India and Oman signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Muscat.
Signatories:
India: Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal
Oman: Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef
Signed in the presence of:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman
Represents a major upgrade in bilateral economic relations.
Strategic & Diplomatic Significance
First bilateral trade agreement Oman has signed since 2006 (after its FTA with the U.S.).
Second CEPA for India with a GCC country, following UAE (2022).
Oman positioned as a strategic gateway for India to:
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Eastern Europe
Central Asia
Africa
Reflects India’s broader strategy of deepening economic engagement with West Asia.
PM Modi described the agreement as a “blueprint for the future”, signalling long-term partnership.
Market Access & Tariff Liberalisation
Oman’s Commitments
Duty-free access on 98.08% of tariff lines.
Covers 99.38% of India’s exports to Oman.
Indicates near-total market access for Indian goods.
India’s Commitments
Tariff liberalisation on 77.79% of total tariff lines.
Covers 94.81% of India’s imports from Oman.
Reflects a calibrated opening, protecting sensitive sectors.
Sectoral Impact – Merchandise Trade
Sectors Gaining Full Tariff Elimination
Labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors including:
Gems and jewellery
Textiles, leather, footwear
Sports goods, furniture, plastics
Agricultural products
Engineering goods
Pharmaceuticals and medical devices
Automobiles
Expected outcomes:
Export growth
Job creation
Strengthening of MSMEs
Sensitive Sectors Excluded by India
Agricultural commodities:
Dairy products
Tea, coffee, rubber
Tobacco
Precious metals and jewellery:
Gold and silver bullion
Other labour-intensive goods:
Footwear, sports goods
Scrap of several base metals
Aimed at protecting domestic producers and livelihoods.
Services Trade & Mobility of Workers (Key Highlight)
CEPA includes strong commitments in services, especially worker mobility.
Major enhancements under Mode 4 (movement of natural persons):
Intra-Corporate Transferee quota increased from 20% to 50%.
Contractual Service Suppliers’ stay extended:
From 90 days to 2 years
Further extendable by another 2 years
Provides liberal entry and stay conditions for skilled Indian professionals.
Marks a significant concession rarely granted in FTAs, benefiting India’s services sector.
Trade Context (2024–25)
India’s exports to Oman:
$4.06 billion
0.93% of India’s total exports
India’s imports from Oman:
$6.5 billion
0.91% of India’s total imports
Despite modest trade share, CEPA aims to unlock untapped potential.
Economic & Developmental Implications
Expected to:
Boost bilateral trade and investment
Enhance employment opportunities
Promote innovation and skills development
Special focus on youth employment in both countries.
Supports India’s:
Export diversification
Global value chain integration
Make in India and services-led growth strategy
Overall Assessment
CEPA represents a deep, balanced, and forward-looking trade agreement.
Combines:
Near-total market access for Indian goods
Protection of sensitive domestic sectors
Strong gains in services and labour mobility
Strengthens India’s economic footprint in the Gulf and beyond.
Likely to serve as a model for future FTAs with GCC countries.
DHRUV64 Microprocessor
Overview
DHRUV64 is a fully indigenous microprocessor announced on December 15 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Developed by C-DAC under India’s Microprocessor Development Programme.
Intended to strengthen India’s domestic processor pipeline and reduce reliance on imported chip designs and supply chains.
Technical Characteristics
64-bit, dual-core general-purpose processor
Clock speed: 1 GHz
Capable of running modern operating systems, unlike simpler microcontrollers.
Designed to balance performance and power efficiency, making it suitable for embedded and industrial use.
Based on the RISC-V instruction set, under the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) initiative.
What the Specifications Imply
Not meant for high-end consumer devices like smartphones or laptops.
Performance is modest by global consumer standards, lacking:
Multiple high-performance cores
GPUs or specialised accelerators (e.g., for AI/ML)
Well-suited for applications that value reliability, long lifecycle support, and system integration, such as:
Telecom infrastructure
Industrial controllers
Automotive electronics
Routers and embedded systems
Strategic Importance
Processors are foundational to national security, industrial control, and digital infrastructure.
Control over processor design, toolchains, and updates enables:
Stronger cybersecurity assumptions
Resilience against export controls and global supply disruptions
India aims to build sovereign computing capability, not just consume chips.
Ecosystem Context
DHRUV64 is part of a broader Indian processor ecosystem:
SHAKTI (IIT Madras)
AJIT (IIT Bombay)
VIKRAM (ISRO–SCL)
THEJAS32 / THEJAS64 (C-DAC)
Positioned as a platform chip for:
Startups
Academia
Industry
Intended to enable low-cost prototyping without foreign processors.
RISC-V and DIR-V Explained
RISC-V is an open, licence-free instruction set architecture (ISA).
Allows custom extensions and avoids dependence on proprietary ISAs.
DIR-V programme aims to create a portfolio of RISC-V chips for:
Industrial
Strategic
Military
Consumer applications
DHRUV64 is the third DIR-V processor, after THEJAS32 and THEJAS64.
