Industrial corridor approvals advance plug and play greenfield industrial nodes and multimodal logistics transport hubs to attract manufacturing investment.
Cabinet approval authorises trunk infrastructure construction for Krishnapatnam and Tumakuru industrial areas under the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and a Multi Modal Logistics Hub and Multi Modal Transport Hub at Greater Noida, planned on dedicated freight corridors and major expressways to provide plug and play utilities, multimodal freight and passenger connectivity, container handling and value added logistics services, and developed land parcels ready for immediate allotment to attract manufacturing investment and support regional employment generation.

Investment arbitration award prompts government review and counsel consultation, with potential legal remedies to be pursued.
An arbitration award under the India UK Agreement for Promotion and Protection of Investments, brought by Cairn Energy Plc and Cairn UK Holdings Limited against the Government of India, has been issued; the Government will study the award with its counsels and consider available courses of action, including legal remedies before appropriate fora.

FDI liberalisation expands Australia India investment opportunities, promoting sectoral engagement and supply chain diversification under strategic economic cooperation.
Easing of foreign investment restrictions and sectoral opening form the core policy action, with facilitation of FDI through broader automatic route access and sectoral liberalisation, including agricultural value chain investment. Emerging collaborative sectors identified include space, nuclear energy, defence production, digital education engagement, commercial ship building, water management, textiles, digital gaming and animation. Complementary measures include labour law reforms to enhance employment flexibility and tourism project viability, and emphasis on supply chain diversification. The India Australia Economic Strategy Report is intended to align trade and economic policy and to identify cooperation areas feeding into negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership, under the 3B objectives: Bigger trade basket, Better trade basket, Balanced trade relationship.

Social protection financing expands portable support for poor households, migrants, and informal workers across state boundaries.
The Government of India and the World Bank executed a concessional development credit to expand coordinated social assistance for COVID-19-affected poor households, focusing on the poor, urban migrants, informal workers and peri-urban communities by strengthening national and state capacity to deliver a portable social protection platform with targeted urban support and state-level flexibility to use disaster response funds.

Hygiene Rating Scheme expands recognised audit agencies to verify food hygiene and enable consumer choice through visible ratings.
Recognition scheme authorises QCI to accredit Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies to audit food businesses supplying directly to consumers, verify compliance with FSSAI hygiene and safety procedures, and assign a visible hygiene rating represented by smileys to be displayed in consumer-facing areas. The scheme applies to food service establishments, sweet shops, bakeries and meat retail stores and centralises conformity assessment through recognised auditors to promote informed consumer choice and incentivise higher hygiene standards.

Facilitative FDI policy invites foreign investors, emphasising incentives, PLI schemes and central-state investment facilitation support.
India invites foreign investors by emphasising a facilitative FDI policy, tax and manufacturing incentives, the Production-Linked Incentive scheme, and the role of investment promotion cells and central-state coordination to facilitate entry, expand industrial investment, and support recovery and long-term growth.

Exemption for handicraft and GI toys: artisans and GI proprietors exempt from mandatory BIS Standard Mark requirement.
The Amendment exempts goods manufactured and sold by artisans registered with the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and products registered as Geographical Indications from the requirement to follow Indian toy standards and from compulsory use of the Standard Mark under Scheme 1 of Schedule II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.

Reform-linked borrowing: benefits granted to States completing One Nation One Ration Card, subject to certification and conditions.
Part of the additional State borrowing headroom in 2020-21 is conditional on implementing One Nation One Ration Card reforms-Aadhaar seeding of ration cards, biometric authentication of beneficiaries and automation of Fair Price Shops-with compliance certified by the Department of Food and Public Distribution and eligibility tied to completion by the prescribed deadline.

Trade agreement negotiations advance as ministers agree steps on TEPA, discuss investment treaty and seek TRIPS waiver support.
Both ministers agreed on concrete next steps to progress the India EFTA Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), discussed the ongoing negotiation of an India Switzerland Bilateral Investment Treaty, and India requested Swiss support for a joint World Trade Organization proposal for a TRIPS waiver to enable affordable global access to COVID 19 vaccines and treatments.

Startup support measures expand tax incentives, seed funding and public procurement access to strengthen early-stage enterprises.
The Government has implemented facilitative measures to bolster startups, including tax benefits, an early-stage fund of funds to support promising ventures, and equitable access to public procurement via the Government e-Marketplace, all under the broader Startup India initiative. Chartered Accountants are encouraged to support startups and rural stakeholders in accessing these reforms, while issuance of an MSME Business Continuity Checklist provides institutional guidance for small business continuity and development.

