The week in charts: Inflation heat, export shift, tracking services production

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From retail inflation breaching the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target and India's export markets undergoing a shift amid war-led trade disruptions, to broad-based growth in the services sector, urban Indians adopting artificial intelligence but cautiously, and Spain returning to the Fifa World Cup final after 16 years with two of the youngest players ever to feature in the title clash—here are this week's news in numbers.

Retail inflation rose to 4.4% in June, breaching RBI's medium-term target of 4% for the first time since January 2025, data released by the statistics ministry on Monday showed. The increase was driven by higher food and fuel prices. Food inflation surged to 5.3%, up from 4.8% even before the impact of El Niño began. Many food items have seen a sharp surge in inflation since January 2026. Ginger recorded the sharpest rise, from -0.3% in January 2026 to 50.4% in June 2026. Garlic also saw deflation fading completely, from -53% at the beginning of the year to 17.9% in the last month. Similar reversals were seen across several other food items. Inflation is expected to remain elevated as food prices continue to face weather-related risks, while renewed tensions in West Asia could add further pressure to fuel prices.

Indian exports have seen sizeable shifts in the past three months, reflecting the impact of the West Asia war and uncertainty of trade with the US. Exports to the United Arab Emirates declined 12% in April-June, while shipments to Saudi Arabia increased only 1.2%. Exports to the US also moderated, likely due to trade-related uncertainty and a high base due to frontloading last year. As India lost ground among these important trade partners, others made up for the loss: shipments to Singapore more than doubled, exports to South Africa increased 76.5%, and those to China rose 27.6%, indicating a possible reorientation of export destinations amid evolving geopolitical conditions.

Most sub-sectors in India's newly released Index of Services Production (ISP) recorded double-digit year-on-year growth in April 2026, according to the trial estimates released by the statistics ministry on Tuesday. Nine of the 19 sub-sectors grew 10-20%, while three expanded 20-30%. Accommodation and food services (37.2%), retail trade (30.8%), administrative and support services (28.6%) led the gains. Only air transport (-14%) and railway transport (-0.4%) contracted, with the weakness in air transport likely reflecting disruptions linked to the West Asia war. This marked a sharp improvement from April 2025, when just one sub-sector recorded double-digit growth. Growth was even broader in March 2026, when 13 of the 19 sub-sectors expanded by more than 30%, likely aided by fiscal year-end spending and seasonal activity. However, the ISP remains a trial series with data available only from FY26, limiting longer-term trend analysis.

₹1.3 trillion: The outlay approved by the Union cabinet for the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission to boost domestic chip manufacturing by supporting Indian firms in chip design, patent creation and indigenous research capabilities.

$10 billion: The inflows attracted by RBI after it announced a zero-cost foreign exchange swap facility for non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits at its 5 June policy meeting, enabling banks to offer higher returns on such deposits, Reuters reported.

16%: Year-on-year rise in India's net direct tax collections to ₹6.5 trillion in FY27 up to 13 July, driven by growth in both corporate and non-corporate tax receipts, according to official data released on Tuesday.

3,343: The reduction in HDFC Bank's workforce in FY26 as automation expanded and employees were redeployed to customer-facing roles, marking the lender's first net decline in headcount in nine years.

₹3,541 crore: The excess expenditure flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General in Maharashtra's Muk...