Industrial corridor development expands greenfield smart cities and integrated nodes to attract investment and boost manufacturing competitiveness.
The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) directs NICDC and partner SPVs to develop greenfield industrial cities and integrated corridors with master planning, feasibility studies, financing, and multimodal connectivity aligned to PM GatiShakti. The Cabinet approved twelve new industrial nodes to provide ready land and infrastructure to attract anchor industries and MSMEs, enhance exports, generate employment, and promote sustainable, ICT enabled smart city development through central state joint venture SPVs.

Port-led industrial development at Dighi Port Industrial Area to catalyse manufacturing investment and regional infrastructure rollout.
Secretary DPIIT visited the proposed Dighi Port Industrial Area, a port-led development over 6,056 acres leveraging proximity to Dighi Port, major highways and a forthcoming airport. The project plans trunk infrastructure-roads, power, utilities, treatment plants and ICT networks-within three years, targets manufacturing sectors including engineering, food & beverages and pharmaceuticals, and emphasises plug-and-play infrastructure and Industry 4.0 compliance to accelerate time-to-production following master planning, environmental clearances and land acquisition.

Procurement estimates for kharif paddy and millets guide state procurement operations and central pool supply planning.
Meeting reviewed operational arrangements for central pool procurement of Kharif crops, fixing aggregate procurement estimates for paddy and a separate estimate for coarse grains and millets; States were advised to prioritise millet procurement for crop diversification and nutrition. Attendees included State Food Secretaries, FCI, meteorological and agriculture officials. The meeting also discussed Supply Chain Optimization of the Public Distribution System, procurement centre infrastructure improvements, Jan Poshan Kendras and workflow automation for release of food subsidy to States to support procurement and distribution operations.

Academic participation in standardization expands through institutional MoUs enabling faculty roles in technical committees and R&D collaboration.
BIS organized parallel conventions to align academic research in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry with national and international standardization by addressing sporadic academic involvement and weak research-standards synergy. The events included technical sessions and presentations on ongoing standards work and announced Memorandums of Understanding with educational institutions to enable academic participation in BIS Technical Committees, BIS-sponsored R&D projects, and contributions to international standardization.

Merger control: CCI approval of combination creating joint venture between major entertainment groups, subject to voluntary modifications.
The Competition Commission of India approved, subject to voluntary modifications, a combination to consolidate entertainment businesses of Viacom18, Reliance Industries group and Star India Private Limited, whereby Star India will become a joint venture jointly held by Reliance, Viacom18 and existing Disney subsidiaries; the combination encompasses TV broadcasting, OTT operations, advertising sales, content production and related media activities, and a detailed CCI order will follow.

Industrial corridor approvals create plug-and-play industrial smart cities with ready-to-allot land, enhancing investment readiness and connectivity.
The Cabinet approved twelve greenfield industrial nodes under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, creating plug n play, walk to work industrial smart cities with ready to allot land across ten states. Aligned with the PM GatiShakti master plan, the projects provide multi modal connectivity, ICT enabled utilities, and green technologies to attract anchor industries and MSMEs, enhance participation in global value chains, and generate substantial direct and indirect employment while fostering sustainable regional development.

Indian Customs modernises EXIM clearances via faceless assessments, ICEGATE 2.0, ECL, EODES and ECTS for faster trade.
CBIC implemented Turant Customs-Faceless Customs, Paperless and Contactless processes-establishing National Assessment Centres, Anonymised Escalation Mechanism and Standard Examination Orders to uniformise and expedite assessments. Major digital measures include ICEGATE 2.0, ECCS with auto LEO and advance assessment for courier exports, Electronic Cash Ledger, online AEO onboarding and postal Hub & Spoke e filing for Postal Bills of Export. Regulatory reforms include CAVR 2023 for addressing systematic undervaluation, mandatory additional qualifiers for certain tariff chapters, e Certificates of Origin, EODES for India Korea origin data exchange, ECTS for monitored transit, and MRAs for AEO mutual recognition.

Quality Control Orders protect MSMEs from unfair import competition and enable national and international competitiveness.
Quality Control Orders (QCOs) shield MSMEs from unfair competition by restricting substandard imports and by setting quality standards that, once met, enable MSMEs to compete nationally and internationally; the government provides implementation time and sectoral support to facilitate compliance and bolster MSME roles in supply chains and exports.

Economic collaboration through investment dialogues to deepen bilateral investment, boost SME funding and align skills with industry.
Expansion of bilateral economic collaboration through strategic investment dialogues aimed at deepening India-Singapore investment ties, emphasizing scaling capital into priority sectors, improving the investment climate, targeting SME investment, and prioritising sustainable development and decarbonization; alongside education-and-skills cooperation to align workforce development with industry needs through joint technical and continuing education initiatives.

Economic cooperation via CECA negotiations advances bilateral trade, narrows differences across goods, services, digital trade, and procurement.
Negotiations on a proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement advanced across five tracks-Goods, Services, Digital Trade, Government Procurement and Rules of Origin-with intensive discussions narrowing differences and track leads directed to pursue virtual intersessional action plans to achieve convergence; chief negotiators underscored a commitment to balanced outcomes and strengthened bilateral economic partnership while initiating an India-Australia Agri Tech Forum for technology transfer and stakeholder engagement.

