The week in charts: India-Vietnam trade ties, missed direct tax target, PMI rebound
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.From India and Vietnam upgrading their bilateral ties and setting a $25 billion trade target by 2030, to four states declaring assembly election verdicts amid a mixed economic backdrop, direct tax collections falling short of revised estimates in FY26, manufacturing and services activity rebounding in April, and India’s domestic LPG consumption taking a hit due to West Asia war—here is a compilation of this week’s news in numbers.India and Vietnam have set a target of raising bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2030, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam President To Lam in New Delhi this week. The two countries also upgraded ties to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, signalling deeper cooperation in trade, defence and technology.Trade has steadily expanded over the past decade, crossing $18 billion in FY26.
However, the rise has been driven largely by a sharp surge in India’s imports from Vietnam since 2020-21.The two countries share a long diplomatic history, having entered a Strategic Partnership in 2007, India’s first within Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before elevating ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.Assembly elections of four Indian states were declared this week, marking a change in ruling political parties across three — West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — while Assam retained its incumbent government.Economic performance across the four presents a mixed picture. Tamil Nadu leads the pack, with real GDP growth accelerating from 6.2% in FY23 to 11.2% in FY25.
West Bengal posted steady improvement, rising from 5.8% to 6.8% over the same period. Kerala’s growth slightly eased to 6.2% in FY25 from
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