Act requires the central bank to report to the government if average inflation breaches the notified tolerance band for three consecutive quarters, setting out reasons, remedial actions and a timeline; the MPC will hold a scheduled meeting to draft that mandated report, integrating committee deliberations into the statutory accountability process.

Logistics policy: government-private collaboration urged to reduce costs and boost infrastructure-led multimodal efficiency.
The National Logistics Excellence Awards establish an annual recognition programme highlighting private-sector innovation and efficiency across 12 logistics categories, selected via expert screening and a national jury. The initiative reinforces a policy focus on reducing logistics costs through public private collaboration, expanded infrastructure investment and coordinated multimodal planning under GatiShakti, while promoting technology adoption, skills upgradation, start up participation, domestic manufacturing of logistics equipment, and a dedicated MSME award category.

Trade data transparency through a national portal enhances real-time export analytics and district-level market development.
Prime Minister inaugurated Vanijya Bhawan and launched the NIRYAT portal as complementary physical and digital infrastructure to support export promotion and government transparency. Vanijya Bhawan will be fully digital and reflect time-bound project delivery and a whole-of-government approach, while NIRYAT will provide real-time trade data for over thirty commodity groups and more than two hundred countries, with planned district-level export data to break silos and inform coordinated export development.

Monetary policy tightening: rate increased and stance shifted to withdrawal of accommodation to curb inflation while supporting growth.
The MPC increased the policy repo rate by fifty basis points to 4.90 per cent, adjusted the LAF corridor (including SDF and MSF/Bank Rate), and changed its stance from accommodative language to a focus on withdrawal of accommodation to anchor inflation expectations while supporting growth. The committee noted elevated global commodity-driven inflation, revised headline CPI projection for 2022-23 to 6.7 per cent, retained real GDP growth projection at 7.2 per cent, and unanimously voted for the measures to moderate inflation and ensure transmission.

Free Trade Agreement negotiations relaunched between India and EU, with parallel Investment Protection and Geographical Indications talks commencing.
Relaunch of negotiations for an India-EU Free Trade Agreement alongside parallel Investment Protection and Geographical Indications agreements, aiming for broad-based, balanced and comprehensive deals based on fairness and reciprocity. The talks target market access impediments, supply chain diversification, enhanced investor confidence through an IPA, and a transparent GI regulatory framework to facilitate trade in handicrafts and agri-commodities. All three agreements are intended to be negotiated in parallel with the first round scheduled in New Delhi from 27 June to 1 July 2022.

Customs enforcement seizes smuggled cigarettes, invoking customs and tax compliance measures to curb illicit trade.
Customs officers, acting on intelligence, seized large quantities of foreign-brand and domestically branded cigarettes at a Delhi godown where no procurement or import documentation was produced; the premises' hirer was apprehended and consignments were retained pending further inquiry, with suspected counterfeit manufacturing seizures referred to GST authorities. The release frames such conduct as circumvention of import duties and tax laws, exposes offenders to provisions of the Customs Act and GST enforcement, highlights public-health and labeling noncompliance under tobacco regulation, and calls for interagency cooperation and continued intelligence-driven enforcement.

TRIPS authorisation: enables authorised production of patented vaccines to promote equity and ease cross border supply.
India led negotiations at the WTO MC12 to safeguard policy space for domestic food security and MSMEs, secured commitments to curb subsidies and illegal fishing beyond EEZs, and supported a TRIPS decision enabling authorised production of patented vaccines without consent to promote vaccine access; WTO reform aims to modernise the organisation while retaining consensus and special and differential treatment, and e commerce moratorium discussions were continued pending intensified deliberation.

Exports Growth signals stronger receipts but faster import expansion widened the trade deficit.
Overall exports of merchandise and services expanded in May 2022 and in April-May 2022, with merchandise and services exports both rising but imports increasing at a faster pace, thereby widening the merchandise and overall trade deficits. Sectoral gains were concentrated in petroleum products, electronic goods, leather products, selected agricultural and processed items, engineering goods and pharmaceuticals, while several commodities (notably iron ore and certain cereals) showed declines. Services May data are estimated pending RBI releases and April-May 2021 comparators were pro rata revised.

Public stockholding permanent solution urged to protect food security and preserve special and differential treatment for developing countries.
The Statement urges conclusion of a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security under the Agreement on Agriculture, criticises entrenched AoA flexibilities that privilege developed-country subsidies (including the Aggregate Measure of Support and de minimis allowances), rejects narrowing of special and differential treatment for developing countries and LDCs, and endorses exemptions for humanitarian procurement while insisting that government-to-government transactions be permitted to ensure global and domestic food security.

