Financial literacy promoted through public marathon and conference to strengthen investor awareness and protection nationwide.
Promotion of Financial Education and Investor Protection through public engagement and targeted outreach. IEPFA, with NCAER and Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, organised the "Niveshak Mashal" half marathon and a conference to advance investor awareness. The marathon offered multiple race categories to engage students and local communities, while the conference focused on financial education in rural and semi urban areas, challenges reaching underserved populations, and strategies to bolster literacy and investor protection.

Integrated multimodal planning advances road corridors and bypasses to improve connectivity, decongest cities, and streamline freight movement.
The Network Planning Group reviewed eighteen road projects under PM GatiShakti to advance integrated multimodal development, last-mile and intermodal connectivity, and synchronized implementation. The proposals-comprising corridor upgrades, bypasses, ring roads and greenfield alignments-seek to reduce travel distances, relieve urban congestion, enhance freight movement, and improve access to economic nodes, ports, tourist destinations, and agricultural markets through capacity augmentation and alignment rationalization.

Maritime security through a regional economic corridor enabling faster, secure trade and expanded cooperation across India, Middle East and Europe.
IMEC is described as an initiative to enhance maritime security and speed the movement of goods by integrating India with Middle Eastern and European partners, reducing logistics costs through improved connectivity and cooperation. Complementary domestic measures-PLI schemes, Ease of Doing Business reforms and FTAs-are identified as supporting manufacturing and agri-value chains for corridor activity. The statement calls for a tourism working group and highlights investment opportunities across renewable energy, manufacturing, maritime and blue economy, digitisation, pharma, IT, agriculture and tourism, while emphasising shipping-sector collaboration and continued port capacity expansion.

Intellectual Property Awards open for applications from individuals, institutions, startups and corporations; submissions invited before the closing date.
Intellectual Property Awards 2024 invites applications from individuals, academic and R&D institutions, MSMEs, startups, large corporations and other entities to recognise innovative research, institutional IP practice and technology translation. Submissions are to be made via the official website or designated email, with a specified closing date in the announcement. The awards aim to increase visibility and reputation of contributors and will be presented at a ceremony in the national capital; applicants are directed to the official contact and instructions for entry.

Single window approval system enhances ease of doing business; streamlines time bound approvals and reduces regulatory burdens.
A genuine Single Window approval platform is central to Ease of Doing Business by consolidating approvals, making industry approvals time bound and accessible without in-person visits, and enabling States to adopt best practices. The release of the Regulatory Compliance Burden Booklet documents reductions in business compliances and the decriminalization and removal of redundant provisions, supporting streamlined processes and a level playing field to attract investment.

Domestic steel production target prompts emphasis on decarbonisation, AI adoption, indigenous machinery and border adjustment tax talks.
A policy directive establishes a national steel production objective to be achieved by 2034 and directs the industry to pursue decarbonisation, higher productivity and quality, adopt artificial intelligence to optimise production and reduce waste, and integrate indigenous machinery to bolster domestic manufacturing. The Government commits to ensuring a level playing field, will discuss border adjustment tax issues with industry leaders to promote sustainable manufacturing, and underscores continued infrastructure investment, capacity building and safeguarding of industry interests.

Application of Emerging Technologies recognized - ONDC's interoperable digital commerce network expands seller participation and consumer choice.
ONDC received a Gold Award for applying emerging technologies to citizen centric services; its interoperable, unbundled and decentralised architecture modularises e commerce into discrete microservices, promoting trust, competition and inclusion. The network has scaled order throughput and seller onboarding, empowering small businesses and diverse sellers, while pursuing deeper integration with government platforms to streamline business processes, credit access and data flows.

