Parliament roundup: Trade pact talks, supply chains, jobs and agriculture in focus

Textiles and apparel exports, including handicraft, grew at a CAGR of around 4.5% between FY20 and FY26, reaching 3.3 lakh crore in FY26, MoS for textiles Pabitra Margherita informed the Lok Sabha. Separately, the parliament was informed that over the last 10 years, exports of tobacco and tobacco products have increased to 368.85 million kg valued at 17,192.04 crore ($1.9 billion) from 240.93 million kg valued at `6,450.66 crore ($ 958.68 million), an increase of 53.1% in quantity and 166.51% in value terms.

Panel for Replacing Tourist Permit
The parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture has suggested replacing all-India tourist permit with all-India passenger permit issued by the state of first registration and enforcing it exclusively through VAHAN, FASTag and vehicle location data. It has also suggested commissioning the monitoring centres, ending the border check posts in the six states where they persist, and placing the injured passengers’ claim beyond dispute, aimed at enhancing passenger safety.


Oil Palm Acreage Reaches 42% of Mission Target
India has brought about 2.73 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation against a five-year mission target of 6.5 lakh hectares, achieving around 42% of the goal under the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), according to a question answered in Lok Sabha. The scheme, launched in 2021-22 to reduce India’s dependence on edible oil imports, is being implemented across 15 states.Government data showed wide variations in performance. Andhra Pradesh added 97,871 hectares against a target of 1.12 lakh hectares, while Telangana achieved 98,112 hectares against 1.25 lakh hectares.

Negotiations for US Trade Pact On
Negotiations are ongoing between India and the US for a trade pact. The two countries announced on February 7, 2026, that they have reached a framework for an interim pact regarding mutually beneficial trade.

China Imports Must for Certain Sectors
Certain imports from China, including critical minerals and other industrial inputs, are essential for India’s clean energy, EV, electronics and semicon sectors, the parliament was informed, in response to a question on concerns over the impact of low-cost Chinese goods on domestic manufacturers.

‘Bigger’ Wilful Defaulters Owe 2,85,015 crore
MoS for finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha that as per inputs received from PSBs, the outstanding amount owed by wilful defaulters of 25 lakh and above as on June 30, 2026 was 2,85,015 crore against 15,930 wilful defaulters. In a separate response, he said the total amount of unclaimed deposits, transferred by banks to depositor education and awareness fund was 90,545 crore as of June 30, 2025, and `98, 073 crore as of January 31, 2026, as per RBI data. He noted in a separate reply that PSBs have opened 6,255 branches and closed 4,093 branches in the last five FYs, according to RBI data.

Diversifying Supply Chains
The government has identified energy, fertilisers, electronics and semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other strategic manufacturing sectors as priorities for strengthening and diversifying India’s supply chains, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal informed Lok Sabha. In fertilisers, nearly 73% of total requirement was met through domestic production in 2025 and the government is pursuing long-term pacts for key raw materials while diversifying supply sources to ensure reliable availability to farmers.

Panel for Bridging Jobs Gap
AParliamentary panel has called to bridge the big gap between demand and work placements and bolster support under a key rural skilling programme. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, chaired by senior Congress leader Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, recommended that the rural development department track almost 100% of candidates under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and extend support as far as possible. While almost 1.84 million candidates were trained under the DDU-GKY as of March 2026, 1.19 million, or about 65%, were placed. The panel wants the government to ensure mandatory industry linkages, localised placement drives.