Project approval for underwater road rail tunnel enabling 4 lane greenfield connectivity between Gohpur and Numaligarh under EPC.
Cabinet approved a 33.7 km 4 lane access controlled greenfield corridor between Gohpur (NH 15) and Numaligarh (NH 715) including a 15.79 km twin tube TBM underwater Road cum Rail tunnel with rail provision in one tube, implemented on an EPC basis. The scope covers civil works, land acquisition, short road and rail cut and cover sections, and integration with existing highways and railway sections to deliver multimodal connectivity to airports, inland waterways, railway stations and economic, social and tourist nodes, with estimated traffic and employment implications.

Rail network expansion approved to add multitrack capacity, boost freight movement and reduce emissions while improving regional connectivity.
Cabinet approved three multitracking projects (Kasara-Manmad, Delhi-Ambala, Ballari-Hosapete) under PM Gati Shakti to add third and fourth lines across 12 districts, increasing the rail network by about 389 km at an estimated combined cost of Rs 18,509 crore through 2030-31. The works are projected to generate about 265 lakh human days of construction employment, augment freight capacity by 96 MTPA, improve connectivity to roughly 3,902 villages (population ~97 lakh), reduce logistics costs and oil imports, and lower CO2 emissions for more sustainable rail operations.

Venture capital mobilisation for startups to prioritise deep tech, early growth support, and regional investment across the country.
The Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 establishes a government-backed corpus to mobilize long-term domestic venture capital, strengthen the domestic venture capital base by supporting smaller funds and AIFs, and address capital gaps. The Scheme prioritises deep tech and tech-driven innovative manufacturing, supports early-growth stage founders to reduce funding shortfalls, and promotes national reach to crowd in private investment beyond major metropolitan centres.

Greenfield industrial cities: SPVs formed for 12 projects, EPCs appointed for nine, environment clearances for eleven.
All twelve greenfield industrial city projects have incorporated Special Purpose Vehicles; equity released to nine SPVs; Programme Managers for New Cities appointed for nine projects; EPC contractors appointed for nine projects with one additional contractor finalised; eight EPC contracts had been awarded for internal trunk infrastructure as of January 2026 with one further award thereafter; environment clearances secured for eleven projects and foundation stones laid at two projects.

National Productivity Week highlights MSME cluster productivity, Industry 4.0 readiness assessment, and proposed productivity rating systems.
NPC advanced cluster-based strategies to boost MSME competitiveness and global integration, advocating shared infrastructure and knowledge exchange. It proposed an Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment Framework, an Indian Productivity Rating System, a 5S Assessment Framework for export readiness, sector-specific benchmarks, and a Learning & Development Centre to embed productivity tools. Energy efficiency, sustainable production, youth engagement, and international collaboration were presented as complementary measures to translate productivity gains into cost efficiency and competitiveness.

Low voltage motor business acquisition approved; Innomotics to acquire Siemens' unit in India through a slump sale.
The Competition Commission of India approved a proposed combination for the slump sale of the low voltage motor business of Siemens Limited to Innomotics India Private Limited. The Target Business sells low voltage motors for industrial applications in India and exports under an outsourced manufacturing model. Innomotics, part of KPS Capital Partners, is an industrial motors manufacturer supplying high and medium voltage motors and large drive systems to sectors including oil and gas, metals, cement, power and marine. A detailed order will follow.

Acquisition of ~6.63% stake in Valuedrive by Fidelity Funds via CCPS subscription and secondary purchase.
The proposed transaction involves acquisition of approximately 6.63% minority shareholding in Valuedrive Technologies Private Limited by Fidelity group investment funds through a mix of primary subscription and secondary acquisition of compulsory convertible preference shares, with Fidelity Funds acting as diversified investment vehicles. Valuedrive is an operating-cum-holding company in the Spinny Group operating an electronic wholesale motor-vehicle platform and owning subsidiaries in lending, insurance broking, automotive publishing/events, and ancillary services.

Amundi ICG proposed combination approved: Acquirer to buy 4.64% voting shares, nominate a director and subscribe to non voting instruments.
CCI approved Amundi's acquisition of 4.64% voting share capital of ICG via on-market purchases, a right to nominate a director, and subsequent subscription to non voting instruments up to 5.26% of ICG's capital. The Acquirer lacks direct Indian operations but is indirectly present through a minority joint venture that offers asset management services in India. The Target operates globally as an alternative asset manager across structured capital, private equity, real assets, private debt, and credit markets.

Intel's India-specific warranty policy deemed abusive of dominance; fined INR 27.38 crore and ordered to publicise withdrawal.
CCI held Intel dominant in the boxed desktop microprocessor market and found its India-specific warranty policy discriminatory and limiting of parallel imports, causing an appreciable adverse effect on competition under Section 4. The Commission imposed a reduced penalty of INR 27.38 crores after considering mitigation including policy withdrawal and directed Intel to publicise the withdrawal and submit a compliance report.

NSSTA celebrates 18th Foundation Day focused on reimagining capacity building for official statistics, AI readiness, and data harmonization.
NSSTA will celebrate its 18th Foundation Day on 13 February 2026 under the theme Reimagining Capacity Building for Official Statistics to achieve Viksit Bharat@2047, emphasizing institutional capacity building, AI/ML and big data adoption, data harmonization for AI readiness, and training for Central, State/UT and international participants to strengthen evidence-based governance.

