Airlines that once relied on the shortest, most fuel-efficient routes are now being forced to take lengthy detours to avoid flying over Iran. Flight durations on some routes have risen by 15-40%, while shorter regional sectors have seen journey times more than double in extreme cases.
Apple is now manufacturing 25% of its iPhones in India - hitting a milestone JPMorgan predicted back in 2022 - as part of its long-term plan to reduce its reliance on China. Last year, India accounted for 55 million iPhones of the roughly 220 million to 230 million produced worldwide.
25% of all new iPhones are now made in India. An estimated 55 million iPhones were manufactured in India last year, up from 36 million in 2024. India's rise as a top iPhone manufacturing hub began back in 2017 with the iPhone SE, with the iPhone 6s joining it a year later.
Pandemic-driven lockdowns exposed many people in India to PCs for the first time, expanding the country's PC userbase and creating demand for upgrades as those devices age. Growing digitization, rising PC adoption among startups and small businesses, and wider availability of devices in smaller cities have also supported demand.
Deere & Co. ( NYSE: DE) ranks sixth for its positioning in India's agricultural mechanization drive, where significant productivity gaps represent a substantial equipment opportunity. Deere reported Q4 2025 revenue of $12.39 billion, up 14% year-over-year. Its Construction & Forestry segment surged 27% to $3.38 billion, demonstrating strength in infrastructure-related markets. CEO John May stated, "We believe 2026 will mark the bottom of the large ag cycle," positioning the company for recovery as emerging markets drive demand.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026, India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is now claiming that the country will soon have its own smartphone brand (or brands, plural), and promises the Indian government has done all the "homework" required for such an endeavor. This brand (or these brands, it's unclear if we're talking about one or more) will be launched within the next 12 to 18 months and will be "global".
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has unveiled its annual budget, aiming for steady growth in an uncertain global economy rocked by recent tariff wars. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the 2026-2027 financial year in Parliament on Sunday, prioritising infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, with a total expenditure estimated at $583bn. India's economy has so far weathered punitive tariffs of 50 percent imposed by United States President Donald Trump over New Delhi's imports of Russian oil.
The deal would forge a market of two billion people and nearly a quarter of global GDP, according to the European Commission. Follow DW for more. EU and India conclude trade negotiations after nearly two decades of on-off negotiationsImage: Altaf Hussain/REUTERS Skip next section What you need to know EU and India have finalized a trade deal after nearly two decades of negotiations
For decades, tech companies have relied immensely on India's vast workforce, from entry-level call center jobs to software engineers and high-ranking managerial positions. But with the advent of advanced AI, which has been accompanied by employers greatly cutting back on hiring with the hopes of eventually automating tasks entirely, India's tech workers are having to cope with a vastly different reality in 2026.
India became the world's largest market for generative AI app downloads in 2025, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, widening its lead over the U.S. as installs jumped 207% year-over-year. Companies including OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity rolled out extended free premium offers to accelerate user growth in the price sensitive market.
After nearly two decades of negotiations, India and the European Union announced Tuesday they have reached a free trade agreement to deepen economic and strategic ties. The accord, which the EU chief described as the "mother of all deals," could affect as many as 2 billion people. The deal between two of the world's biggest markets comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
With an eye toward luring more AI investment to the country, India is hosting a four-day AI Impact Summit this week that will be attended by executives from major AI labs and Big Tech, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, as well as heads of state. The event, which expects 250,000 visitors, will see Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis in attendance.
India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace.
Now platforms have three hours to remove content requested by authorities. Previously, they had a 36-hour window to take down such content. Under India's IT rules, authorities can order the removal of content deemed illegal under any of its laws, including those related to national security and public order. India's new rules require labelling of AI content It will also be mandatory for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to clearly label what the government calls "synthetically generated information."
India is set to spend a record amount on infrastructure and defense, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament on Sunday. New Delhi plans to invest $133 billion (112 billion) in infrastructure and $85 billion on defence an increase of around 9% and 15%, respectively, compared to last year's budget. The finance minister also announced that the government will scale up manufacturing across seven strategic sectors. They include pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, rare earth magnets, chemicals, capital goods, textiles and sports goods.