Fair and Remunerative Price approved for upcoming sugar season with recovery linked premium and penalty plus low recovery protection.
Fair and Remunerative Price fixed at Rs.355 per quintal for sugar season 2025-26 for a basic recovery of 10.25%, with a recovery linked adjustment of Rs.3.46 per quintal for each 0.1% change in recovery; applicability from 1 October 2025. A protective rule prevents deduction where mill recovery is below 9.5%, ensuring a protected payable rate to farmers. The FRP exceeds the stated cost of production (A2+FL) and was set following statutory commission recommendations and stakeholder consultations.

Hybrid Annuity Mode greenfield corridor approval enables four lane access controlled NH 6 development to boost regional connectivity.
Approval is granted for development, maintenance and management of a 166.80 km access controlled Greenfield High Speed Corridor on National Highway No. 6 from Mawlyngkhung (near Shillong) to Panchgram (near Silchar) under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, covering four lane construction, civil and land acquisition costs, integration with major highways and airports, and expected traffic and employment generation to enhance regional connectivity and economic development in the North East.

Public sector appointments expanded through a nationwide recruitment drive to bolster government services and promote inclusive hiring.
The document reports a central government-led large-scale recruitment initiative under the Rozgar Mela that distributed over fifty-one thousand appointment letters across forty-seven locations linked by video conferencing, placing recruits in administrative, technical and field roles across multiple ministries. The event is aligned with national employment and development programmes and highlights diversity metrics among recruits, presented as evidence of the government's commitment to equitable recruitment practices and to strengthening public service delivery.

Industrial Smart City development accelerates with land assembly, clearances, consultant appointments and integrated logistics digitalisation.
NICDC is advancing the Palakkad Industrial Smart City as a 1,710-acre Integrated Manufacturing Cluster with multi-modal connectivity to attract investment and jobs. Project milestones reported include substantial land possession, completed environmental clearances, issuance of a letter of award for project management and construction consultancy, and ongoing finalisation of EPC tender documents. NICDC Logistics Data Services Ltd. has implemented the Logistics Data Bank and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform to integrate government systems and APIs, supporting large-scale logistics data exchanges and private-sector engagement.

Combination approval with voluntary modifications enables acquisition of a target company by buyer pending compliance with conditions.
The Competition Commission of India approved Bharat Forge Limited's acquisition of 100% equity of AAM India Manufacturing Corporation Private Limited subject to compliance with voluntary modifications. Prior to acquisition, AAM India will hive off its Pune Business Office and a components business division to affiliates of its parent, and the target will acquire e-axle assembly lines currently housed in another group subsidiary, consolidating specified operations into the target.

Competition approval for acquisition and share subscription enabling private equity and promoter investment in a life insurer.
Competition Commission approved a two-part transaction: 360 ONE Private Equity Fund will acquire certain equity shares of Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company Limited from Bharti Life Ventures Private Limited, followed by a subscription of certain equity shares in the Target by BLVPL and 360 Fund.

Merger approval for acquisition of regional non alcoholic beverage business enables consolidation of bottling and distribution operations.
Clearance was granted for the proposed acquisition by Kandhari Global Beverages Private Limited of Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Private Limited's business of preparing, packaging, supplying and distributing non alcoholic beverage products in North Gujarat and the Union Territory of Diu, constituting a proposed combination and consolidating bottling and distribution activities; a detailed Commission order will follow.

Project monitoring to fast track infrastructure delivery through enhanced inter ministerial coordination and stakeholder engagement.
Project monitoring under the PMG reviewed 19 issues across 17 mega infrastructure projects to fast track implementation through enhanced inter ministerial and inter state coordination. The meeting emphasized clearing operational bottlenecks, accelerating approvals, and proactive stakeholder engagement, with priority projects including a multi lane road upgrade, new ESI hospitals to expand healthcare access, and a permanent technical institute campus to strengthen regional education. The DPIIT Secretary urged use of the PMG platform and reinforced the institutional monitoring framework to expedite project execution.

Local governance empowerment through Sarpanch Samvaad promotes water security and sanitation sustainability at the village level.
Quality Council of India, with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, held a Sarpanch Samvaad edition titled Leadership for Swachh & Sujal Grams to empower sarpanchs in advancing water security and sanitation sustainability. The programme gathered village leaders, experts, and officials to showcase grassroots initiatives, promote peer learning, and channel village-level concerns to central authorities for resolution, with practical emphasis on measures such as rainwater harvesting and aligning panchayat planning with the Viksit Bharat development vision.

National Pension System enrolment surge with large private subscriber increase and expanded assets under management.
Significant expansion in the National Pension System's private-sector enrolment occurred during 2024-25, with new private subscribers exceeding twelve lakh and total subscribers surpassing 165 lakh by March 2025; the minor-focused NPS Vatsalya, introduced in September 2024, registered over one lakh subscribers; combined Assets Under Management for NPS and Atal Pension Yojana grew by twenty three percent by end March 2025.

