PFRDA outreach to MSMEs promotes NPS enrollment for retirement security and financial inclusion of employees.
PFRDA promoted the National Pension System to MSMEs at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference, emphasizing NPS attributes-cost-effectiveness, flexible contributions, tax efficiency, portability, no minimum employee threshold-and recent reforms such as higher equity exposure, greater withdrawal flexibility, raised maximum account age, and NPS Vatsalya. Through PwC and PoP representatives and an exhibition stall, PFRDA explained the NPS Corporate Sector Model that allows employers to provide structured old age social security with combined employer and employee contributions and supported on site awareness and enrolment efforts.

PFRDA expert committee to design assured payouts under the National Pension System, covering guarantees, operational terms, risk and disclosures.
PFRDA has formed a 15-member expert committee to design regulations enabling assured payouts under the National Pension System, focusing on market-based legal mechanisms for guarantees, operational terms for decumulation (lock-in, withdrawals, pricing, fees), capital and solvency risk requirements, tax treatment preserving NPS membership, and standardized disclosures to prevent mis-selling.

National Traders' Welfare Board reviews retail initiatives, highlighting GST reforms, vocal for local and digital market access.
The Board forwarded representations from trade associations to relevant Ministries, sought suggestions to increase awareness of welfare schemes, and prioritized GST reform benefits, Vocal for Local promotion and digital transformation through platforms like the Open Network for Digital Commerce to expand market access. Future policy focus includes capacity building, financial support, social security, market linkages and transparent grievance redressal for trader welfare.

SWAMIH Fund provided last mile financing to stalled housing projects, enabling large-scale home completions and partial capital returns.
SWAMIH Investment Fund delivers last mile financing to stalled affordable and mid income residential projects, fully committing its corpus before 5 December 2025. Its portfolio spans over 145 projects in 30 cities, aims to deliver over 100,000 homes and has delivered ~61,000 homes across 110 projects as of 15 December 2025. The Fund unlocked Rs.37,400 crore+ across 127 projects, achieved 55 full and 44 partial exits, and returned nearly 50% of drawn capital (about Rs.3,500 crore of ~Rs.7,000 crore from the Government of India). A Rs.15,000 crore blended SWAMIH Fund 2 was announced to complete another 100,000 units.

Public Financial Management System expands DBT, procurement manuals revised, and states eligible for performance linked additional borrowing.
The Department of Expenditure highlights PFMS enabled Direct Benefit Transfer across 966 schemes delivering 210.56 crore transactions and Rs.2.87 lakh crore to beneficiaries in FY 2025-26 (till 31 Dec 2025); revised procurement manuals (Goods, Consultancy, Non Consultancy Services, Works) updating policy and CVC guidance; expansion of the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure with specified allocations and disbursements; Net Borrowing Ceilings at 3% of GSDP and an additional 0.5% GSDP borrowing window linked to prescribed power sector reforms; and allocation of Finance Commission and disaster grants for 2025-26.

Gold smuggling syndicate busted; 29.2 kg seized, cash recovered and four arrests under customs enforcement.
DRI conducted coordinated searches and seizures under the Customs Act, recovering 29.2 kg foreign origin gold and approx. Rs.2.9 crore cash from consignments routed via Tripura to Delhi, and arresting four syndicate members alleged to have operated with handlers in Dubai, Bangladesh and local jewellery operators.

India EU Free Trade Agreement talks focus on zero duty access for labour intensive sectors and expedited ministerial negotiations.
A ministerial visit is intended to expedite conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement by resolving outstanding negotiating issues and guiding negotiation teams. India prioritises zero duty access for labour intensive sectors (textiles, leather, apparel, gems and jewellery, handicrafts) while seeking safeguards for farmers and MSMEs and greater integration into global supply chains within a rules based trading framework.

PPP project pipeline launched listing 852 projects worth over Rs. 17 lakh crore to improve investor visibility.
The Department of Economic Affairs has compiled a three-year Public Private Partnership pipeline of 852 projects across Central infrastructure ministries and States/Union Territories with an aggregated project cost exceeding Rs. 17 lakh crore to provide early visibility so investors, developers and other stakeholders can undertake more informed planning and investment decisions.

CCI approves acquisition of additional shareholding in Roppen Transportation Services by MIH Investments One B.V.
CCI approval was granted for MIH Investments One B.V.'s proposed acquisition of additional shareholding in Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited. The Acquirer is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary holding investments in portfolio companies; the Target provides app enabled on demand transportation and taxi services via the Rapido mobile application. A detailed order from the Commission will follow.

Nippon Steel's acquisition of Krosaki Harima raises its stake to 100% via tender offer and potential squeeze-out.
The Commission approved Nippon Steel's proposed combination to acquire an additional 53.4% of Krosaki Harima via a tender offer and potential squeeze out, raising its holding from 46.6% to 100%. Nippon Steel's Indian activities include manufacturing tubes, pipes and processed automotive steel products; Krosaki's affiliates supply refractory products and services to heavy industries in India. A detailed order will follow.

Malnutrition: link CSR spending with targeted nutrition programmes, a whole-of-government push for last-mile delivery and early-childhood interventions.
The government urges linking the statutory 2% Corporate Social Responsibility spending with targeted nutrition programmes via institutional platforms such as the NDDB Foundation for Nutrition, using a whole-of-government approach and inter-ministerial coordination to ensure affordability, local participation, transparency and last-mile delivery, with priority interventions focused on pregnancy and early childhood to prevent stunting and underweight conditions.

Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises guide explains methodology, quality assurance, confidentiality, and respondent guidance for data users.
The NSO's user guide for the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises explains ASUSE conceptual coverage, sampling and estimation, data collection, processing, validation, and the quality assurance framework, and includes confidentiality safeguards and respondent guidance to improve data reliability and informed use by policymakers, researchers, stakeholders, and the public.

NPS reforms permit banks to sponsor pension funds, revise fees, and mandate a small outreach levy for intermediaries.
PFRDA has approved a framework permitting Scheduled Commercial Banks to sponsor Pension Funds subject to eligibility criteria aligned with prudential banking norms; it revised the slab-based Investment Management Fee for Government and Non-Government subscribers effective 1 April 2026, kept the Annual Regulatory Fee at 0.015% of AUM, and earmarked 0.0025% of AUM to the Association of NPS Intermediaries for outreach.

NLDSL operates standards-based digital platforms providing API-based data exchange and end-to-end visibility across multimodal logistics nodes.
NLDSL, a government-industry joint venture, operates standards-based digital public infrastructure platforms-notably the Logistics Data Bank and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform-to provide single-window container tracking, API-based interoperability and end-to-end visibility across multimodal logistics nodes. The LDB covers 100% of EXIM container volume and has tracked over 91 million containers. ULIP, developed under the National Logistics Policy, integrates 44 systems across 11 ministries, exposes 136 APIs and institutionalises secure, standardised data exchange between government systems and industry participants.

Government monthly accounts show receipts at 55.7% of BE and expenditure at 57.8% through November.
Receipts to November 2025 totaled Rs.19,49,239 crore (55.7% of BE) comprising Rs.13,93,946 crore tax revenue, Rs.5,16,366 crore non-tax revenue and Rs.38,927 crore non-debt capital receipts, with Rs.9,36,561 crore devolved to states. Total expenditure was Rs.29,25,910 crore (57.8% of BE), split into Rs.22,67,700 crore revenue and Rs.6,58,210 crore capital expenditure; revenue spending includes Rs.7,45,765 crore interest payments and Rs.2,88,333 crore major subsidies.