Statistical data dissemination: MoSPI/NSSO presents ASUSE survey results and methodologies to improve national accounts data use and feedback.
A one day MoSPI/NSSO data user conference will present ASUSE 2021 22 and 2022 23 results, methodologies, use of multipliers, data quality assessment, and provide unit level datasets. The event is intended to enhance stakeholder engagement and clarify how ASUSE outputs support national accounts indicators such as establishment and worker counts, Gross Value Added, GVA per worker, and Gross Value Output per establishment.

Government security repayment: maturity proceeds payable at par with electronic credit or pay order; bank details required.
Repayment of the Government security is payable at par on the maturity date, with interest ceasing from that date. If the repayment date is a non-working day, payment will be made on the previous working day. Under sub-regulations 24(2) and 24(3) of the Government Securities Regulations, 2007, maturity proceeds to registered holders in Subsidiary General Ledger, Constituent Subsidiary General Ledger or Stock Certificate form must be paid by pay order with bank particulars or by electronic credit; holders must submit bank account particulars in advance. Absent such particulars, holders may tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices before maturity to obtain repayment.

Citizen-centric e-commerce: balance digital growth with measures to protect local retailers and employment through cautious regulation.
E-commerce expansion must be citizen centric and balanced: digital growth should empower consumers and innovate service delivery but proceed in an orderly fashion to prevent disruptive market consolidation, predatory pricing, and displacement of local businesses and employment. Policy should protect small retailers and vulnerable segments through affirmative support and calibrated regulatory measures, informed by dispassionate, data-driven study of e-commerce's impact on employment and consumer welfare.

Competition approval granted for cross-border acquisition of housing finance firm, permitting change in shareholding pending detailed order.
The Competition Commission of India has granted competition approval for Mango Crest Investment Ltd., a Mauritius investment holding company, to acquire shareholding in Shriram Housing Finance Limited, a housing finance company registered with the national housing regulator; the detailed CCI order will follow.

Combination approval for minority investment, phased acquisition and merger enabling consolidation of healthcare and pharmaceutical distribution platforms.
Regulatory approval was granted for a combination where an international investor makes a minority tranche investment into a healthcare platform that runs digital services and pharmacy distribution, the platform acquires shares in a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor through phased primary and secondary transactions, the distributor will be merged into the platform within a stipulated period, and the hospital enterprise will subscribe to and receive bonus equity in the platform prior to the investor investment.

Climate smart agritech accelerator supports cross-border scaling, mentorship, field trials and non-equity grant eligibility for start-ups.
The India-Australia RISE Accelerator's Climate Smart Agritech cohort seeks start-ups and MSMEs with farmer centred technologies that enhance productivity and resilience. The nine month program combines online learning, immersion weeks in both countries, mentorship, market access facilitation, field trials and pilots. Participation is offered at no charge, selected entities may be eligible for a non equity grant, and the cohort targets solutions that boost productivity, reduce emissions and optimise resource use.

Cabinet approval for civil enclave development enables construction of a green terminal and expanded airside and landside facilities.
Cabinet approval authorises development of a new civil enclave at Bagdogra Airport, permitting construction of a 70,390 sqm terminal for 3000 peak hour passengers and ten bay apron for A 321 type aircraft, two link taxiways, and multi level car parking. The Terminal Building must be a Green Building incorporating renewable energy and maximised natural lighting to reduce ecological impact, and the project is intended to enhance operational capacity and passenger experience.

Cabinet approval for airport civil enclave enables major capacity expansion at Bihta with planned terminal and apron works
Cabinet approval authorises development of a New Civil Enclave at Bihta, Bihar by the Airports Authority of India to address projected saturation at Patna Airport; the project comprises an Integrated Terminal Building of 66,000 sqm with phased scalability and airside works including an apron with parking bays for A-321/B-737-800/A-320 type aircraft and two link taxiways to increase passenger and aircraft handling capacity.

SDG National Indicators milestone setting to align domestic targets with the global Comprehensive Review and strengthen monitoring.
The Ministry is holding a consultation to review milestone setting for SDGs National Indicators, consolidating inputs from line ministries and national coordinating bodies based on the National Indicator Framework and recent progress reporting, with the dual purpose of taking stock of milestone adoption and sensitizing ministries to developments in the global Comprehensive Review so national monitoring and reporting are coordinated and aligned.

Integrated multimodal planning enables district-level GIS portals for coordinated infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and project planning.
Implementation of a GIS-enabled Area Development Approach through district-level capacity building to operationalize PM GatiShakti NMP: District Collectors and multi-sectoral teams will use mapped datasets and a decision support system to coordinate economic and social infrastructure planning, disaster preparedness, and multimodal connectivity. District Master Plan portals, technical support from BISAG-N, and inter-ministerial data integration will enable data-driven local project planning and emergency response.