Daily News - Monday, 9 February 2026
India and Malaysia signed 10 new agreements including cooperation in disaster management, health, and social security to accelerate the ASEAN‑India Trade in Goods Agreement (Hindustan Times)
On February 9, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, defence, security, and technology, with a focus on digital payments, semiconductors, and AI. The two governments signed an agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Malaysia’s PayNet to link UPI with PayNet, while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Bank Negara Malaysia will advance talks on local currency trade settlement. Bilateral trade currently stands at USD 19 billion (INR ~1.57 lakh crore), and Anwar called for expanding this by leveraging India’s rapid economic growth. The leaders also reviewed the ASEAN‑India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), overseen jointly by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Malaysia, aiming to liberalize 80% of tariff lines and at least 70% per ASEAN member, with concessions for least‑developed countries. Ten additional agreements were signed, covering disaster management, anti‑corruption, UN peacekeeping, vocational training, health, and social security, including cooperation between India’s National Security Council Secretariat and Malaysia’s National Security Council. Both sides condemned terrorism, pledged cooperation at the UN and FATF, and emphasized maritime security, counter‑radicalization, and intelligence sharing, while Modi highlighted the Indo‑Pacific as an engine of global growth.
India and Egypt held their 14th Foreign Office Consultation in Cairo to review strategic partnership (Economic Times)
On February 9, 2026, India and Egypt held their 14th Foreign Office Consultation in Cairo, co‑chaired by Dr. Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Tamim Khallaf, Spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral strategic partnership, including cooperation in renewable energy, agriculture, ICT, and fertilizers. India has increased crude oil imports from Egypt to 1.4% of total supply, up from 0.3%, as part of diversification efforts. Around 55 Indian corporates have invested over USD 4 billion (INR ~33,200 crore) in Egypt, generating employment for 38,000 Egyptians, with an additional USD 700-800 million (INR ~5,800–6,600 crore) in the pipeline. Bilateral trade stood at USD 7 billion (INR ~58,100 crore) in 2023, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly setting a target of USD 12 billion (INR ~99,600 crore) within five years. The two countries also discussed cooperation in the G‑20, focusing on food and energy security, climate change, and amplifying the Global South’s voice, while reaffirming solidarity against terrorism after Egypt’s support following the Pahalgam attack in April 2025.
India has trained 67,000 engineers under the Semicon India Mission to support advanced chip design. Qualcomm said its Indian engineers are designing its most advanced 2nm chips (First Post)
On February 8, 2026, Qualcomm announced that its Indian engineering team is leading the design of its most advanced 2‑nanometre (2nm) silicon chips, marking a milestone for India’s semiconductor ecosystem. During a visit to Qualcomm’s Bengaluru facility, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India is now at the centre of how advanced semiconductor technologies are being designed for the future. Qualcomm confirmed that while the manufacturing of 2nm chips will take place outside India, the entire design process from product definition to silicon validation is being done in India. Vaishnaw highlighted that India has already trained 67,000 engineers under the Semicon India Mission 1.0, and is charting a path from legacy nodes to advanced nodes like 7nm and 2nm, learning from countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Savi Soni, President of Qualcomm India, added that innovations developed in India are shaping the future of connectivity, computation, and intelligent systems globally. India’s first fabrication units are expected to start with 28nm chips for automotive and consumer electronics, with gradual transition to smaller nodes over time.
Over 2,400 Global Capability Centres will employ 2.8 Million professionals in India by 2030 (HR World)
India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) market is expanding rapidly, with projections to host over 2,400 GCCs by 2030, employing 2.8 million professionals, according to a FICCI-Anarock report. By the end of 2024, India already had 1,700 GCCs, employing 1.9 million professionals, with market size rising from USD 30 billion (INR ~2.49 lakh crore) in 2019 to USD 64 billion (INR ~5.31 lakh crore) in 2024. The report estimates India’s GCC market will reach USD 105-110 billion (INR ~8.7–9.1 lakh crore) by 2030, growing at a 10% CAGR. GCCs now account for over 40% of office space leasing across India’s top seven cities, reflecting their role in driving commercial real estate demand. Raj Menda, Chairman of FICCI’s Committee on Urban Development and Supervisory Board Chairman of RMZ, said GCCs have transformed India’s office market from a “cost line to be managed” into a hub for global capital deployment and high‑value job creation. Future growth is expected to be driven by diversification into data centres, logistics parks, and retail malls, aligning with changing investor preferences and occupier trends.