Investment promotion best practices recognized as Invest India's pandemic-response platforms and outreach win UNCTAD award.
Invest India was recognized by UNCTAD for pandemic-era investment promotion and facilitation practices. UNCTAD evaluated IPAs on COVID-19 responses, emphasizing crisis management, emergency support coordination, digital continuity, and investor services. Invest India's cited initiatives include the Business Immunity Platform, an Exclusive Investment Forum webinar series, targeted COVID response teams for business reconstruction and outreach, and enhanced digital engagement, reflecting both immediate crisis measures and longer-term strategies for investment promotion, facilitation and retention.

Intellectual property cooperation expands: bilateral MoU fosters exchange of IP best practices and collaborative capacity building.
A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes a framework for Intellectual Property Cooperation to facilitate exchange of best practices among industry, academia and SMEs; collaborate on training, expert exchanges and technical outreach; share information on registration and examination processes for patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications and industrial designs; cooperate on IP office automation and information systems; and address traditional knowledge issues. Implementation will proceed via a Biennial Work Plan detailing cooperative activities and scope.

Insurance supervisory cooperation expands as IFSCA joins global association to access standards and foster IFSC insurance hub.
IFSCA obtained membership of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, securing access to IAIS standards, principles and forums for regulatory information exchange. The membership enables alignment with international insurance supervision benchmarks, facilitates sharing of supervisory experience, and supports institutional linkages to develop the IFSC at GIFT City as a global insurance hub, including coordination of cross border and offshore insurance and reinsurance activities.

Regulatory approval under Section 31(1): acquisition via compulsorily convertible preference shares cleared for Mauritius-based investor.
Regulatory approval under the Competition Act was granted for the acquisition of Rivigo by Spring Canter Investment Ltd via subscription to compulsorily convertible preference shares, treating the transaction as an acquisition subject to merger control. The acquirer is a Mauritius-incorporated investment holding company owned by private equity funds managed by Warburg Pincus. Rivigo is described as a technology-enabled logistics platform using a driver-relay model and operating a relay-led trucking and freight marketplace.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme extension allows additional collateral free GECL funding for eligible sector borrowers with specified credit vintage.
ECLGS 2.0 extends collateral free Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line support to the 26 Kamath Committee sectors and healthcare, for borrowers with outstanding credit above fifty crore and up to five hundred crore as on 29.02.2020 who were not more than thirty days past due; additional funding up to twenty percent of total outstanding credit is available, fully guaranteed, with a five year tenor and a twelve month principal moratorium. ECLGS 1.0 is also extended to entities with fund based credit up to fifty crore previously excluded for exceeding the turnover ceiling; other terms remain unchanged and operational guidelines have been issued.

Self-reliance in gems and jewellery: push for MSME support, technology adoption and export-led quality enhancement.
Reorientation of industry practices is urged to advance national self reliance in the gems and jewellery sector by prioritising technology adoption, innovation, skill development and enhanced quality and productivity. The Government expresses readiness to engage with the industry to support MSMEs through joint participation with industry associations to facilitate marketing, access to low cost finance, logistics and to consider suggestions on duties, SEZs, tax refunds and financing to promote exports, check leakages and encourage orderly sectoral behaviour.

SDG investment mapping highlights investable opportunity areas balancing commercial returns with development impact and public private alignment.
The SDG Investor Map identifies 18 Investment Opportunity Areas across six SDG-enabling sectors, classifying ten as mature, eight as emerging, and eight "White Spaces" that could mature with policy support within a five- to six-year horizon. It highlights short- to medium-term investment timeframes and historical returns that signal commercial viability, and maps overlaps between public priorities and private interest to guide coordinated public support and private-sector participation in IOAs that advance job creation, inclusion, digital delivery, and scalable development impact.

International accountancy cooperation expands through an MoU enabling joint technical events and professional exchanges between institutes.
Cabinet approval authorises signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Vereniging van Registercontrollers, Netherlands to establish a formal framework for bilateral cooperation in accounting, finance and audit, including joint technical events, cooperation on member management, professional ethics, technical research, continuing professional education, accountancy training and institutional capacity building.

Foreign direct investment approval increases investor's stake in telecom infrastructure after exercise of a put option.
Approval was granted for M/s ATC Asia Pacific PTE Limited to acquire a minority equity stake in M/s ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited following exercise of a put option by Tata entities, increasing the acquirer's cumulative foreign investment in the company. The approval is situated within the telecom sector framework where FDI up to 100% is permitted, with up to 49% via the automatic route and any excess requiring government route approval subject to licensing and security conditions by the Department of Telecommunications.

Quality and productivity urged as strategic priorities to boost industry competitiveness and convert crisis into opportunity.
Directive urging industry to prioritise quality and productivity, with industry associations asked to hold sectoral or regional brainstorming days to promote knowledge sharing and focused action plans. The Minister related improved corporate profitability to pandemic-era adjustments and framed quality and productivity as tools to convert crisis into opportunity. The statement also stresses maintaining health precautions, records that government will examine association suggestions before responding, and situates the interaction within an ongoing post Covid consultation series involving multiple departments.