The apparel industry, which includes ready-made garments such as shirts, trousers, dresses, jackets and other clothing, is one of the world’s largest sources of employment and international trade. It is especially important for developing countries because it creates millions of jobs, requires relatively low investment to start manufacturing, and provides opportunities for women and small businesses. Illustration by The Geostrata As global demand for clothing continues to gro

In contrast to most economies that industrialised, which moved from agriculture to manufacturing, then to services, becoming the dominant part of output, India has taken on the middle, manufacturing-intensive, stage of development. Services today account for 50-55 percent of GDP (the Economic Survey 2025-26 puts the share of services in GDP in H1 FY26 at 53.6 percent of the gross value added), but manufacturing has stubbornly remained at 15-17 percent of GDP for three decades

Trade finance is the financial instruments and services used to facilitate global trade in order to fill the gap between the dispatch of goods and the receipt of payment. It mitigates the risks associated with exports and imports through techniques like export credit, guarantees, insurance, and letters of credit, while facilitating cross-border trade. Illustration by The Geostrata Ports, highways, and manufacturing facilities receive policy attention, but for firms to compete

India is pursuing two policy objectives that are at odds with each other. The first is the construction of deep, subsidised, protected domestic manufacturing capacity. This has been extensively expressed through the PLI (Productivity-linked scheme) across 14 sectors and quality control orders on steel, aluminium, chemicals, and electronics. Along with this, high tariffs to protect sectors till they are competitive, in addition to the strong push for self-reliance demonstrated

The relations between India and the European Union (EU) have evolved. In recent years, the two sides have extended through successive climate cooperation initiatives to develop collaborations in energy efficiency, climate mitigation, renewable energy, transport systems and beyond. Cover by The Geostrata Since the inception of the Clean Energy and Climate Partnership (CECP) in 2016 and the announcement of the EU’s ‘India Strategy’, the two sides, in response to improving the

The structure of labour laws in India for the past seven decades was not only filled with a web of bureaucracy and complex, sometimes overlapping, rules, but also incompatible with the vision of the new industrial and innovative India. Illustration by The Geostrata This reality was embraced by the Government of India and the Ministry of Labour and Employment when Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya introduced four new bills to the parliament, which replaced the web of the previo

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) constitute over 95% of formal enterprises in both ASEAN Member States and India, serving as a critical engine for employment, innovation, and inclusive economic growth. Despite their significance, MSMEs continue to face deeply rooted structural constraints ranging from financing gaps and limited technological capacity to regulatory fragmentation and exclusion from regional value chains. Illustration by The Geostrata The COVID-19 pa

The Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 is a revision of DPM 2009, which instates the rule for revenue procurement (spares, repairs, MRO, ICT, services). The DPM 2025 came into force on 1st November 2025. This roughly governs Rs. One Lakh Crore of annual revenue procurement by the three Services and MoD Organisations. Cover by The Geostrata DPM 2025 is divided into two volumes: Volume I- This highlights the principles, procurement methods, delegated authorities, contract ru

The governments of India and the United Kingdom announced a landmark Free Trade Agreement with symmetry on 6 May 2025 and formally signed this agreement on 24 July 2025. Throughout this process, India’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) played a critical and often informal role in providing strategic coordination, direction, and oversight to the international significance of this event. Illustration by The Geostrata By illuminating the PMO’s role, we gain insight into how the hig

The relations between India and the European Union (EU) have evolved. In recent years, the two sides have extended through successive...

The digitisation process is evolving all around the world. Constant and rapid digitalisation has exposed various sectors, from businesses...