Index of Eight Core Industries shows monthly increase, signalling sectoral recovery with mixed industry-wise performance.
Index of Eight Core Industries recorded a provisional increase of 3.7 percent in January 2022 and 11.6 percent growth for April-January 2021-22. Coal, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Steel, Cement and Electricity rose in January; Crude Oil and Fertilizers declined. The release sets out industry weights, notes provisional status of recent months and methodological adjustments including renewable electricity inclusion and a new steel product classification.

Integrated infrastructure planning under PM GatiShakti centralizes logistics coordination and digital single window integration for efficient movement of goods.
PM GatiShakti is an integrated national master plan to improve logistics efficiency by centralizing planning, providing a dynamic Geographic Information System portal for real time stakeholder inputs, and promoting synchronized, time bound implementation. Operational components include a Nation as a Whole integrated planning approach, Cooperative Federalism with enhanced capital investment, national expressway and multi modal cargo terminal development, a Logistics Workforce Strategy, and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform for a single window digital logistics ecosystem.

Acquisition of control via preferential allotment and open offer approved, enabling acquirer to seek majority stake in target.
Proposed combination involves acquisition of sole control of ISMT Limited by Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Limited through subscription by way of a preferential allotment and a concurrent open offer under the SEBI Substantial Acquisition and Takeovers Regulations, 2011, envisaging acquisition of a majority of the Emerging Voting Capital and subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India.

Industrial policy promotes job creation in labour intensive sectors and use of coordinated logistics to reduce costs and boost exports.
Advocacy for industry investment in labour intensive manufacturing sectors to create mass employment, leverage comparative labour cost advantage, and expand export capacity; promotion of the PM Gati Shakti master plan for coordinated multimodal connectivity and data integration to reduce logistics costs; and an industry three point action plan requiring large firms to integrate and ensure timely payments to MSMEs, support domestic manufacturing collaboration, and train youth for manufacturing roles.

Green financing for transport unlocks affordable capital and collaborative mechanisms to accelerate electrification and shared mobility.
Green financing is identified as central to accelerating transport decarbonization by unlocking affordable capital for electrification and sustainable mobility, with emphasis on financing instruments that reduce costs for electric vehicles and public transport assets. The document advocates multi-stakeholder collaboration among states, financial institutions, manufacturers and operators to design widely applicable, sustainable financing mechanisms, enable peer learning, and prioritise strategic investments to overcome the financing gap hindering the transition to zero-emission vehicles and integrated low-carbon mobility.

Ease of Doing Business drives digital transformation and trade liberalisation, advancing infrastructure planning and startup-led export growth.
The national strategy foregrounds digital platforms to achieve mass transformation by combining Ease of Doing Business, enhanced citizen convenience, and streamlined governance, supported by the PMGatiShakti infrastructure master plan. It links export and trade promotion, investment and a strengthened startup ecosystem to international engagement and bilateral trade liberalisation, while urging diaspora mentorship and technological support to advance self-reliance and market access for small producers.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership expands market access and includes automatic pharma authorisation, strict rules of origin and safeguard protections.
The India-UAE CEPA is a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement broadening market access across goods, digital economy and government procurement, featuring strict rules of origin and a permanent safeguard mechanism to counter sudden import surges, and providing automatic registration and market authorisation for Indian pharmaceuticals approved in specified developed jurisdictions; the pact aims to boost labour intensive sectors and generate significant employment while being supplemented by sectoral MoUs on food security and financial centre cooperation.

International loan financing supports science-based watershed management to strengthen climate-resilient agriculture and state implementation capacity.
A multilateral loan agreement funds the REWARD programme to finance improved watershed management practices through science-based, data-driven planning, spatial data and decision support tools, and knowledge exchange; funding is allocated to Karnataka, Odisha and the central Department of Land Resources with a long-term maturity and grace period to support state-level implementation, institutional strengthening, and replication across other states to enhance resilience and livelihoods in rainfed agriculture.

Illegal manufacture of psychotropic substance uncovered; raid exposed tramadol factory disguised as Ayurvedic medicines, leading to seizures and arrests.
Coordinated raids uncovered a clandestine Tramadol manufacturing unit disguised as a honey-processing plant and a retail forefront selling tablets as Ayurvedic medicines; searches produced large recoveries of Tramadol pills and powder, suspected opium, packing materials and manufacturing machinery. Offences under the narcotics law were registered, two persons were arrested, and further investigation and intensified enforcement action were indicated.

