India in February 2026: the most important developments in economy
In February 2026, India's economy was defined by a trade deal with the United States. On February 2 and 3, President Donald Trump announced that US tariffs on certain Indian goods would fall to 18 percent, saying India had committed to stop buying Russian oil. Trump then lifted a 25% penalty tariff, and the two countries unveiled an interim framework toward a broader pact. New Delhi said its oil policy rested on national interest and energy security, and the government stated on February 18 that it had not decided to stop buying Russian oil. The White House revised its fact sheet, softening language on purchase commitments. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called the deal one-sided, and farmers protested. By February 22, talks were postponed, with reports pointing to Trump's proposed global tariff increase, and later the US imposed a 126% tariff on solar firms from India.
The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16, was the second major theme. Around 20 world leaders and executives from OpenAI, Google and Nvidia attended, and 86 countries signed the New Delhi Declaration. The Adani Group announced $100 billion for AI data centers by 2035 and Google announced $15 billion for digital infrastructure. French President Emmanuel Macron attended, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a $3 billion fund. Galgotias University was removed from the summit for presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog as its own.
Markets were unsettled. The budget presented on February 1 raised infrastructure spending 11.4 percent to 12.2 trillion rupees and increased taxes on derivatives trading, and share prices fell sharply. Indian IT stocks later sold off on fears of AI disruption, heading for their worst month in 23 years. India also finalized draft texts for a trade agreement with the European Union and negotiated with Canada and Israel.
On energy, India seized three tankers in its first action against the shadow fleet carrying Russian oil, and sought crude and LNG supplies as US-Iran tensions rose. On February 28, Air India and IndiGo suspended all flights to the Middle East.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.