India and New Zealand Conclude Second Round of FTA Talks

28 Jul 2025 CW Team

India and New Zealand have successfully concluded the second round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in New Delhi. The discussions focused on trade in goods and services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures, technical barriers to trade, and economic cooperation.

The FTA was launched in March 2025 during the meeting between Union Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay. The talks follow the first round held in May 2025 in New Delhi.

Both nations reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a comprehensive and balanced FTA at the earliest. The third round of negotiations will take place in New Zealand in September 2025, with virtual meetings planned in the interim to maintain momentum.

India’s bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand touched USD 1.3 billion in FY 2024-25, marking a 48.6 per cent increase over the previous year, underscoring the partnership’s potential to strengthen trade flows and supply chain resilience.

Infrastructure Urban

11 Mar 2026

India Expands Semiconductor Training To 500 Institutions

Under the Chips to Startups programme of the India Semiconductor Mission, the Union minister responsible for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT reported notable progress in talent development. He indicated that over the past four years substantial steps have been taken towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. World-class EDA tools have been deployed in 315 academic institutions across the country to provide students with practical exposure to chip design. These EDA tools are supported by leading global firms and are accessible t..

Delhi Institutions Support India Semiconductor Mission

The Government of India has prioritised talent development through training, upskilling and workforce development under the Chips to Startups initiative of the India Semiconductor Mission, with officials noting progress in four years towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. Electronic design automation tools provided by Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Renesas, Ansys and AMD have been deployed in 315 academic institutions, enabling students to gain practical chip design experience. Chips have been fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory, Mohali, a..

NHA Announces Winners Of NHCX Hackathon At IIT Hyderabad

The National Health Authority (NHA) has concluded the NHCX Hackathon under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to stimulate innovation around the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX). The winning teams presented their solutions at the NHCX Innovation Meet held at IIT Hyderabad during a two-day event in March 2026 that also served as the hackathon grand finale. The hackathon itself ran from 22 to 28 February 2026 and aimed to accelerate paperless, transparent claims processing across India. The event was organised with a range of ecosystem partners, including the Insurance Regulatory a..