Innovation policy seeks to strengthen the innovation ecosystem via public private collaboration and targeted R&D investment.
NITI Aayog and industry stakeholders propose a coordinated strategy to elevate the national innovation ecosystem through a New Innovation Policy to attract R&D investment, build infrastructure and institutions, tap global technology hotspots, and link tinkering labs with start-ups, industry and higher education, while using the Global Innovation Index for benchmarking and prioritising sectoral innovation such as energy.

Scholarship eligibility expansion updates increase access and require Aadhaar seeded disbursement while changing fund release rules.
Approval continues and revises the Post Matric Scholarship for OBC Students scheme: the annual parental income eligibility is raised; specified shares of funds are earmarked for girl students and for students with disabilities; disbursement will occur through Aadhaar seeded bank accounts; central assistance is to be released per the Notional Allocation with Committed Liability not applying to States/UTs. The revision aims to broaden coverage, improve implementation, enable de duplication and enhance monitoring.

Central subsidy for pulses release enables states to procure PSS stock at discounted rates for welfare schemes.
Authorises one time release of pulses procured under the Price Support Scheme to States/UTs for use in welfare programmes. Designated stocks of specified pulses may be lifted on a first come, first served basis at a discount of fifteen per kilogram over the sourcing State's prevailing wholesale price, for twelve months or until stock exhaustion. The central government will fund the subsidy to enable allocation to schemes such as the Public Distribution System, Mid Day Meal Scheme and Integrated Child Development Services and to free storage ahead of the next procurement season.

Reciprocal professional recognition enables mutual membership between ICAI and CPA Canada subject to specified eligibility criteria.
The MoU creates a framework for reciprocal professional recognition and collaborative work on definition, learning and assessment of entry level competencies, permitting members of good standing who obtained membership by meeting home body education, examination and practical experience requirements to pursue membership of the counterpart body; it does not apply to individuals whose membership arose through a separate third party agreement.

Trade remedy cooperation establishes joint anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard collaboration to enhance bilateral trade enforcement.
Approval is recorded for a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding establishing cooperation on trade remedies, focusing on anti-dumping, subsidy and countervailing, and safeguard measures, creating a framework for information exchange, consultation and technical collaboration to coordinate investigative and remedial approaches and strengthen bilateral trade relations.

Public-private partnership for island eco-tourism to solicit private investment under risk-sharing models and open competitive bidding.
NITI Aayog is mobilising private investment for public private partnership eco tourism projects in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, with 11 anchor projects on government land to be implemented under risk sharing models and open competitive bidding; seven projects are ready to launch. Project governance is coordinated under the Island Development Agency and NITI Aayog's Holistic Development of Islands programme, with preparatory work including land surveys, carrying capacity assessments, CRZ applications and pre feasibility studies for identified island sites.

Government-business partnership to advance sustainable development goals through industry collaboration and targeted sector-specific initiatives.
A government-industry MoU between NITI Aayog and the Confederation of Indian Industry establishes a multi-year partnership to advance Sustainable Development Goals through three core outputs: a Vision and Action Agenda for business engagement, Annual Status Reports tracking progress, and Sector-specific Best Practice Documents to translate SDG targets into implementable corporate practices, with thematic emphasis on energy, water and circular economy and deployment of technology-driven solutions.

Public Private Partnership to align business contributions with sustainable development goals through a sectoral conclave on water, energy and green industry.
A Government and Business Partnership Conclave will examine private sector roles in implementing the sustainable development goals across water, energy and green industry, aiming to define business responsibilities, highlight best practices, and identify partnership opportunities with government through thematic sessions chaired by senior officials.

Civil society partnership to prepare a Joint Action Plan and establish a nodal department for improved service delivery.
The workshop promoted a structured, thematic engagement between government and CSOs to improve service delivery, organising participants into six groups addressing Women Empowerment, Child Welfare and Health, Senior Citizens, Disability Welfare, Children in Conflict with Law, and Youth Engagement; it emphasised capacity building for CSOs, creation of a nodal department in J&K to resolve implementation delays, and preparation of a Joint Action Plan delineating CSO participation and concrete action points.

Atal Pension Yojana digital access expanded, enabling remote account operations and linking persistency to incentive eligibility.
PFRDA held a regional APY strategy and review meeting for south-based banks to assess FY 2018-19 targets and enrolment, emphasising that service providers must maintain account persistency to remain eligible for persistency incentives and ensure corpus adequacy. PFRDA stressed online features enabling remote account access-grievance module, APY upgrade/downgrade view, ePRAN card/statement view, Aadhaar seeding, APY@eNPS, and a mobile application-and acknowledged service provider contributions via performance awards.

