India's Labour Code Overhaul, Rupee's Record Plunge, Soaring Trade Deficit, And More — The Week That Was

The week ending Nov. 21 was dominated by an array of major headlines, including India's overhaul of the labour code, the widening of trade deficit and the domestic currency's record plunge.

On the global front, the conversation was dominated by the strong financial results of tech giant Nvidia, which restored investors' faith in the AI boom. Also, US President Donald Trump's bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the resultant deals being announced grabbed the spotlight.

Here is a quick rewind of the week gone-by:

The Government of India brought about a remarkable and significant change in the labour laws by introducing some new codes to streamline the existing laws. Here are the highlights:

• Fixed-term employees will become eligible for gratuity after one year of continuous service, instead of the previous five years.

• Women are now permitted to work nightshifts across sectors.

• IT employees will receive their salaries by the seventh of every month compulsorily.

• 'Gig work', 'platform work', and 'aggregators' have finally been defined under law, for the first time ever.

The rupee weakened past a psychologically crucial level of 89 against the US dollar on Friday. The Indian currency declined 0.87% against the greenback and recorded the worst intraday decline since May 8.

The domestic unit settled 70 paise weaker against the dollar at 89.41 a dollar, which is the lowest closing level for the rupee. During the last leg of the session, the rupee had slumped 77 paise to a record low of 89.48.

A day earlier, on Thursday, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the recent pressure on rupee may come off when India and the United States agree on a trade deal.

India’s trade deficit in October 2025 widened sharply, driven primarily by an extraordinary jump in gold and silver imports, according to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.

The spike, led by festive-season demand and rising global prices, added significant pressure to the month’s trade numbers even as cumulative performance for the fiscal year remains stable.

Agrawal said gold imports soared 199.2% in October, touching $14.7 billion compared to $4.9 billion in the same month last year.

This alone added an extra $9.8 billion to India’s import bill. Despite high international gold prices, India saw strong festive buying and pent-up consumer demand ahead of Diwali, contributing heavily to the surge. Silver imports also registered an unusual rise.

The titan chipmaker beat estimates by reporting a 62% year-on-year surge in its revenue to $57 billion. Nvidia's net income also soared 65% in the quarter under review to $31.91 billion. Read more

United States President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday signed new agreements to expand the US–Saudi strategic partnership. The agreements follow Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May. At that time, Saudi Arabia committed $600 billion in US investments. It will now raise its planned investments to nearly $1 trillion, according to a statement released by the White House.

Here are some top of the line stories that made it to the editor's top picks:

• IDBI Bank Stake Sale: Kotak Mahindra Likely Frontrunner; Fairfax, Oaktree Capital Also In Race

• US Tariffs Begin To Bite As India’s Exports Dip For First Time In 2025

• Record Fundraising, Mixed Returns: The Paradox Of The 2025 IPO Market

• AI Is Hurting Your Next PC Upgrade As RAM Prices Skyrocket 3x In Three Months

• Next Market Rally Hinges On US Trade Deal, Tariff Relief: Citi's Surendra Goyal