Capacity development scheme continuation extends central support for official statistics and nationwide statistical surveys.
Continuation of the Central Sector Capacity Development Scheme extends support for infrastructure, technical assistance and manpower to strengthen the official statistical system; it comprises a main Capacity Development component and two sub-schemes-Support for Statistical Strengthening and Economic Census-and continues a programme of core and newly initiated surveys (enterprise, household, Time Use, consumer expenditure, labour force, price, urban frame, international price comparison and industry surveys) to address data gaps and enhance national survey capabilities.

Merger control: approval of foreign investor acquisition of Sajjan India under Indian competition law notification.
The Competition Commission approved acquisition of equity share capital of Sajjan India Limited by Sona Company Pte. Ltd. as a notified combination involving an equity investment; the acquirer is a Singapore investment company with no Indian presence and the target operates in contract manufacture and manufacture and trade of specialty chemicals, agro-chemical intermediates, dyes and pigments compounds, pharmaceutical intermediates (excluding APIs), and chemical reagents, with a detailed order to follow.

Japan Industrial Townships boost investment facilitation; review affirms infrastructure, incentives, PLI participation and market opportunities.
A bilateral administrative review assessed progress of Japan Industrial Townships (JITs) established under the Action Agenda for the India-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion, focusing on developed land, ready-to-move infrastructure, plug-and-play facilities, facilitation desks, incentive frameworks and investor field visits to expedite allotment and implementation.

Focus on Scale, Quality and Job Creation: leverage digital platforms to protect livelihoods and advance self-reliant growth.
Piyush Goyal urged IIT Kanpur students to prioritise Scale, Quality and Job Creation, using technology to democratise services and protect livelihoods; he urged study and improvement of digital platforms such as ONDC, Single Window and PM GatiShakti to further Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and articulated a Five Point Action Plan urging innovation for farmers, artisans and small retailers, contributions to India's G20 agenda, and a commitment to Seva and Samarpan.

Patent filings rose in India, showing increased domestic applications and disclosed trends in filing activity.
Patent filing activity in India has risen over the reporting period, with both total national applications and applications by Indian applicants increasing year-on-year. These statistics were supplied to the Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and are presented in the context of an initiative described as easing the process of filing patents.

Seed funding framework: approved incubators distribute government grants to startups under a centralised scheme, while data remains dispersed.
A central seed funding mechanism, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, provides multi-year grants to approved incubators to deliver seed capital to startups; some incubators have been approved and startups funded under the Scheme, while information on seed grants from other central or state schemes is not centrally maintained.

PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan improves multimodal connectivity, enabling informed investment planning and greater logistics efficiency.
The document reports sectoral Gross Value Added figures for logistics components and notes that total logistics contribution to GDP is not compiled; it also describes the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan as a framework to map economic zones and required multimodal infrastructure linkages to remove gaps, improve connectivity and logistics efficiency, and assist governments and investors in planning investments.

Anti-competitive conduct: union found to fix transport prices and restrict services, ordered to cease such practices.
CCI concluded that Dumper Truck Union concertedly determined transportation prices and restricted access to transport services, preventing an independent logistics firm from using its own vehicles, compelling use of union vehicles and drivers at higher rates, and obstructing and threatening the informant's personnel; the Commission held the union and its then chairman liable and issued a cease and desist directive to discontinue those anti-competitive practices.

Atal Pension Yojana affirms government-guaranteed fixed pension benefits with spousal entitlement at retirement age.
Atal Pension Yojana is a government-administered contributory pension scheme, operational since June 1, 2015 and overseen by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, offering five prescribed fixed monthly pension slabs to eligible Indian citizens aged 18-40 with a savings bank account. The Government guarantees payment of the pension at retirement and continuation of the same pension to the spouse on the subscriber's death. Reported enrolment under the scheme reached 7,106,743 subscribers up to January 24, 2022.

Infrastructure coordination: centralized geospatial data and inter-ministerial bodies established for synchronized national planning.
Coordination under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is being advanced by integrating central ministry geospatial and project data on a national portal in coordination with DPIIT and a national geo-informatics institute; an operational Technical Support Unit, Network Planning Group and Empowered Group of Secretaries have been constituted and training for seventeen ministries plus zonal conferences completed to enable synchronized inter-ministerial planning and implementation.

Merger control clearance confirms joint control acquisition of a healthcare IT provider by private equity funds.
The Competition Commission approved the proposed combination in which funds managed by Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and GIC Special Investments will, via special purpose vehicles culminating in Minerva Holdco, acquire indirect joint control of athenahealth Group, Inc. The Acquirers are parallel SPVs investing to achieve capital appreciation. The Target is a US cloud provider of healthcare IT services and holds a minority interest in an Indian revenue cycle management services provider. A detailed CCI order will follow.