On February 3, 2026, the Minister of Coal and Mines informed the Rajya Sabha that India is stepping up exploration, mining, and value addition of rare-earth minerals. The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy, is conducting exploration al

On February 2, 2026, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi spoke with President Trump and thanked him for reducing tariffs on Indian products to 18%. The tariff reduction was announced following the call between the two leaders. He expressed that he looks forward to working closely with Trump to take the India-US partner

On February 2, 2026, industry leaders across the automotive and mobility ecosystem welcomed Union Budget 2026-27. Piyush Arora, MD & CEO of Škoda Auto Volkswagen India, welcomed the policy stability and continued emphasis on manufacturing competitiveness, trade facilitation, including India-EU FTA progress, and SME g

On February 1, 2026, the Union Finance Minister of India in the Budget 2026-27 announced measures to strengthen India's electric mobility, electronics and energy transition value chains. The Budget extended basic customs duty exemption on capital goods used for manufacturing lithium-ion cells for batteries, supportin

On January 29, 2026, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, India, held bilateral talks with the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources to strengthen cooperation in critical minerals, clean mobility, and manufacturing.
India launched an incentive programme of USD 2 billion to create an indigenous Advanced Che

On January 27, following the signing of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, automotive industry leaders outlined implications for the sector. The FTA is expected to enable greater tariff certainty and a more predictable trade framework.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen India said the agreement will allow the introduc

On January 27, the president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations on a trade agreement between the EU and India.
It will support Germany as an export country and companies in the German car industry by gradually reducing tariffs on vehicles to 1

On January 27, 2026, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel inaugurated the 19th edition of SIAT 2026, a three-day Symposium on International Automotive Technology, in Pune at PIECC. The event is organized by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) in association with SAE International and SAEINDIA

On January 27, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) welcomed the conclusion of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and India. ACEA stated that it will greatly help European automobile exports enter a market of 4 million passenger cars that, until now, has been

On January 27, 2026, the Prime Minister of India and the European Commission President announced the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which includes a carefully calibrated automotive liberalisation package. Car tariffs will gradually reduce from 110% to as low as 10%, while tariffs on car parts will b

On December 30, India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways released guidelines for implementing the Battery Pack Aadhaar system, a digital identification framework for tracking electric vehicle batteries throughout their lifecycle. The system assigns a unique 21-character alphanumeric number (BPAN) to each batte

On December 31, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) announced that the targets set by the MHI for the electric three-wheelers (e-3Ws) (L5) segment have been met (288 thousand units) ahead of time under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme. The incentivization for e

On December 23, 2025, FICCI, in partnership with Mercedes‑Benz India, launched the FICCI Mercedes‑Benz India “Bharat Innovation & Business Ideas Challenge Programme”, a national initiative aimed at early‑stage innovators and startups.
The program focuses on sectors including manufacturing, sustainability, decarbonisa

On December 22, India concluded a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand. The FTA provides major duty-free access for Indian exports, protects sensitive domestic sectors, and supports inclusive and resilient economic growth. The FTA improves market access for Indian goods and also opens opportunities in

On December 16, it was reported that India proposed a preferential trade agreement with Mexico to lessen the impact of new tariffs scheduled to take effect on January 1, affecting Indian exports in around USD 2 billion.
India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said technical discussions have already begun following

On December 9, 2025, Vingroup signed an MoU with the Government of Telangana for a proposed USD 3 billion, multi‑phase investment to develop a multi‑sector ecosystem across approximately 2,500 hectares in the state. The collaboration will explore projects in smart urban development, electric mobility (including elect

On December 5, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) announced that Pune Hydrogen Valley (PHVF), ARAI, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. (VECV), and Honda (Japan and India) signed a joint development agreement to develop India’s first advanced Hydrogen Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Electric Bus u

On December 2, the Ministry of Heavy Industries announced that it has disbursed INR 16.3 billion in subsidies under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme till November 23, 2025. 1,500 e-buses have been allocated to Mumbai, and 2,800 e-buses have been allocated to Delhi. Other than Mumbai, 1,000 e-buses have been allocated to Pune, i

On November 26, the Union Cabinet of India approved the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets'. It aims to establish 6,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA) of integrated Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing in India. The total financial outlay of the scheme is INR 72.8 bill

In an investor update, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (TMPVL) announced its plan to launch gasoline engine variants for the Harrier and Safari models, expanding its powertrain options and unlocking additional market potential, especially in regions with high demand for gasoline vehicles.
The company is implem