Base year revision for GDP, CPI and IIP announced with new methods, surveys and scheduled 2026 releases.
The Ministry has proposed base year revisions: GDP and IIP to 2022-23 and CPI to 2024, with methodological improvements, new data sources and updated survey weights. The exercise uses PLFS, HCES and ASUSE survey results, is overseen by Technical Advisory Committees/Expert Groups and informed by consultative workshops. New series releases are scheduled for 27 February 2026 (GDP), 12 February 2026 (CPI) and May 2026 (IIP). Transparency and accuracy measures include digital data collection with validation, an Advance Release Calendar, the e-Sankhyiki portal for unit-level data, regular stakeholder dialogues and a National Meta Data Structure.

PAIMANA centralises large project monitoring, using API integration for automatic reporting and reduced manual data entry.
The Ministry has deployed the PAIMANA portal to centralise monitoring of projects costing Rs.150 crore and above, replacing OCMS-2006 and implementing One Data One Entry via API integration with the DPIIT portal so that ministries and implementing agencies automatically feed project updates into a centralized repository for automated analytical reporting and reduced manual entry.

Evidence-based policymaking strengthened via statistical modernization, digital surveys, revised macroeconomic indices, and state capacity building.
The Ministry modernised official statistics to strengthen evidence-based policymaking by digitising National Sample Surveys with CAPI integrated into e SIGMA, initiating short duration high frequency surveys, revising macroeconomic series (GDP, CPI, IIP), implementing NMDS 2.0 and SQAF for harmonisation, and enhancing dissemination via web, mobile, portals and APIs while supporting state statistical capacity and training through the SSS Sub Scheme and NSSTA.

MoSPI reforms modernise national surveys with digital CAPI, district-level sampling and state capacity support for policymaking.
MoSPI modernises the National Sample Survey through digital platforms-CAPI integrated with e-SIGMA, validation checks, AI chatbots and multilingual interfaces-and revises sampling to adopt district as the basic stratum for district-level estimates. It also promotes state statistical capacity via the Support for Statistical Strengthening sub-scheme to improve collection, compilation and dissemination of reliable official statistics.

National Productivity Week 2026 spotlights cluster-based growth for MSMEs to boost productivity and global value chain integration.
The National Productivity Council will observe the 68th National Productivity Week (12-18 February 2026) under the theme Clusters as Growth Engine: Maximizing Productivity in MSMEs, promoting cluster-led development to accelerate productivity and global value chain integration. NPC will run nationwide events through its 12 Regional Directorates and 24 Local Productivity Councils, working with central and state ministries, industry associations and academia. As an autonomous society under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, NPC provides consultancy, training and research across multiple technical and management domains to support MSME competitiveness and sustainable industrialisation.

Public Financial Management System (PFMS) upgrades mandate single platform payments, enable just in time DBT and add CRM grievance redressal.
PFMS is mandated as the single platform for government payment, accounting and reconciliation, integrating cash management modules including TSA and SNA and enabling real time tracking. SNA SPARSH and SPARSH DBT ensure just in time releases and direct crediting to beneficiaries. System enhancements to DBT include partial acceptance of claim files and advance sharing of Aadhaar data. A CRM based Grievance Redressal System provides ticketing, automated acknowledgements, status tracking and FAQs, supplemented by regular Open House sessions for user support and feedback.

India's business reforms expand: BRAP, RCB, Jan Vishwas amendments and NSWS advance compliance reduction ahead of B-Ready 2026.
India advances Ease of Doing Business through DPIIT's Business Reform Action Plan, the RCB and RCB+ exercises, legislative decriminalisation under the Jan Vishwas reforms, and the operational National Single Window System; these measures have delivered thousands of compliance reductions and digital integrations and position India for the World Bank B-Ready Assessment in 2026.

PM GatiShakti network planning evaluates 352 projects for integrated multimodal infrastructure and expedites implementation.
The Network Planning Group evaluates critical Central Government infrastructure projects under the PM GatiShakti framework to ensure integrated, multimodal planning; 352 projects ( Rs.16.10 lakh crore) were evaluated, 201 sanctioned and 167 under implementation. MoSPI monitors Central Sector projects costing Rs.150 crore and above via the PAIMANA portal, while the PM GatiShakti plan is integrated with the Project Monitoring Group to expedite issue resolution and implementation.

India designated Country of the Year at BIOFACH 2026; coordinated exhibition to promote certified organic exports and GI rice varieties.
India's designation as Country of the Year at BIOFACH 2026 mobilises a coordinated export-promotion effort focused on organic agriculture, consolidating exporters, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and state agencies in a 1,074 sq. metre pavilion with 67 co-exhibitors to showcase certified and heritage products, including five GI-tagged rice varieties, alongside curated tastings and targeted branding to enhance compliance with international quality and sustainability expectations and expand organic export market access.

Startup recognition framework revised to raise turnover limits, create deep tech category and include cooperative societies.
The revised framework raises the general startup turnover threshold from Rs.100 crore to Rs.200 crore, establishes a Deep Tech Startup category with an extended age limit of 20 years and a turnover cap of Rs.300 crore, and extends startup recognition eligibility to Multi State and State/UT Cooperative Societies subject to other criteria.