The week in charts: India-New Zealand FTA, railway budget plan, Johnson & Johnson penalty
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 India and New Zealand wrapping up trade talks in record time to the Centre planning a higher outlay on rail safety, a drop in overseas education remittances, shifts in the rural job guarantee burden, and a record US court payout in the Johnson & Johnson talc case—here's a compilation of this week's news in numbers.
Safety first
The Centre is likely to announce an outlay of over ₹1.3 trillion in FY27 on rail safety in the Union budget, about 12% higher than the current fiscal’s amount of ₹1.2 trillion, Mint reported. Funds would be used for rolling stock maintenance, track renewals, and expanding Kavach—India’s automatic train protection system.
This marks a shift in the government’s focus towards railway safety: the outlay was up only 2% in FY26. Data shows that the railway’s capital and revenue spending on safety has roughly accounted for a fifth of the total Budget over the years. The renewed focus comes against the backdrop of a train collision in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, last month, which led to 11 deaths and around 20 injuries.
Pacific pivot
India and New Zealand have concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) in just nine months, making it one of the fastest trade negotiations in recent years. The pact—set to be formally signed later—will grant duty-free access to all Indian exports by eliminating tariffs on 100% of tariff lines.
India, in turn, will liberalize duties on 70% of tariff lines, covering 95% of New Zealand’s exports to India. New Zealand has also committed to facilitating $20 billion of investments into India over 15 years across manufacturing, infrastructure, services, and innovation.
Bilateral trade with New Zealand stood at $1.3 billion in FY25, making up just 0.1% of India’s total trade. This suggests there is a potential to grow trade volumes between the two countries. This is India’s third trade pact this year, after Oman and the UK.
Funding reset
Proposed changes to the rural job guarantee architecture could shift a larger fiscal burden onto states. The newly approved Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), which replaces MGNREGS, revises cost-sharing to 60:40 between the Centre and states, from 90:10 earlier.
A Mint analysis shows that, had FY26 allocations followed the new formula, Uttar Pradesh would have faced the biggest additional liability at ₹4,240 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh ( ₹3,269 crore) and Tamil Nadu ( ₹3,211 crore). The shift comes as state finances remain under pressure from rising welfare spending linked to election commitments.
Numbers talk
₹30,000 crore: The equity infusion the Union government is planning into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s sovereign wealth fund. A cabinet note will be circulated for approval, and an announcement could happen in the Union budget, Mint reported.
₹6,088 crore: The total political donations received by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024-25, a 53.5% rise from the previous year, Election Commission data showed. The amount is nearly 12 times larger than that of the Congress, standing at ₹522 crore.
1.8%: The rate of growth in India’s eight core industries in November, rebounding from a 0.1% contraction in October. Robust output in fertilizers, steel, coal and cement balanced out persistent weakness across the oil and gas industries, official data showed.
$4.75 billion: The amount Alphabet will pay to acquire US clean energy developer Intersect, making it one of the largest deals by the tech giant. The acquisition is aimed at expanding the company’s data centre capacity and meeting AI-driven energy needs.
₹22 lakh: The total amount spent by Swiggy Instamart’s top spender in 2025, according to the platform’s ‘How India Instamarted 2025’ report. The unnamed customer purchased 22 iPhone 17s, 24-karat gold coins, and everyday essentials.
Overseas pullback
India’s outward remittances for overseas education under the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) have declined for 19 of the past 20 months through October 2025, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. The prolonged contraction comes against the backdrop of tighter visa norms and stricter admission policies for international students in the US, Canada, and several other developed economies.
Education-related remittances fell 26.2% year-on-year in October, according to the RBI’s monthly bulletin released on Monday. Cumulatively, such remittances stood at $2.1 billion between January to October this year, marking a 21.4% decline from a year earlier. Spending on overseas travel—the largest LRS category—has also shrunk for six consecutive months, reflecting broader weakness in outward remittance flows.
Record payout
A US jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay about $1.56 billion to a Maryland woman, Cherie Craft, who said the company’s talc-based baby powder caused her asbestos-linked cancer. The award—comprising compensatory and punitive damages—is the largest jury award for an individual plaintiff in the company’s talc litigation spanning more than 15 years.
The company, which faces lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs, has said it will challenge the appeal. The case adds to mounting legal pressure on J&J over claims that its talc products were contaminated with asbestos and that risks were not adequately disclosed. No cases have happened in India over the issue.
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