Material recycling policy prescriptions to boost sustainable growth, jobs and circular economy through targeted reforms and stakeholder participation.
NITI Aayog's conference sought policy prescriptions to scale material recycling in India to create jobs, reduce export dependence, protect the environment, and advance a circular economy. Emphasis was placed on citizen participation and on setting short-, mid- and long-term targets to lower reliance on finite resources, minimise landfill use, and support sustainable development. Technical sessions addressed circular economy strategies, infrastructural challenges, standardization and certification, environmental benefits, and financial and taxation issues to inform policy and implementation.

Industry Academia Partnerships bridge research and startups through mentorship to accelerate commercialisation and ecosystem collaboration nationwide.
The Startup India Academia Alliance institutionalises mentorship linking academic researchers with startups to reduce the gap between scientific research and industrial application, support commercialisation, and implement Industry Academia Partnerships and Incubation. The first phase engaged partner research institutes to provide domain mentors in renewable energy, biotechnology, healthcare and life sciences; applications were hosted on the Startup India Hub and shortlisted by institutes based on operational area and technological relevance, with mentorship sessions now commenced.

Startup incubation: mobile outreach and accelerator training translated grassroots pitches into institutional incubation offers across the state.
A state-level Startup India outreach combined a mobile pitch van, regional boot camps and an accelerator to promote the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy, select grassroots entrepreneurs from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations, and translate shortlisted pitches into institutional incubation through offers from incubators and capacity-building interventions.

Education loan portal streamlines single-window applications; banks process under IBA timelines and address pendency by student follow-up.
Vidyalakshmi Portal is a single-window system for education loan applications operating under Indian Banks' Association norms that envisage 15-30 day disposal of completed applications; NSDL data shows rising application volumes and, as of 29 July 2018, a notable backlog with many applications pending beyond six months due mainly to non-compliance and incomplete documentation, and banks address pendency by contacting students and taking actions suited to the specific reasons for delay.

Finance Commission independence affirmed; seeks sympathetic fiscal treatment for states with special socio economic and environmental challenges.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission affirmed its independence and, while acknowledging Jharkhand's development deficits and recent fiscal deterioration, recognised the need for sympathetic fiscal treatment that balances rewarding efficient resource use with compensating mining negative externalities and accounting for high tribal population, forest cover and ecological vulnerability; the State sought adjustments to vertical and horizontal devolution, replacement of revenue deficit grants by unconditional basic grants addressing 'development deficit', and further analysis of GST revenue uncertainties and UDAY bond issues.

Corporate Social Responsibility promotes corporate investment and collaboration to tackle water, education and health challenges.
CSR is framed as a commercial and societal imperative for companies to address water availability, education, health care, skill development, women's empowerment and livelihoods by combining financial resources with technology and managerial expertise; coordinated government-corporate action pooling financial, managerial, policy and local resources is urged, and CSR awards are cited as recognition for exemplary engagement.

Insolvency law amendments redefine guarantors and related parties, tighten eligibility and creditor representation rules, and lower voting thresholds.
The Bill amends the Code by redefining key terms (including corporate guarantor and related party), deeming allottee receipts as borrowings, and replacing "repayment" with "payment" throughout. It requires corporate applicants and proposed resolution professionals to furnish specified documents and consents, mandates an affidavit of eligibility with resolution plans, allows withdrawal of admitted applications with 90% creditor approval, introduces authorised representatives for financial creditor classes with duties and remuneration rules, lowers critical voting thresholds to 66%, provides MSME exemptions, applies the Limitation Act to proceedings under the Code, and inserts a schedule of Acts relevant to eligibility.

Mobility innovation hackathon crowdsources tech and business solutions for integrated transport with international mentorship and staged finals.
NITI Aayog launched Move Hack, a global three-stage mobility hackathon (online, mentored Singapore leg, New Delhi finals) soliciting technology and business solutions for multimodal transport and emergent mobility technologies, open to all nationalities, with expert mentorship, jury evaluation, partner support and prize incentives to scale viable projects.

Energy startup acceleration: three-month corporate programme offering pilot access, mentorship and market linkage for innovators.
A three-month corporate acceleration programme colocates selected energy startups at corporate premises to enable lab-to-market development. Applications are hosted on the Startup India Hub. Selected startups receive a cash grant of up to Rs. 5 Lakh, access to technology, technical and commercial mentorship, and opportunities to pilot products with corporate partners and access potential customers.

Interest free loan support approved for fertilizer revival projects, covering construction-period interest with defined disbursement and repayment terms.
Cabinet authorises an Interest Free Loan (IFL) to HURL covering only interest accrued during scheduled construction for Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni projects; escalation from time or cost overruns is to be borne by the JV. The IFL will be disbursed in the first three years during construction and repaid over an 11-year period with a moratorium corresponding to the three-year disbursement period and phased repayment over the following eight years.