Common but differentiated responsibility: India urges moratorium on distant-water subsidies and exemptions for small-scale fishers to protect livelihoods.
India urges fisheries-subsidy rules to balance sustainability with socio-economic needs of small-scale, EEZ-based fishers; endorses common but differentiated responsibility and polluter pays principle; calls for a 25-year moratorium on subsidies by distant-water fishing nations beyond their EEZ, exemptions and transition space for low-income and artisanal fishers, differentiated de-minimis thresholds, inclusion of non-specific fuel subsidies in disciplines, and capacity-building to ensure policy space for livelihoods and food security.

Export promotion for Ladakh agricultural products expands market linkages and capacity building to boost international sales.
APEDA, with the Union Territory of Ladakh, organized an International Buyer Seller Meet in Leh to expand export opportunities for apricots and other temperate agricultural products from Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir by facilitating B2B linkages between regional producers, startups and international buyers, supporting capacity building, organic certification, technical collaboration with a regional agricultural university, and leveraging recent pilot shipments to create sustainable market channels and improve livelihoods.

Export promotion of Indian mango varieties expands market access through an APEDA-organized mango festival in Bahrain.
APEDA launched an eight-day Mango Festival in Bahrain to promote export market access for Indian mango varieties, showcasing 34 varieties procured directly from farmers and two Farmer Producer Organizations, displayed at eight retail locations and supported by procurement, transportation facilitation, and inclusion of both fresh and processed mango products.

TRIPS waiver and pandemic response: urgent call to negotiate therapeutics and diagnostics alongside IP provisions for equitable access.
The statement links the WTO pandemic response text inseparably with a satisfactory TRIPS outcome, urging simultaneous finalization and immediate commencement of negotiations on therapeutics and diagnostics. It asserts the necessity of a TRIPS waiver or an equivalently effective mechanism to expand manufacturing and ensure equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, while noting India's procedural compromises and objecting to certain draft language such as "some developing country Members" and any pre shipment notification requirements.

Public stockholding and Special Safeguard Mechanism must be preserved to protect developing-country food security and farmers.
The intervention insists that prior decisions and a dedicated work programme toward a permanent solution for public stockholding remain operative and should not be reopened from scratch; it calls for an accessible Special Safeguard Mechanism to protect developing-country producers, and urges preservation of special and differential treatment and flexibilities under Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture while mobilising a coalition to secure a development centric outcome.

Public stockholding for food security: India urges a permanent solution protecting procurement policy space and development interests.
India prioritises a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security to protect national procurement at administered prices and preserve policy space, rejects linking that issue to other agricultural matters, and opposes burdensome advance notification and blanket exemptions that could harm domestic food security. India demands Special and Differential Treatment and transitional flexibility in fisheries negotiations to curb trade distorting subsidies while safeguarding livelihoods and sovereign resource rights. It also contests premature e commerce rule making and the automatic extension of the moratorium on customs duties, and seeks pandemic responses that protect TRIPS flexibilities and address supply side constraints without imposing permanent WTO disciplines.

Nation-building through cultural outreach: customs organised children's art and staff slogan competitions to foster civic and tax awareness.
Delhi Customs organised children's painting competitions on the theme 'Mere Sapno Ka Bharat' and an inter-commissionerate officers' slogan-writing contest on Indirect Taxes during Iconic Week under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav; the programmes provided materials, refreshments and awards, sought to foster civic pride and imaginative contributions to national development, and to promote awareness of indirect taxation's role in financing public development.

Export promotion through trade fairs enhances Indian wine market access by facilitating exhibitor participation and international outreach.
APEDA facilitated participation of ten Indian wine exporters in the London Wine Fair to enhance market access and export opportunities, supported by outreach activities including workshops and wine tastings. The press release highlights industry capacity and incentives, noting export volumes and principal destination markets, Maharashtra's role in wine production with state excise concessions and small-scale industry classification, and the sector's rapid growth, together constituting a coordinated export-promotion effort.

Corporate governance: robust oversight and transparency essential for sustainable business models and investor confidence in India.
Corporate governance, ethical conduct and accounting transparency are core determinants of long term business sustainability. Effective board oversight, risk management, internal audit and clear codes of conduct, combined with robust disclosures, are necessary to ensure financial statements remain relevant and reliable. Entities should avoid aggressive accounting, imprudent funding structures, asset liability mismatches and unrealistic strategic assumptions. Regulatory reforms and mandated disclosures complement these governance practices by improving investor confidence and facilitating capital allocation and timely resolution of stressed assets.

TRIPS waiver sought for pandemic response, with FTA negotiations to advance bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
India sought support for a TRIPS waiver for pandemic response and set out its WTO negotiating priorities, including positions on e commerce and the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, while bilateral talks emphasized advancing a Free Trade Agreement with the European bloc alongside reforms to reduce business costs and the India France Fast Track Mechanism.