Key Uncertainties and Limitations
Performance transparency lacking
No benchmarks, cache details, memory architecture, or power efficiency metrics.
Manufacturing details unclear
No disclosure of fabrication location, process node, yields, or reliability standards.
Ambiguity around “fully indigenous”
Unclear whether this applies to:
Core microarchitecture
SoC integration
Toolchains
IP blocks
Fabrication
Ecosystem readiness unknown
No clarity on:
Developer boards
OS support
Security certifications
Government anchor usage
Commercial viability uncertain
Competes against mature global chips with established ecosystems.
Future Roadmap
Next processors announced:
DHANUSH: 1.2 GHz, quad-core, reportedly 28 nm
DHANUSH+: 2 GHz, quad-core, possibly 14–16 nm
Both are still in design or engineering stages.
Broader Semiconductor Push
Government initiatives include:
Chips to Startup (₹250 crore)
Design Linked Incentive (DLI)
INUP-i2i programme
As of 2025:
10 semiconductor projects approved
₹1.6 lakh crore in investments
Focus is shifting toward:
System-on-chip families
Reference designs
Software ecosystems
Domestic manufacturing and testing
Conclusion
DHRUV64 represents a strategic milestone, not a technological leap.
Its success depends less on raw performance and more on:
Ecosystem development
Government adoption
Transparent specifications
Long-term manufacturing and software support
The ultimate goal is for Indian users to adopt Indian processors without unacceptable cost, risk, or capability trade-offs.
Securities Market Code Bill, 2025
Overview of the Bill
The Securities Market Code Bill, 2025 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for detailed examination.
It follows an announcement made in the Union Budget 2021–22.
Purpose and Rationale
Aims to unify and consolidate three major laws governing India’s securities market:
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
SEBI Act, 1992
Depositories Act, 1996
Seeks to rationalise overlapping provisions and modernise regulation.
Intended to create a coherent, contemporary regulatory framework that:
Strengthens investor protection
Facilitates capital mobilisation at scale
Improves regulatory clarity and efficiency
Key Institutional Changes
Expansion of SEBI’s board strength:
Increased from 9 members to 15 members
Composition to include:
Chairperson
2 Central Government officials (ex-officio)
1 RBI representative (ex-officio)
11 other members, with at least 5 whole-time members
Currently, SEBI has only 3 whole-time members, indicating a significant operational expansion.
Regulatory and Enforcement Reforms
Proposal to decriminalise minor, procedural, and technical violations.
Such violations would be addressed through civil penalties rather than criminal prosecution.
Objective is to:
Improve ease of doing business
Reduce compliance burden on market participants
Criminal penalties retained mainly for serious market abuses, such as:
Insider trading
Trading on material non-public information
Civil Penalties and Procedural Safeguards
“Unlawful gains or losses” to be addressed under civil penalty mechanisms.
Introduction of a time limitation:
No inspection allowed if eight years have passed since the date of contravention.
Mandatory disclosure of direct or indirect interests by board members before decision-making to reduce conflicts of interest.
Expert and Political Reactions
Legal experts view the reforms as an attempt to balance:
Faster adjudication
Stronger deterrence for serious violations
Opposition raised by some MPs who argue:
The Bill concentrates excessive powers in a single regulatory authority
This could conflict with the principle of separation of powers
The Finance Minister responded that such concerns would be addressed during Standing Committee deliberations.
Overall Significance
Represents a major step toward streamlining India’s securities market regulation.
Reflects a policy shift toward:
Regulatory efficiency
Reduced criminalisation
Stronger institutional governance
Final impact will depend on:
Parliamentary scrutiny
Possible amendments following committee review
Cognizant Deployed over 1 million AI agents
Key Announcement
Cognizant has deployed over 1 million AI agents (agentic systems) across its operations in San Francisco and Bengaluru over the past year.
The deployment aims to enhance client experiences across multiple industry domains.
New AI Lab and Moment Studio in Bengaluru
AI agents will play a central role in Cognizant’s newly established:
AI Lab
Cognizant Moment Studio
The Bengaluru facility is designed as a co-located innovation hub combining:
Applied artificial intelligence
Experience-led and human-centric design
Impact on Product Development
The facility is expected to compress discovery and innovation timelines:
Activities such as brainstorming, ideation, research, and validation
Including synthetic research using AI personas
Processes that previously took months can now be completed in weeks or even hours.
Enables rapid prototyping and faster solution deployment for global clients.
Facility Details and Workforce
Size: 10,000 square feet
Current workforce: 40 specialists, including:
Psychologists
Designers and human experience designers
AI scientists
AI strategists
Teams collaborate directly with customers from the early ideation stage.
