National Pension System consultation paper proposes three schemes for flexible and assured pension payouts in decumulation phase.
PFRDA's consultation paper proposes three decumulation options for the National Pension System: a non assured flexible scheme combining a Step up SWP and an annuity; an assured benefit scheme delivering a Target Pension with CPI IW inflation adjustments; and a Pension Credits model converting credits into fixed monthly pensions. The proposals were discussed at a stakeholder seminar and are open for public feedback via a provided Feedback Template on the regulator's website.

Terms of Reference for central pay commission define composition, duties and an 18 month deadline to recommend pay and service changes.
Cabinet approved the Terms of Reference for the 8th Central Pay Commission, constituting a temporary three member body (Chairperson, one part time Member and Member Secretary) tasked to review emoluments, retirement benefits and service conditions and to make recommendations within 18 months, with provision for interim reports. The Commission must consider fiscal prudence, resource availability for development and welfare, unfunded pension liabilities, impact on State finances, and prevailing emolument structures and working conditions in public and private sectors.

Department of Public Enterprises campaign cleared pendencies, weeded files and initiated disposal of unserviceable office assets.
Department of Public Enterprises implements Special Campaign 5.0 in two phases to clear administrative pendencies and carry out cleaning and beautification of office and surrounding premises; 550 physical files were earmarked and weeded during implementation, pendencies from MPs' references, Parliamentary Assurances, inter ministerial and State Government communications and PMO references were reduced to nil, and a committee identified 45 unserviceable items for condemnation and disposal to free office space.

Pre-legislative consultation extended for the draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill; public comments now invited by the revised deadline.
Extension of the public consultation period has been announced for the draft The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025, proposing conversion of the Institute to a statutory body corporate and strengthened governance; the Ministry has extended the deadline by ten days and invites stakeholders to submit comments in the prescribed format via the Ministry website and by email in MS Word or PDF by the revised deadline.

Central Government employees can choose LC75 and BLC investment options under NPS and UPS for retirement planning.
Government extends LC75 and BLC options to Central Government employees under NPS and UPS, adding to default, Scheme G, LC25 and LC50 choices. Each life-cycle fund features a glide path that reduces equity exposure with age: LC75 tapers from high equity to 15% by age 55; BLC tapers later (from age 45) to 35% by age 55. The Annex sets out detailed age-by-age allocations of equity, corporate bonds and government securities for LC75, LC50, Balanced LC50 and LC25.

Narcotics manufacturing and distribution operation dismantled; intelligence-led raid seizes controlled substances and arrests multiple foreign nationals.
Targeted intelligence-led searches of a clandestine methamphetamine manufacturing facility and a storage/distribution premises in the National Capital Region resulted in seizures of amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, ganja, methaqualone, and substantial precursor chemicals, recovery of cash suspected as trafficking proceeds, and the arrest of 26 foreign nationals; the operation involved cross-jurisdictional coordination, tactical responses to hostile obstruction, and preservation of evidence, with further investigation ongoing.

India-Luxembourg-Germany trade ties: ministers and business leaders seek deeper collaboration in defence, energy, tech, and mobility.
Ministerial and business meetings reviewed progress in bilateral economic relations and explored measures to strengthen trade and investment ties ahead of a State Visit, with targeted collaboration opportunities identified in defence, energy, emerging technologies and mobility; industry leaders signalled optimism about doing business in India and the minister will continue engagement at a global trade panel.

DPIIT Special Campaign 5.0 targets institutionalizing Swachhata and systematic disposal of pending official references and grievances.
Special Campaign 5.0 is an administrative initiative to institutionalize Swachhata and expedite disposal of pending references and grievances across DPIIT and its sub-organizations by systematically identifying all pendencies, applying quality-focused case management, and coupling those measures with targeted cleanliness and records-management activities under a phased implementation and measurable-performance framework.

India-Germany economic partnership advances with talks on trade, investment, green energy, technology and skilling and industry engagement.
Enhancement of bilateral economic cooperation between India and Germany through ministerial engagement focused on trade, investment, technology, green energy and skilling, emphasising measures to facilitate investments and ease of doing business; prioritising innovation, sustainability and advanced manufacturing and advancing business-to-business linkages via industry roundtables and one-on-one company consultations to expand existing investments and deepen commercial and institutional collaboration.

Memorandum of Understanding strengthens startup support through capacity building, mentorship, market access and industry-led engagement.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Primus Partners establishes a framework to support early- and growth-stage product startups through capacity-building, mentorship, market access initiatives, policy awareness drives, and technology integration, emphasising industry-led engagement to promote innovation, self-reliance, inclusive growth and job creation.

