Business
India’s Merchandise Trade Deficit Widens To $25.04 Billion In December As Imports Jump
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India’s goods exports in December 2025 stand at $38.51 billion, which is 1.86% higher than the $37.8 billion recorded in the same month last year.
India’s overall exports in December stood at $74.01 billion, marginally lower than $74.77 billion recorded in the same month last year.
India’s merchandise trade deficit widened slightly in December 2025, driven by a strong rise in imports even as exports remained broadly flat, according to the official data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India’s goods exports in December 2025 stood at $38.51 billion, which is 1.86% higher than the $37.8 billion recorded in the same month last year. In contrast, imports jumped to $63.55 billion, compared with $58.43 billion in December 2024.
India’s overall exports in December stood at $74.01 billion, marginally lower than $74.77 billion recorded in the same month last year. In contrast, imports rose significantly to $80.94 billion, compared with $76.23 billion in December 2024. As a result, the country’s overall trade deficit expanded to $6.92 billion in December 2025, a sharp increase from $1.46 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.
“US exports have grown on-year in the first nine months of the (fiscal) year,” Rajesh Agrawal, commerce secretary, told reporters, adding total exports could be more than $850 billion in the current fiscal year ending March.
The country’s push to diversify exports toward China, Russia and the Middle East, backed by incentives and planned trade pacts, including with the EU, has cushioned shipments after US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on some Indian goods to 50% in late August.
Indian and US leaders are holding discussions for a bilateral trade deal, after the negotiations collapsed last year amid a breakdown in communication between the two governments.
In the services sector, exports moderated during the month. Services exports were estimated at USD 35.50 billion in December 2025, lower than USD 36.97 billion recorded in December 2024.
Services imports, however, declined slightly to USD 17.38 billion from USD 17.80 billion in the year-ago period.
India’s electronic goods sector grew by 16 plus percent; meat, dairy by 30 percent; pharmaceuticals by 5.65 per cent, and engineering goods too in positive trajectory.
Marine products grew 11 plus per cent.
The Commerce Secretary said, “We are also doing very well in China, where the growth has been very good, good growth in exports to the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Spain.”
In the US, a key market, India’s merchandise exports rose 9.8 per cent to USD 65.88 billion, from USD 60.03 billion during April-December 2025.
“We are still holding on to a positive trend. It was still doing around USD 7 billion despite high tariffs. We are focusing more on areas where tariffs are less, or in areas where tariffs are there, and industry has been showing resilience and holding on to the supply chains,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said.
India’s total exports had touched an all-time high of USD 824.9 billion in financial year 2024-25. This marked a yearly growth of 6.01 per cent over USD 778.1 billion exports in 2023-24, setting a new annual milestone.
The 2024-25 exports exceeded the initial anticipation of USD 800 billion.
In 2024-25, services exports continued to drive the growth momentum, reaching a historic high of USD 387.5 billion, up 13.6 per cent from USD 341.1 billion in the previous year. In 2024-25, merchandise exports stood at USD 437.42 billion in 2024-25, with a marginal increase. India’s total trade deficit (merchandise and services) for the fiscal year 2024-25 widened to USD 94.26 billion, from USD 78.1 billion in 2023-24.
Among various steps the government took was to launch a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in varied sectors, including electronic goods, to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports. These seemed to have reaped dividends for rising exports.
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January 15, 2026, 14:38 IST
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The approval came as Donald Trump is to attend a dinner with billionaire Paramount backers the Ellisons.
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France Ends Airport Transit Visa Requirement for Indian Travellers | Business – The Times of India
France has lifted the airport transit visa requirement for Indian nationals with effect from April 10, the French Embassy in India announced on Thursday.Indian nationals holding ordinary passports are no longer required to obtain an airport transit visa when passing through the international zone of airports located on French territory during a layover en route to a third country.The change follows a decree amending the 2010 regulations on documents and visas required for the entry of foreigners into French territory. The decree was adopted and published in the French Official Gazette (Journal Officiel) on April 9, 2026.MEA welcomes the moveThe Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the announcement.“We welcome the announcement on the operationalisation of visa-free transit for Indian nationals transiting through French airports,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.He recalled that the removal of the transit visa requirement for Indian passport holders was agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting in Mumbai in February this year.“The government of France has now operationalized this agreement,” Jaiswal added.Who benefitsThe measure applies to Indian nationals transiting through mainland France exclusively by air, remaining in the international airport zone without entering French territory.President Macron had announced during his visit to India in February that measures would be taken to ease travel for Indian nationals via France.
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The updated procedures have been reflected on the France-Visas platform.
Comcast topped Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates for the first quarter on Thursday, lifted by NBC’s sports slate in February and improving broadband customer losses.
The company said it lost 65,000 broadband customers compared with 183,000 losses in the same period last year. Heightened competition from wireless providers like Verizon and T-Mobile has led to quarterly customer losses for Comcast and its cable peers in recent years – which has weighed on these companies’ stocks in particular.
In response, Comcast in the last year has shifted its strategy and introduced more competitive pricing packages in a bid to reduce the broadband losses. The company has also leaned on its mobile business for growth, which added 435,000 new lines during the quarter. In total, Comcast now has 9.7 million mobile customers.
The company also reported 322,000 cable TV customer losses – fewer than the 427,000 in the same period last year.
Revenue for Comcast’s connectivity and platforms unit, which includes its Xfinity-branded broadband, cable TV, and mobile businesses, decreased 2% to $17.32 billion.
The company’s stock climbed as much as 8% in premarket trading.
Here’s how Comcast performed for the period compared with average analyst estimates, according to LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 79 cents adjusted vs. 73 cents expected
- Revenue: $31.46 billion vs. $30.43 billion expected
Comcast’s net income fell nearly 36% to $2.17 billion, or 60 cents per share, compared to $3.38 billion, or 89 cents a share, during the same period last year. Adjusting for one-time items including amortization and investments, Comcast reported earnings per share of $0.79.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down roughly 17% to $7.93 billion.
Comcast’s overall revenue increased roughly 5% to $31.46 billion for the quarter.
Revenue got a boost from Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which aired a slate of sports – including the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend, during the quarter – that the company coined as “Legendary February.”
The media business, which is made up of NBCUniversal, recorded a nearly 61% increase in revenue to $7.28 billion during the quarter. Excluding the Olympics and Super Bowl – which provided significant boosts to advertising sales – revenue for the unit was up about 13%.
Live sports remains the highest rated programming on traditional TV and streaming, and beckon the most advertising dollars. The Super Bowl, in particular, breaks records annually when it comes to its pricey commercial spots. NBC received an average $8 million per 30-second ad, CNBC reported.
Domestic advertising for the media unit was up 135% to $3.45 billion for the quarter. Excluding the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, it was up 4.7% to $1.54 billion.
NBC’s sports roster also helped lift streaming service Peacock during the quarter. Peacock subscribers increased 12% year over year to 46 million. Peacock nearly doubled revenue to $2.1 billion compared to the same period last year. The streamer recorded a quarterly loss of $432 million compared to a loss of $215 million in the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA for the media segment decreased to a loss of $426 billion due to higher operating expenses related to the costs associated with the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl, as well as the cost of the NBA rights.
NBCUniversal is part of the overall content and experiences segment, which also includes the film studio and theme parks – each of which saw sales climb year-over-year.
Revenue for the film studio was up 21% to $3.43 billion, while Universal theme parks revenue increased 24% to $2.33 billion. The theme parks were boosted by the opening of Epic Universe last May.
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