The week in charts: Sensex resilience, strong industrial output, new era in India-Australia trade
In this weekly Plain Facts compilation, we present to you data-based insights, with easy-to-read charts, to help you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by.
From the Sensex delivering over 9% return in 2025 to industrial output rising to a two-year high, Indian exports getting zero-duty access to Australia, the US’s humanitarian aid commitment to the United Nations plunging to the lowest in over 25 years, and a sharp rise in bank fraud amount—here's a compilation of this week's news in numbers.
Sensex surge
The Indian stock market remained resilient in 2025 despite several external risks like US tariffs lingering throughout the year. The BSE Sensex gained 7,082 points in 2025, recording an increase of 9.1%. This came against the backdrop of a sharp correction that started in September 2024 and continued until April 2025. The Sensex rebounded but stayed range-bound to finally hit an all-time high of 86,159 on 1 December. Overall, 2025 was a year of uneven gains, with rallies repeatedly interrupted by sharp pullbacks. Experts believe the growing depth of domestic capital is increasingly insulating Indian markets from external volatility, Mint reported.
Strong rebound
India's industrial sector output grew at the fastest pace in two years in November, primarily driven by strong performances in mining and manufacturing, data from the statistics ministry showed. Industrial production rose 6.7% during the month, the highest level since the 11.9% growth recorded in October 2023. The manufacturing sector's output grew 8% in November 2025 compared with 1.95% the previous month, while mining rose 5.3%, reversing a contraction of 1.79% in October. November’s strong performance likely came on the back of expectations of higher demand after the reduction in goods and services tax (GST).
Duty-free access
India and Australia are entering a new era of trade relations. From 1 January, Indian exporters enjoy duty-free entry into the Australian markets on all products, said commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Monday. The duties have been phased out under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) the two nations signed three years ago. Since the deal was inked in December 2022, India’s trade with Australia has grown significantly. Still, imports stayed higher than exports, resulting in a trade deficit with the Pacific nation. With all products enjoying duty-free access, exports to Australia are expected to grow, reducing the gap.
Bigger frauds
The amount siphoned in financial fraud cases rose 30.8% in FY25 to ₹34,771 crore, showed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) latest report on banking trends. This amount has risen despite a 33.8% decline in the number of reported cases, suggesting that the victims faced deeper financial losses during the year, a reversal in the trend recorded in the past few years. However, losses to bank frauds in 2025 pale in comparison with ₹1.85 lakh crore worth of frauds reported in FY20. In the first half of FY26, India reported 5,092 cases, down from 18,386 a year earlier. However, just like FY25, the amount defrauded was 30% higher at ₹21,515 crore.
US’s pullback
The US on Monday pledged $2 billion for UN humanitarian, the lowest levels seen in 26 years. In 2025, the US accounted for 14.5% of global humanitarian funding—also the lowest in 26 years and down from about 38% in earlier years, UN Financial Tracking Service data shows. Since returning to power, US President Donald Trump has criticized the country’s foreign funding programmes. The US has defended the cuts as part of a shift toward burden-sharing, with secretary of state Marco Rubio stating that the new model would encourage other developed countries to contribute more, while forcing UN agencies to eliminate duplication, reduce inefficiency and strengthen accountability.
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