Interest-free loan and penalty waiver enable tobacco growers to sell damaged or excess FCV crop via auction platform.
Approval of a one-time interest-free loan from the Grower Welfare Fund for Andhra Pradesh FCV tobacco growers affected by cyclonic rains, recoverable from their 2023-24 auction sale proceeds; and a permissive authorization for sale on the Tobacco Board auction platform for Karnataka growers with a waiver of penalties on excess and unauthorized production for the 2023-24 crop season only.

Location optimality assessment to guide greenfield industrial smart city planning using PM GatiShakti data-driven framework.
A Memorandum of Understanding creates a collaboration between NICDC and FITT IITD to assess location optimality for Greenfield Industrial Smart Cities using PM GatiShakti's spatial and analytical tools; FITT IITD will evaluate factors such as ease of business, logistic costs, multi modal connectivity, ease of living, living costs, industry potential, raw material availability and sustainability, and produce a comprehensive report to guide future urban and industrial planning decisions.

Public procurement access expanded for MSMEs through digital onboarding, buyer engagement and expedited collateral-free credit.
GeM conducted a Karnataka-focused registration and onboarding drive linking Central and State PSU buyers with local MSE sellers to expand participation in public procurement. The campaign provided live digital onboarding integrated with the Udyam portal, on-the-spot redressal, and buyer-seller interactions to clarify procurement needs. GeM promoted inclusion of marginalised seller groups and announced GeM Sahay 2.0 to provide expedited collateral-free loan access to address working-capital constraints.

Public stockholding for food security seeks ministerial conference decision to secure a permanent solution and separate safeguard mechanism.
The G33 urged a permanent solution to public stockholding for food security through text-based negotiations informed by a joint proposal and India's textual inputs, which produced a COASS Chair's text for ministerial consideration. The group emphasized food security as a non-trade concern and cited national PSH programmes' role in protecting vulnerable populations. Ministers also demanded advancement of a Special Safeguard Mechanism as a distinct mandated deliverable, opposing any linkage to market access, and called for united advocacy at the ministerial conference.

Services procurement on GeM now dominates procurement value, driven by digital categories and competitive e bidding efficiencies.
GeM's expanded digital procurement platform and dedicated service categories have caused services procurement to surpass goods procurement in value; adoption of e bidding, reverse auction and modular service offerings (including insurance, chemist empanelment, sanitation, consultancy and event management) has produced cost efficiencies and enabled large scale and programmatic procurements by central and state buyers and urban local bodies, thereby integrating services into mainstream public procurement and improving buyer capability and service delivery.

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism concerns to be pursued within WTO rules and bilaterally with EU.
India adopts a cautious, consultative approach to trade negotiations to ensure Free Trade Agreements are fair and balanced, emphasising stakeholder and inter-ministerial consultations. India will seek to preserve WTO guiding principles at the ministerial, oppose inclusion of non-trade issues, and pursue institutional reforms. The government identified the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as a concern to be addressed within WTO rules and bilaterally with the EU while aiming to turn challenges into opportunities through domestic reforms and competitiveness measures.

Merger control: Competition approval granted for minority share acquisition affecting automotive component supply to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.
Approval by the Competition Commission of India is recorded for Minda Corporation Limited to acquire up to 8.79% of the equity share capital of Pricol Limited, a minority equity acquisition; both parties operate in the automotive components sector supplying OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and the detailed CCI order will follow.

AITIGA review advances negotiations to update market access, rules of origin and standards to enhance trade facilitation.
The Joint Committee convened its third meeting to assess progress under the structured review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), receiving reports from eight Sub-Committees on market access, Rules of Origin, and standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, updating the review work programme, identifying focus areas for further deliberations, and providing guidance to advance the negotiations.

Financial assistance increase for natural rubber sector expands planting, nursery support and digitization to benefit growers.
The programme raises assistance under the Sustainable & Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector for 2024-25 and 2025-26, increasing per hectare planting aid, supplying planting material, promoting sponsored nurseries, and providing targeted planting support for SC growers in non traditional areas. It funds productivity interventions (rain guarding, plant protection), formation of circa 250 Rubber Producers Societies and 1,450 farmer clusters, grants for RPS equipment and mechanisation, construction and modernisation of Group Processing Centres, research into clones, Board digitisation and regional training institutes, and worker welfare measures.

