Australia will provide duty-free access to all Indian exports from January 1, 2026 under the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) between the two countries, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday (December 29, 2025). The Minister was commenting on the third anniversary of the deal, which came into effect on December 29, 2022.

“From 1 January 2026, 100% of Australian tariff lines will be zero-duty for Indian exports,” Mr Goyal shared on X on Monday (December 29, 2025). “Over the past three years, the Agreement has delivered sustained export growth, deeper market access, and stronger supply-chain resilience, benefiting Indian exporters, MSMEs, farmers, and workers alike.”

The ECTA was an ‘early harvest’ deal, covering a few of the trade-related issues between the two countries, with both sides currently engaged in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that will be broader and deeper in scope. 

According to Mr. Goyal, India’s exports to Australia grew by 8% in 2024-25, improving India’s trade balance, with “strong gains” being witnessed across manufacturing, chemicals, textiles, plastics, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, and gems & jewellery.

“Agri-exports recorded broad-based growth, with sharp increases in fruits & vegetables, marine products, spices, and exceptional growth in coffee,” Mr. Goyal said. 

Bangladesh will hold the 13th parliamentary election on February 12, 2026, Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin announced on Thursday (December 11, 2025).

A referendum on a landmark democratic reform charter will also be held on the same day, the CEC said in a television broadcast to the nation.

This will be the first election after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a violent student-led protest in August 2024.

Interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government, will step down after the polls.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by three-time former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is widely tipped to win.

But Ms. Zia is in intensive care in Dhaka, while her son and political heir Tarique Rahman has been in exile in Britain for 17 years and is yet to return.

With inputs from PTI, AFP