Design policy highlighted as a national development driver, urging graduates to advance 'Make in India' and global innovation.
Design is framed as a strategic national asset and innovation driver across sectors, tied to the 'Make in India' and 'Design in India' initiatives, with graduates positioned to translate those initiatives into global impact; the 44th Convocation of the National Institute of Design conferred degrees on 430 students and emphasized design education's contribution to inclusive growth and national capacity in design-driven industries.

Digital payment adoption via UPI drives widespread low value retail use and enables international payment interoperability.
UPI operates as India's dominant real time retail payment system, driven by user centric design, low transaction costs, and continuous innovation. Recent briefings reported record monthly and fiscal volumes, widespread participation by banks and third party apps, and a majority share of P2M transactions-largely low value payments-demonstrating UPI's centrality to everyday retail payments. The platform's international expansion positions UPI as a model for cross border interoperability and an object of study for other jurisdictions seeking to adopt similar real time payment architectures.

Quality Management as key enabler for investment and growth, urging industry to adopt modern standards and handhold small businesses.
The statement prioritizes quality management and handholding of small businesses, urging adoption of modern quality standards, enforcement under existing quality control orders, and leadership by business chambers and larger firms to upgrade manufacturing practices; it further stresses sustainability and energy efficiency, inclusive growth supported by targeted interventions and CSR, expansion of skill development centers, and strengthening competitiveness through innovation and capacity building to reduce dependency on subsidies.

Quality-driven growth: initiative to embed sectoral quality standards through state-industry collaboration and capacity building programs.
Gunvatta Sankalp Nagaland, organised by the Quality Council of India with the Government of Nagaland, is a one-day platform to strengthen quality across Healthcare, Education & Skilling, Industry & MSMEs, and Tourism by convening officials, industry, and experts to embed quality standards, foster partnerships, and support capacity building aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Self-redevelopment projects promoted with central support and infrastructure investment to expand permanent housing and urban services.
Central support for self-redevelopment was affirmed through key distribution to 15 self-redeveloped housing societies, promoting permanent housing in existing localities and stakeholder participation. The statement links these projects to wider infrastructure measures - hospital construction and planned expansion, coastal and connectivity road projects, cement-concrete road adoption for monsoon resilience, and funded sewage-treatment initiatives to prevent marine pollution - stressing central-state collaboration and resource allocation for implementation.

Memorandum of Understanding expands startup support, enabling mentorship, infrastructure, market access and regulatory guidance for fintech and manufacturing startups.
DPIIT and Paytm entered a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate manufacturing and fintech startups by providing mentorship, infrastructure support, market access and funding facilitation, with targeted programs for fintech hardware manufacturers, regulatory and compliance workshops, incubation and investor linkages, and use of Paytm's merchant network for product testing and scaling.

Vessel flagging reform urged to attract Indian-flagged ships, leveraging cabotage within trade rules to strengthen logistics.
Policy focus seeks to make Indian vessel flagging more attractive by soliciting industry proposals for State and Central measures; India can leverage cabotage within WTO rules but currently lacks sufficient Indian-flagged vessels. Government initiatives emphasize promoting shipbuilding, building on port capacity gains and reduced turnaround times, while calling for enhancements to the logistics ecosystem-including further development of the Unified Logistics Interface Platform, container ownership and manufacturing, export speed, and congestion management-and adopting hybrid seafarer training to meet workforce demand.

Ease of Doing Business reaffirmed as government advances measures to boost investment, startups, and SME-led economic growth.
The government affirms a policy commitment to a favourable investment climate and enhanced Ease of Doing Business through regulatory stability, international engagement to attract investment, and support for SMEs. Operational measures include financing mechanisms for startups and deep-technology ventures, increased public investment in research and development via a national research foundation and advisory structures, and initiatives promoting trust-based governance and investor-friendly metrics to strengthen entrepreneurship and regional innovation hubs.

Infrastructure development driving sustainable, multimodal connectivity and economic growth while recognising innovative projects.
The government is advancing coordinated, sustainable and resilient infrastructure development with a major budgetary allocation to support roads, railways and economic activity, using fiscal resources to create jobs and improve mobility. Implementation emphasizes integrated multimodal planning under the PM Gati Shakti framework to deliver seamless transport connectivity and lower logistics costs, while the Build India Infra Awards recognise innovative projects across highways, railways, ports and airports to encourage collaboration and accelerate infrastructure delivery.

Data-driven hackathon promotes use of official statistics for policy-focused visualizations, open to students and researchers.
MoSPI, with MyGov, is launching the "Innovate with GoIStats" data-visualization hackathon (25 February-31 March 2025) to prompt students and researchers to analyse NSO official statistics-including PLFS, HCES, ASI, CPI and GDP-and produce visualizations to support evidence-based policymaking. Eligibility is limited to undergraduate, postgraduate students and researchers; a panel of expert evaluators will select the top 30 entries for prizes and emphasize practical engagement with microdata and official datasets. Registration is via the MyGov link.