Economic development ambition: Government aims to make India a fully developed economy by mid-century and ensure food and energy security.
The government's stated objective is to make India a fully developed economy by 2047 by substantially expanding the national economy and ensuring food and energy security. This objective is presented as supported by macroeconomic measures including strengthened foreign exchange reserves, favourable currency performance, reduced inflation, controlled interest rates, and targeted welfare policies in food, healthcare and education to sustain inclusive growth.

Appointment of Member: replacement to be made after a nominated member declines to serve on the Finance Commission.
A notified Member of the 16th Finance Commission declined the appointment due to personal reasons, and the government will take administrative action to appoint a replacement Member to fill the resultant vacancy.

Public procurement via GeM increases defence sourcing transparency and MSE participation, enhancing cost effective government purchases.
Public procurement through the Government e Marketplace (GeM) is the principal procurement channel for the Ministry of Defence, which has recorded total order value through GeM above one lakh crore and executed over 5.47 lakh orders; the MoD awarded a large share of transactions via GeM and applies demand aggregation to secure cost effective procurement. The portal advances inclusion by directing a majority share of orders to Micro and Small Enterprises and enables Defence PSUs to both procure and sell on GeM, extending procurement reach into remote regions.

Public procurement transparency strengthened through a digital marketplace, expanding state and grassroots participation and supplier inclusion.
GeM's digital procurement infrastructure has increased transparency and efficiency by linking a large network of sellers and service providers with government buyers, digitising end-to-end procurement, reducing collusion risks, and driving substantial growth in Gross Merchandise Value and daily transaction averages through expanded services procurement and broader state and grassroots participation.

CIS registration requirement to qualify for ad-hoc permissions; industry urged to ensure complete, regular cement production reporting.
DPIIT sought 100% coverage and regular submission of cement production data via the Cement Information System (CIS) portal, with industry assurances to provide authentic data and onboard remaining plants by the stated deadline. The Department announced that future ad-hoc permissions for manufacture and sale without ISI mark will require prior CIS registration, directed NCCBM to coordinate portal updates, and flagged an imminent revised CIS portal relaunch.

Copyright protection governs AI-generated works; users must obtain permission for commercial use beyond fair dealing.
The existing Indian IP framework of copyright and patents is sufficient to protect AI-generated works; copyright confers exclusive economic rights enforceable by owners, requiring users of generative AI to obtain permission for commercial use unless covered by the fair dealing exceptions, and statutory civil and criminal remedies-including against digital circumvention-address infringement.

Decriminalization of regulatory provisions reduces compliance burdens and complements a national single window investor approvals platform.
DPIIT coordinates measures to improve the business regulatory environment by reducing compliance burdens via simplification, rationalization, digitization and decriminalization; by assessing States/UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan; and by implementing the National Single Window System as a one stop platform for investor approvals. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act effected decriminalization across multiple Central Acts, as reported in a parliamentary written reply.

Seed fund support for startups enables prototype to commercialization, with incubator selection overseen by an expert advisory committee.
The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme provides financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization through eligible incubators. An Experts Advisory Committee evaluates and selects incubators for allocation of funds; approved incubators shortlist startups per Scheme guidelines. As of 31 December 2023, 198 incubators had been selected with aggregate approved funding, and approved incubators had selected startups with corresponding approved funding; State/UT wise, year wise annexures set out counts and amounts for 2021-2023.

Public procurement inclusion: Odisha micro and rural enterprises to be onboarded on GeM, expanding digital market access.
An MoU between the Government e Marketplace and the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society provides for onboarding ORMAS-affiliated micro and rural enterprises onto GeM, creating dedicated storefronts and product catalogues to connect women-led, SC/ST, startup, artisan, FPO, FPC and SHG sellers with government buyers, and includes ORMAS-led handholding and marketing support to increase supplier participation through a digitised public procurement platform.

Integrated planning under PM GatiShakti ensures multimodal connectivity and mandates transition infrastructure for smoother inter modal interfaces.
The Network Planning Group evaluated five road, rail and urban transit projects against the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to assess alignment with integrated multimodal connectivity, logistics optimization, and socio economic and environmental co benefits. The review emphasised mapping conformity with the NMP, targeted reductions in congestion and transit times, capacity and logistics efficiency gains from grade separation, and the need for transition infrastructure in metro projects to secure effective inter modal integration.

Traders' welfare: directive to hold regular interactive sessions and establish state and district level trader boards to channel suggestions.
The Board emphasised the welfare of retail traders by directing regular interactive sessions to inform traders about schemes and collect suggestions; it forwarded outreach inputs from 24 states to Line Ministries/Departments for resolution and requested State Governments to constitute State Level Boards and District Level Committees to strengthen local grievance redress and policy feedback.