The week in charts: India-NZ FTA, growth forecasts, trillion-dollar club

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 finalizing a free-trade agreement to global agencies raising India’s growth forecasts, chipmaker AMD joining the $1 trillion market-cap club, the government preparing for higher cash demand when the new UPI regime begins on 15 October and Cristiano Ronaldo deciding to play on for Portugal—here are this week’s news in numbers.

Easier trade

India and New Zealand finalized a free-trade agreement (FTA) this week, which is set to come into force on 20 October. The agreement gives Indian exporters duty-free access across all tariff lines in New Zealand, while India has extended concessions on about 70% of tariff lines, covering about 95% of current bilateral trade value. New Zealand’s tariffs on Indian products currently range from zero to 10%, with an average of 2.2%. In 2025-26, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at about $1.16 billion. In the last 9 years, India has turned a trade deficit with New Zealand into a surplus. However, exports to New Zealand fell 20% in 2025-26, led by petroleum products, pushing India back into a trade deficit.

Growth upgrades

Global rating agencies and multilateral organisations have raised their forecasts for India’s economic growth for the fiscal year 2026-27, with four out of five now projecting growth of at least 7%. This week, S&P raised its forecast to 7% from 6.6% projected in its June outlook, while Fitch raised its forecast to 6.9% from 6.4%. The OECD also raised its forecast from 6.3% in its June outlook to 7.1%, while the Asian Development Bank raised its projection to 7% from its earlier July estimate of 6.6%. Last week, Moody’s also raised its forecast by a full percentage point to 7% (up from 6% in May). The agencies cited the economy’s resilient performance amid the US-Iran war and its knock-on effects on energy supplies and prices, along with stronger-than-expected 7.8% growth in the June quarter.

Cash back

The government has instructed banks to ensure adequate cash availability at ATMs from 15 October, when a fee will be levied on select UPI transactions for the first time, Mint reported. The RBI and the finance ministry have asked banks to prepare for the possibility of increased demand for cash. The 0.4% charge on specified person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300, has raised concerns about an increase in cash transactions. While digital payments have grown rapidly, currency in circulation has continued to rise since demonetisation in November 2016. Between 31 March 2025 and 31 August 2026, cash with the public increased by about 16%, following single-digit increases in each of the previous three financial years.

$278 billion: The cash that OpenAI expects to burn between 2026 and 2030, according to the Financial Times. OpenAI expects its revenues to rise from $36 billion to $350 billion in this period.

5.7 times: The extent to which the ₹22,562 crore National Stock Exchange issue was oversubscribed. The retail portion was subscribed 1.39 times and the employee portion 2.4 times.

26.7%: The passenger share of the Air India Group in the domestic segment in August, an increase of 2.7 percentage points over July. Market leader IndiGo’s share fell from 67.4% to 65%.

11,000: The number of international runs milestone crossed by India’s Smriti Mandhana during the Asian Games, becoming the first female cricketer to do so. The next best is Mithali Raj, with 10,868 runs.

5-10 trillion: The number of parameters Alibaba plans for its next Qwen artificial intelligence models, up from 2.4 trillion in its current model, as it develops models designed to handle more complex tasks.

Trillion-dollar club

American chipmaker AMD this week crossed a market capitalization of $1 trillion for the first time, joining a rarefied club that now has 16 members. PetroChina briefly touched the $1 trillion mark in 2007, but Apple was the first company to cross it permanently, in August 2018. Since then, tech giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta have also joined the league. The composition has increasingly broadened from consumer technology and software to the hardware underpinning artificial intelligence, with AMD joining the likes of Nvidia, TSMC and Broadcom. Beyond tech firms, only a handful of companies—state oil producer Saudi Aramco, pharma company Eli Lilly and Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway—have reached the milestone.

Ronaldo plays on

As the latest round of international football matches gets underway around the world, Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will continue playing for Portugal, keeping alive his pursuit of 1,000 career goals. The 2026 World Cup was expected to be the 41-year-old’s final major tournament, but he has now indicated that he intends to play on. Ronaldo currently has 979 goals in a 24-year career, the most among male footballers for club and country. He is followed by Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has 930 goals and recently retired from international football. Ronaldo has scored 146 goals for Portugal, making him the most-prolific goal-scorer in international football.

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