Registration validity for Virginia tobacco growers extended to three years, reducing annual renewal requirements under Tobacco Board Rules.
The Tobacco Board Rules, 1976 have been amended to extend the validity of Certificates of Registration for Virginia tobacco growers and licences for barn operation from annual renewals to a three year validity by modifying sub rules of rule 33 and rule 34N, effective from the 2025-26 crop season in Andhra Pradesh, facilitating less frequent renewal and reduced compliance burden.

Startup funding commitment pledged, subject to due diligence, with mentorship and network support to scale recycling operations nationally.
DPIIT, with Startup India and Stride Ventures, selected Buoyancy Plastics for Change as the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge 2025 winner and announced Stride's commitment to provide venture-debt funding subject to due diligence, plus mentorship, market access and network support under an existing memorandum of understanding to scale the startup's recycled plastics supply-chain initiatives.

Abuse of dominance settlement: Google to unbundle Play Store and permit Android forks on smart TVs, altering OEM obligations.
The Commission found that Google's TADA and ACC collectively imposed bundling and pre-installation obligations and restricted OEMs from creating or using forked Android versions, reinforcing dominance in licensable Smart TV OS and App Store markets; refusal-to-deal claims were not substantiated. Google's settlement under Section 48A provides standalone licences for Play Store and Play Services on smart TVs, waives ACC requirements for devices without Google apps shipped into India, removes default bundling and placement mandates, and the Commission accepted the proposal with a settlement discount applied.

Data modernisation advances: enhanced survey methodologies and integrated administrative data to improve official statistics and accessibility.
MoSPI committed to improve production and timeliness of official statistics by integrating administrative and survey data, standardising metadata, and using technology for prompt releases; operational measures include monthly PLFS labour indicators with expanded rural and district coverage, methodological revisions to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey including consideration of sectoral and spending-based metrics, GDP base revision with clearer documentation and new administrative sources, and CPI updates incorporating an updated classification, broader coverage, online data integration, and development of seasonally adjusted series.

Direct Benefit Transfer efficiency driving fiscal savings and broader beneficiary coverage through targeted digital transfers.
The document evaluates DBT as a reform replacing paper disbursals with targeted digital transfers via the JAM trinity, attributing large leakage reductions and a decline in subsidy share to elimination of ghost beneficiaries and intermediaries while expanding coverage. It introduces the Welfare Efficiency Index, combining DBT savings, subsidy reduction and beneficiary growth to quantify multi-dimensional efficiency gains, and reports correlations showing increased coverage associating with higher savings and lower subsidy burdens, framing DBT as a replicable mechanism for fiscal optimisation and inclusive welfare delivery.

Core industry output rises, ICI up year on year with mixed sectoral performance and provisional data report
The Index of Eight Core Industries rose 3.8% in March 2025 year on year, with Cement, Fertilizers, Steel, Electricity, Coal and Refinery Products growing while Crude Oil and Natural Gas fell; the ICI combines eight sectors with specified weights (total 100) and comprises 40.27% of IIP. April-March 2024-25 cumulative growth is provisionally 4.4% and December 2024 final growth was 5.1%. Data for Jan-Mar 2025 are provisional and subject to revision; renewables are included in electricity data and a new steel product (HRPO) has been added.

IIP release timeline shortened to a regular monthly 28-day schedule with a single subsequent revision, announced by MOSPI.
MOSPI will publish the All India Index of Industrial Production (IIP) on the 28th of each month at 4:00 PM as a Quick Estimate for the reference month, followed by a single Final Estimate in the next month; the prior practice of issuing three estimates including a second revision is discontinued, reducing the release timeline from 42 days to 28 days and limiting each month to two releases.

Anti-competitive tie in and exclusive supply restrictions prompt prohibition on restrictive lease clauses and penalties imposed.
The Commission found that UFO Moviez (with its subsidiary) and Qube, as significant suppliers of DCI compliant digital cinema equipment on lease, used lease clauses to impose tie in, exclusive supply and refusal to deal restrictions, foreclosing Post Production Processing providers and other content suppliers. Under Section 27 the Commission directed that leases must not impose such restrictions and ordered modification of existing agreements, alongside imposition of monetary penalties and compliance measures to restore competitive access.

Insurance procurement via GeM enables direct, IRDAI approved sourcing of group and personal policies, improving transparency and cost efficiency.
GeM's Insurance Services permits government buyers to procure Group Mediclaim, Personal Accident and Term Insurance directly from IRDAI approved providers, reducing intermediaries, expediting procurement and lowering premiums. Since its launch in January 2022 the platform has expanded to include Asset, Transit and Marine, Liability, Livestock, Motor, Crop and Cyber insurance, thereby consolidating diverse insurance needs onto a single transparent and cost efficient marketplace for public purchasers.

Merger approval under competition law: amalgamation of Quality Care into Aster DM Healthcare cleared with minority stake retention.
The Competition Commission of India approved a transaction where Quality Care India Limited will be amalgamated into Aster DM Healthcare Limited, preceded by Aster's purchase of a minority stake via primary share issuance; post merger, existing Quality Care shareholders will hold minority stakes in the renamed merged entity, with one investor holding a non controlling stake below a material threshold.