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.
Bilateral boost
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.
Economic scorecard
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 6.7% in FY24.
Assam, the only state to retain the same party across three consecutive election cycles, saw growth slow from 12.3% in FY23 to 7.8% in FY25 — the steepest fall among the four.
Missed target
The Centre collected ₹23.4 trillion in in FY26, per Income Tax Department data released this week. While this marks a 5.1% rise over ₹22.6 trillion collected in FY25, it fell short of revised estimates announced in the Budget, which had already trimmed the target by nearly ₹1 trillion from original budget estimates.
Within direct taxes, the government collected ₹10.99 trillion of corporate tax in FY26, 11.4% higher than FY25. This mop-up from companies exceeded the year’s original target, but remained slightly below the upwardly revised figure. However, non-corporate tax revenue, which mainly consists of personal income tax along with taxes paid by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and local authorities showed negligible growth. Securities transaction tax mop-up grew by nearly 8%.
Numbers talk
₹18,100-crore: The amount the Union cabinet approved under the fifth edition of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to help facilitate credit flow to sectors facing liquidity stress from the West Asia crisis.
₹2.17 trillion: The amount touched in FY26, exceeding budget estimates, as the government worked to keep retail prices of key nutrients, particularly urea, stable for farmers, Mint reported.
₹2.19 trillion: The amount collected under the National Small Savings Fund in the first 11 months of FY26, nearly ₹30,000 crore higher than the same period in FY25. The Centre leaned more heavily on small savings schemes to finance its budget deficit, reported.
₹39,000 crore: That’s the Godrej Properties has set for FY27, even as the residential developer expects home prices to remain stable, Mint reported. In FY26, the company’s sales bookings rose 16% year-on-year to ₹34,171 crore.
21: That’s in early May, down from 33 until December, as returns to lessors and grounding maintenance push the airlines close to the minimum threshold for international flight operations.
April revival
After losing some momentum in March 2026 due to the West Asia war, both manufacturing and services activity rose in April.
While the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose from 53.9 in March to 54.7 in April, services PMI climbed to 58.8 — the highest in five months.
Manufacturing activity was supported by stronger new orders and output, its two largest sub-components, along with reinstatement of job creation and a rebound in business confidence.
The services sector recovered on the back of rising new business and output, easing price pressures and stronger domestic demand.
Despite monthly swings driven by geopolitical developments, both indices have held above the 50-point threshold, separating expansion from contraction.
Consumption choked
Amid the escalating West Asia war, India’s (LPG) consumption slumped in March and April due to shortage following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which disrupted supplies from Gulf nations. India is heavily dependent on the region for gas and oil supplies.
LPG consumption fell to 2.2 million tonnes in April, according to Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell data. The figure in March was slightly higher at 2.4 million tonnes.
Year-on-year, both March and April recorded contraction of over 10% in LPG consumption—the sharpest decline in at least four years. So far, the government has kept prices of domestic LPG from rising, while commercial prices were hiked by over ₹900 earlier this month