India

Hindu Business Line | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

The draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 aims to improve power supply quality in India by ensuring 24x7 reliable electricity with compensation for non-compliance and timely grievance resolution. The policy aligns with India's vision to become a developed nation by 2047 and supports the goal of a $30-trillion economy alongside energy independence. It emphasizes a financially viable, environmentally sustainable power sector that prioritizes consumer needs, offering choices in power supply and usage.

NEP 2026 mandates a consumer-centric framework that includes robust, technology-enabled grievance redressal systems for transparency and accountability. State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) are tasked with specifying performance standards for licensees, which must meet or exceed the Central government's minimum criteria. Distribution licensees will publicly share service quality data, monitored down to the distribution transformer level for both urban and rural areas, with SERCs ensuring compliance and compensation for failures.

The policy highlights the importance of investments across various energy technologies based on minimizing consumer costs, rapid deployment, reducing reliance on imported fuels, and maximizing social and environmental benefits. It also proposes streamlined grievance redressal mechanisms incorporating online complaint filing and virtual hearings, along with periodic consumer satisfaction surveys conducted by State Commissions to assess service quality and responsiveness.

CNBC | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedEconomic Growth

China is shifting from being primarily a global exporter to becoming a major overseas investor, focusing on regions that attract U.S. strategic interest. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng emphasized the need for a fair international environment for Chinese businesses, as investments in factories and technology face risks amid rising global tensions. China's trade surplus hit a record $1.2 trillion in 2025, with significant growth in Belt and Road Initiative countries, especially in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The Financial Times' FDI Intelligence survey forecasted China as the largest source of outward foreign direct investment in 2026, surpassing the UAE and India.

Chinese overseas investments are increasingly concentrated in technology and manufacturing sectors, partly driven by tariffs pushing Chinese electric vehicle companies to localize production abroad. Companies like autonomous delivery vehicle maker Neolix have begun expanding globally, obtaining licenses and forming partnerships in countries like the UAE and Portugal, with plans to deploy over 10,000 vehicles internationally and enter European markets. Beyond distant markets, intra-Asia trade is a growing "mega theme," with China establishing local operations in countries like Vietnam and benefiting from increased renminbi transactions, which accounted for 60% of Asian trade in 2024.

Southeast Asia has become China's largest trading partner, supporting a 5.5% growth in China's global exports last year despite a 20% decline in shipments to the U.S. due to ongoing trade conflicts. U.S. companies like FedEx are adjusting to these shifts by enhancing their presence in Asia, reflecting broader "re-globalization" trends amid U.S.-China tensions. Chinese companies are responding by hiring more foreign relations experts to navigate complex international business environments and expanding manufacturing abroad.

Additional context includes China’s slow retail sales growth of 0.9% in December 2025, a record low birth rate, and progress in the AI sector, with Chinese models reportedly only months behind U.S. competitors. The chip market remains dominated by Nvidia and Huawei despite increased domestic IPOs. Chinese markets showed moderate gains amid geopolitical tensions, highlighted by the Hang Seng Index's 3.7% year-to-date rise. Upcoming economic events include Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng's visit to Switzerland and industrial profit reports for December.

Hindu Business Line | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of India is set to release the first draft of the revised Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 within the next 15 days for stakeholder feedback. This revision aims to simplify and shorten the capital acquisition process, targeting a reduction in procurement time to approximately two years by enabling parallel processing of activities. The revised DAP is planned for implementation from April 1, 2026, aligned with the expected increase in the defence budget for FY27.

Key reforms include a gradual scaling of indigenous content requirements for high-technology orders, rather than an upfront high threshold, with potential merging of Buy (Indian) and Buy (Indian-IDDM) categories to simplify procurement processes. The procedure will support ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives, incorporate emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing, and strengthen indigenous defence manufacturing.

The revised DAP will also provide greater flexibility for foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence, though the current allowance of 100 percent FDI faces opposition from domestic industry for potentially undermining self-reliance goals. Simplified testing procedures will accept certificates of conformance from accredited labs for non-core parameters, and the revised policy will introduce defence space procurement provisions to tap into India’s growing space economy.

The overarching objective of the DAP review is to position India as a global hub for defence manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO), promoting design and development across public and private sectors, with a focus on startups, innovators, and private industry involvement.