Women entrepreneurship participation in public procurement boosted by SWAYATT initiative, enhancing market access and capacity-building for sellers.
SWAYATT marks six years as an inclusion-focused GeM initiative designed to increase participation of startups, women-led enterprises, youth and last-mile MSEs in public procurement by providing training, digital onboarding, dedicated storefronts and direct market linkages; GeM has partnered with a national women-entrepreneur forum to expand outreach and aims to scale startup onboarding and double women sellers' participation through capacity-building and institutional collaboration.

Resumption of trade negotiations signals renewed commitment to secure a balanced, mutually beneficial bilateral trade deal.
Resumption of trade negotiations between India and the United Kingdom is announced, directing negotiators to recommence talks to conclude a balanced, mutually beneficial and forward-looking bilateral trade agreement. Negotiators are instructed to resolve outstanding issues to ensure a fair and equitable deal. The talks are situated within broader cooperation across security, technology, climate, health, education, research and green finance, and aim to promote economic growth, sustainable development and strengthened trading ties that unlock opportunities for businesses and consumers.

Project Monitoring Group coordination urged to expedite resolution of mega infrastructure project issues, encouraging private proponents to engage.
Project monitoring and inter governmental coordination were directed to expedite resolution of pending issues affecting multiple mega infrastructure projects through the Project Monitoring Group (PMG), with officials urging private proponents to use the PMG mechanism for structured engagement with Central and State authorities to secure timely issue resolution and efficient project delivery.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership drives India Japan industrial collaboration, boosting manufacturing, investment, infrastructure, technology and trade ties.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and extensive Japanese FDI form the foundation of India-Japan economic cooperation, driving Japanese participation in manufacturing, industrial townships and major infrastructure projects. India's Make in India agenda, ease-of-doing-business reforms, adoption of quality practices and strengthened R&D are presented as policy levers to expand manufacturing, rebalance trade through higher Indian exports, and attract investment in semiconductors, electronics, green energy and digital technologies.

Industrial development policy promoting smart greenfield cities, industry led skill centres, and port linked multimodal infrastructure.
The government reaffirmed a strategy to develop large greenfield industrial smart cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, showcasing AURIC Shendra Bidkin as a model with plug and play infrastructure, integrated master planning, advanced SCADA and e Land Management for transparent land allotment, and competitive power supply. It endorsed establishment of an industry led Skill & Job Centre at AURIC, directed agencies to facilitate Ease of Doing Business, and instructed development of multimodal connectivity and trunk infrastructure for the Dighi Port Industrial Area to serve targeted manufacturing and processing sectors.

Combination approval permits acquisition of interests in Blackwater coal mine by steel-related purchasers, subject to detailed order.
The Commission granted combination approval for two newly formed special purpose vehicles to acquire minority interests in the Blackwater Coal Mine; each SPV is ultimately owned by a major steel group. The BW Coal Mine is an operational open cut coking coal mine in Queensland that supplies coking coal to India by import. A detailed order from the Commission will follow.

Bilateral economic cooperation expands beyond energy into technology and digital finance, backed by MoUs and joint initiatives.
The Forum focussed on deepening bilateral economic cooperation by diversifying beyond hydrocarbons into technology, renewables, advanced manufacturing and services, proposing a Joint Working Group on priority sectors, inviting Qatari investment into Indian platforms such as GIFT City, and executing two MoUs to facilitate business cooperation and investment flows; operational measures highlighted included cross border digital payments integration, use of Qatar's financial and research platforms to attract investment, and follow up stakeholder engagement to convert trade into strategic investment and technology partnerships.

Bilateral economic partnership focused on sustainability and technology, with MoUs and ministerial elevation to boost trade and investment.
India and Qatar will pursue a strategic bilateral economic partnership around sustainability, technology and entrepreneurship, and energy. Two memoranda of understanding were signed-between the Qatari Businessmen Association and the Confederation of Indian Industry, and between Invest Qatar and Invest India-and the Joint Working Group on trade and commerce has been elevated to the Ministerial level to deepen policy coordination and facilitate enhanced trade and investment collaboration.

Rupee-Kyat trade settlement mechanism initiative to deepen bilateral trade and resume cross-border road trade cooperation.
Ministers prioritized cooperation in Pharmaceuticals, Pulses and Beans, and Petroleum products, and agreed to promote market access and supply-chain linkages. They emphasized use of the Rupee-Kyat Trade Settlement Mechanism to facilitate bilateral transactions and committed to restore and streamline cross-border road trade by addressing procedural, transport and customs coordination needed to operationalize border trade routes.

Project monitoring mechanisms driving coordinated resolution of infrastructure project issues through inter ministerial and state collaboration under PMG.
DPIIT convened a Project Monitoring Group review addressing coordination and expedited resolution for 21 issues across 14 major infrastructure projects in Gujarat and Rajasthan; the Secretariat urged private proponents to use the PMG mechanism for inter ministerial and state collaboration to obtain coordinated, timely resolution of pending issues.