Ideas are validated by:
Business analysts
Domain experts
Global technology and regulatory compliance professionals
Industry Focus
The AI Lab and Studio are currently ready to serve:
Life sciences
Healthcare
Banking
Expansion plans include:
Retail sector
Deployment of an additional 10,000 AI agents for retail use cases
Technology Architecture and Strategy
AI systems are supported by:
Simple, open-source large language models (LLMs)
Models run entirely on network nodes, not externally hosted
This approach addresses:
Data sensitivity
Low-latency and fast response requirements
Open and Flexible AI Approach
Cognizant follows a:
LLM-agnostic strategy (agents can switch between primary and backup LLMs)
Cloud-agnostic architecture
Fully open-source model
Agentic systems are publicly accessible and can be downloaded from GitHub.
Strategic Significance
The initiative positions Cognizant to:
Accelerate enterprise adoption of AI
Convert ideas into scalable, trusted, and compliant AI solutions
Reflects a shift toward agent-based AI systems as core enterprise infrastructure rather than experimental tools.
Overall Takeaway
Cognizant is leveraging large-scale AI agent deployment, open-source technologies, and design-led innovation to dramatically speed up enterprise solution development, while maintaining flexibility, security, and regulatory compliance.
India–Netherlands Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC)
Overview
India and the Netherlands have established the India–Netherlands Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC).
The establishment was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Announcement coincided with Dutch Foreign Minister H.E. David van Weel’s visit to India and his meeting with Union Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar.
Purpose and Objectives of JTIC
JTIC provides a formal institutional framework for regular dialogue and cooperation on trade and investment matters.
Core objectives include:
Review bilateral trade relations and promote two-way investments.
Address investment and trade barriers.
Explore collaboration in mutually beneficial sectors.
Facilitate interaction between Chambers of Commerce and Industry, especially focusing on MSMEs.
Encourage technical know-how exchange and technology transfer, particularly in the micro and small sector.
Structure and Functioning
JTIC will meet annually, alternating between India and the Netherlands.
Co-chaired by:
Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India
Director General (Foreign Economic Relations), Netherlands
Comprises delegations of government officials and other designated members from both countries.
Will serve as a dedicated mechanism to facilitate trade and investment cooperation.
Significance
Reinforces bilateral economic cooperation and strategic relations.
Supports creation of resilient and diversified supply chains.
Promotes sustainable and inclusive growth in both economies.
Complements ongoing bilateral and multilateral engagements, enhancing the strategic dimension of India–Netherlands relations.
Expected to advance mutually beneficial trade and investment outcomes for both countries.
Export of GI-tagged Indi Lime
Overview
GI-tagged Indi Lime from Vijayapura district, Karnataka, has been exported to Oman for the first time on 19 December 2025.
The export shipment was 3 metric tonnes (MTs).
This follows the maiden export to Dubai on 24 August 2025 and subsequent exports of nearly 12 MTs to the UAE.
Market Expansion
India is diversifying markets, with a flag-off of 350 kg of Indi Lime to the United Kingdom.
Cumulative exports from Vijayapura now stand at approximately 12.35 MTs.
GI-tagged Indi Lime’s entry into Oman is linked to the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA/FTA).
The FTA is expected to enhance market access and competitiveness for Indian agricultural and processed products.
Significance of GI Tag
GI (Geographical Indication) status highlights the distinctive aroma, high juice content, and longer shelf life of Indi Lime.
GI status positions the fruit competitively in international markets.
Supports farmers by improving income realisation and reducing dependence on domestic price fluctuations.
Support from APEDA
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) promotes and facilitates GI-tagged product exports.
Ensures compliance with global quality and phytosanitary standards.
Helps in branding region-specific produce for international markets.
Strategic Implications
Successful exports reflect India’s potential as a reliable supplier of high-quality, region-specific agricultural products.
Opens new avenues for farmers and strengthens India’s agri-export ecosystem.
GI-tagged produce enhances India’s agricultural export competitiveness globally.
ICG commissions GSL’s new-generation Fast Patrol Vessel ‘Amulya’
Commissioning Overview
ICG Ship ‘Amulya’ was commissioned on December 19, 2025, in Goa.
It is the third vessel in the series of eight Adamya-class Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
The ship was designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
Indigenous Design and Strategic Significance
Over 60% indigenous components, reinforcing:
Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Make in India initiatives
Represents a new benchmark in indigenous shipbuilding.
Name “Amulya” means priceless, symbolising strategic value and self-reliance.
Incorporates modern design philosophy focused on:
Efficiency
Endurance
Rapid response capability
Technical Specifications
Length: 51 metres
Propulsion: Two advanced diesel engines of 3000 KW each
Top speed: 27 knots
Operational endurance: 1,500 nautical miles
Equipped with indigenous state-of-the-art weapons and systems
Offers:
Superior manoeuvrability
Operational flexibility
Enhanced sea performance
Operational Roles
Designed to undertake multiple missions, including:
Maritime surveillance
Interdiction operations
Search and Rescue (SAR)
Anti-smuggling operations
Marine pollution response
Strengthens ICG’s capability to safeguard India’s eastern seaboard.
