RBI Unveils Relief Package for Exporters
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a series of immediate trade relief measures to support exporters grappling with global trade disruptions and tariff pressures. These measures include a moratorium on term loan repayments and interest recovery for working capital loans due between September 1 and December 31, 2025. During this period, interest will accrue on a simple interest basis, without compounding, and accrued interest will be converted into a funded interest term loan repayable between April and September 2026.
Additionally, the RBI has extended the maximum repayment period for pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit from 270 days to 450 days for loans disbursed up to March 31, 2026. The timeline for the realisation and repatriation of export proceeds has also been extended from nine months to fifteen months, and the period for submitting various export-related documents has been prolonged from one year to three years. These relaxations are applicable to banks, NBFCs, cooperative banks, and all-India financial institutions, and aim to ease compliance pressures and enhance access to working capital for affected sectors, including chemicals, plastics, textiles, and metals.
India's Robust Economic Fundamentals and Global Standing
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, affirmed India's growing global profile, attributing it to strong economic fundamentals, steady policy reforms, and expanding international partnerships. Speaking at the 44th India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2025, Prasada highlighted India's potential as an emerging global economic power, inspired by the 'Viksit Bharat at 2047' vision.
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, praised India's rapid economic growth, emphasizing its close tie to strong trade growth. She encouraged India to take a leading role in WTO reforms to enhance the multilateral trading system. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated India's willingness to lead WTO reforms, provided they are shaped in consultation with developing and least-developed countries.
In a positive forecast, Moody's Ratings projected India's economic growth at 7% for 2025, driven by robust domestic demand, continued infrastructure spending, and export diversification. The agency expects growth to moderate slightly to 6.5% in 2026 and maintain that pace through 2027, making India the fastest-growing economy among G-20 nations.
Inflation Dynamics and RBI's Policy Dilemma
A report by SBI Research indicates that retail inflation, excluding gold, is likely to remain negative for the next two months, presenting a complex policy challenge for the RBI. India's CPI inflation moderated to an all-time low of 0.25% year-on-year in October, primarily due to declining food and beverage prices. However, gold prices pushed up personal care and effects inflation.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation also turned negative in October, declining by 1.21% compared to the previous year, mainly due to decreases in the costs of food articles, crude petroleum, and basic metals. Union Bank of India projects that wholesale inflation may remain in negative territory for most of 2025-26, suggesting a potential 25 basis points repo rate cut in the upcoming December monetary policy review meeting.
Capital Market Performance and Investor Confidence
The Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, closed with modest gains on November 14, recovering from early losses. The BSE Sensex ended 84.11 points higher at 84,562.78, and the NSE Nifty rose 30.90 points to settle at 25,910.05. The Nifty maintained a strong uptrend throughout the week, with positive sentiment attributed to factors like the Bihar election outcome and hopes for a potential US-India trade agreement.
However, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have been net sellers, offloading ā¹13,925 crore worth of Indian equities between November 1 and November 14, reflecting a shift in global investment flows. Despite this, domestic inflows and IPO-related participation continue to support market activity.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey highlighted the growing confidence of Indian investors, noting that as of October 2025, India has approximately 13.6 crore investors holding over 21 crore demat accounts, with about one lakh new demat accounts being opened daily. Investments in the mutual fund industry have also surged to over ā¹80 trillion.
Sectoral Developments
- Textile Industry: Mafatlal Industries, a 120-year-old textile group, has successfully turned around its business, moving from a net loss to a profit of nearly ā¹100 crore by 2024-25, through professional management, digital integration, and diversification.
- Critical Minerals: Venezuela has expressed keen interest in enhancing cooperation with India in the critical minerals sector and attracting Indian investments, a topic discussed during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Venezuela's Minister of Ecological Mining Development.
- Tourism: Andhra Pradesh is set to receive over ā¹17,000 crore in new tourism investments, expected to create nearly one lakh jobs and boost coastal tourism and MICE infrastructure.
- Electrification: India is embarking on a transformative shift towards widespread electrification of its economy to achieve its ambitious Net Zero target by 2070, focusing on energy efficiency and emission reduction.
- Railway Manufacturing: Indian Railways anticipates a demand of around 200,000 wheels by 2026, as it increases rolling stock production. Currently, domestic production is low, leading to a significant reliance on imports, particularly from China.