Economic and trade partnership strengthened through ministerial and business engagements to boost bilateral trade and investment.
The visit aims to intensify the Indo German economic and trade partnership via high level bilateral meetings and multilateral dialogue to identify avenues for enhanced trade and investment. Key operative activities include ministerial consultations to align strategic economic priorities and participation in the Berlin Global Dialogue to discuss market access and resilient trading ecosystems, alongside targeted one on one CEO meetings, a Mittelstand Roundtable, and engagement with industry associations to facilitate investments and business to business linkages in sustainability, innovation, and advanced manufacturing.

Combination approval with voluntary modifications: acquisition and amalgamation cleared subject to compliance with offered remedies.
The competition regulator approved Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited's acquisition of shareholding in and planned amalgamation of J. B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited, conditional on compliance with voluntary modifications offered by the Parties; the parties operate in finished dosage formulations, APIs and CDMO services and a detailed order will follow.

PFRDA consultation on valuation of pension funds proposes dual valuation to stabilise NAV for long-term subscribers.
PFRDA proposes a dual valuation framework using accrual and fair market methods for long dated government securities in NPS and APY to stabilise NAV presentation during the accumulation phase, reduce short term interest rate volatility effects on scheme NAV, and align pension investments with long term capital formation while inviting stakeholder feedback on implementation.

Unclaimed financial assets: nationwide campaign enabling citizens to trace and claim assets through awareness, accessibility and action.
A phased nationwide campaign enables citizens to trace and claim unclaimed financial assets (deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, shares, mutual funds and pensions) through district-level outreach organised via state-level banking and insurance coordination. The programme deploys helpdesks and digital kiosks for checks and claim initiation, uses digital demonstrations and information counters to build awareness, and promotes financial inclusion by encouraging KYC and re-KYC completion to strengthen connection with the formal financial system.

Codex standards for vanilla, coriander and large cardamom finalized to provide harmonized benchmarks for quality, safety and trade.
CCSCH8 finalized and recommended for adoption Codex standards for vanilla, coriander, and large cardamom, bringing the Committee's catalogue to 19 spice standards; India's Spices Board, as Secretariat and host, coordinated scientific and regulatory inputs and participant engagement. The standards establish harmonized technical benchmarks for quality, safety, trade facilitation, and traceability across supply chains, with the vanilla standard addressing complex flavour chemistry and processing variation through science-based collaboration.

PLI Scheme for White Goods: application window for Round 4 extended to 10 November 2025 for ACs and LED Lights.
Extension of the application window for Round 4 of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods permits eligible applicants to submit proposals for air conditioners and LED lights through the online PLI portal until 10 November 2025, maintaining the Scheme's objectives of boosting domestic manufacturing, promoting component localization, and enhancing competitiveness.

Integrated multimodal infrastructure alignment assessed under the national master plan to enhance connectivity and logistics efficiency.
Evaluation of five infrastructure projects for conformity with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan emphasizing integrated multimodal infrastructure, last mile connectivity and a whole of government approach. The NPG reviewed rail capacity augmentation (quadrupling and doubling to relieve saturation and bottlenecks), road upgrades (highway widening and an urban six lane elevated plus at grade corridor with service roads and traffic management structures), and a metro extension focused on interchanges, reduced vehicle use and Transit Oriented Development.

Wholesale Price Inflation remained virtually unchanged year on year with a slight monthly decline and falling food prices.
The September 2025 WPI recorded a marginal positive annual inflation rate while the month over month change was negative. Manufactured Products increased modestly and drove the overall index up, whereas Primary Articles and Fuel & Power declined. The Food Index fell month over month and showed a negative year on year inflation rate. Component level movements were mixed across minerals, crude petroleum and subgroups of manufactured goods. September figures are provisional, compiled at a weighted response rate below finalised months, and subject to revision under the WPI revision policy.

Harmonised spice standards boost global food safety and trade by promoting science-based norms and transparent regulation.
India hosted the 8th CCSCH session, with the Spices Board as Secretariat, to advance harmonised, science based spice standards under the Codex Alimentarius framework. Delegates prioritised development of new standards for specified spices and emphasised unified norms to ensure food safety, trade fairness, transparency, traceability, and sustainable practices across the spice value chain.

Capgemini's acquisition of Cloud4C approved; targets provide hybrid cloud managed IT/ITeS services with operations in India.
The Competition Commission of India approved Capgemini SE's proposed acquisition of 100% of the shares of Cloud4C Services Pte. Ltd and Cloud4C Services Private Limited. The Targets are a hybrid cloud managed services provider headquartered in Singapore with substantial operations and employees in India, and both parties provide IT/ITeS services in India. A detailed order explaining the Commission's reasoning and any conditions will follow.