Industrial corridor development expands greenfield smart cities and integrated nodes to attract investment and boost manufacturing competitiveness.
The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) directs NICDC and partner SPVs to develop greenfield industrial cities and integrated corridors with master planning, feasibility studies, financing, and multimodal connectivity aligned to PM GatiShakti. The Cabinet approved twelve new industrial nodes to provide ready land and infrastructure to attract anchor industries and MSMEs, enhance exports, generate employment, and promote sustainable, ICT enabled smart city development through central state joint venture SPVs.

Port-led industrial development at Dighi Port Industrial Area to catalyse manufacturing investment and regional infrastructure rollout.
Secretary DPIIT visited the proposed Dighi Port Industrial Area, a port-led development over 6,056 acres leveraging proximity to Dighi Port, major highways and a forthcoming airport. The project plans trunk infrastructure-roads, power, utilities, treatment plants and ICT networks-within three years, targets manufacturing sectors including engineering, food & beverages and pharmaceuticals, and emphasises plug-and-play infrastructure and Industry 4.0 compliance to accelerate time-to-production following master planning, environmental clearances and land acquisition.

Procurement estimates for kharif paddy and millets guide state procurement operations and central pool supply planning.
Meeting reviewed operational arrangements for central pool procurement of Kharif crops, fixing aggregate procurement estimates for paddy and a separate estimate for coarse grains and millets; States were advised to prioritise millet procurement for crop diversification and nutrition. Attendees included State Food Secretaries, FCI, meteorological and agriculture officials. The meeting also discussed Supply Chain Optimization of the Public Distribution System, procurement centre infrastructure improvements, Jan Poshan Kendras and workflow automation for release of food subsidy to States to support procurement and distribution operations.

Academic participation in standardization expands through institutional MoUs enabling faculty roles in technical committees and R&D collaboration.
BIS organized parallel conventions to align academic research in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry with national and international standardization by addressing sporadic academic involvement and weak research-standards synergy. The events included technical sessions and presentations on ongoing standards work and announced Memorandums of Understanding with educational institutions to enable academic participation in BIS Technical Committees, BIS-sponsored R&D projects, and contributions to international standardization.

Merger control: CCI approval of combination creating joint venture between major entertainment groups, subject to voluntary modifications.
The Competition Commission of India approved, subject to voluntary modifications, a combination to consolidate entertainment businesses of Viacom18, Reliance Industries group and Star India Private Limited, whereby Star India will become a joint venture jointly held by Reliance, Viacom18 and existing Disney subsidiaries; the combination encompasses TV broadcasting, OTT operations, advertising sales, content production and related media activities, and a detailed CCI order will follow.

Industrial corridor approvals create plug-and-play industrial smart cities with ready-to-allot land, enhancing investment readiness and connectivity.
The Cabinet approved twelve greenfield industrial nodes under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, creating plug n play, walk to work industrial smart cities with ready to allot land across ten states. Aligned with the PM GatiShakti master plan, the projects provide multi modal connectivity, ICT enabled utilities, and green technologies to attract anchor industries and MSMEs, enhance participation in global value chains, and generate substantial direct and indirect employment while fostering sustainable regional development.

Indian Customs modernises EXIM clearances via faceless assessments, ICEGATE 2.0, ECL, EODES and ECTS for faster trade.
CBIC implemented Turant Customs-Faceless Customs, Paperless and Contactless processes-establishing National Assessment Centres, Anonymised Escalation Mechanism and Standard Examination Orders to uniformise and expedite assessments. Major digital measures include ICEGATE 2.0, ECCS with auto LEO and advance assessment for courier exports, Electronic Cash Ledger, online AEO onboarding and postal Hub & Spoke e filing for Postal Bills of Export. Regulatory reforms include CAVR 2023 for addressing systematic undervaluation, mandatory additional qualifiers for certain tariff chapters, e Certificates of Origin, EODES for India Korea origin data exchange, ECTS for monitored transit, and MRAs for AEO mutual recognition.

Quality Control Orders protect MSMEs from unfair import competition and enable national and international competitiveness.
Quality Control Orders (QCOs) shield MSMEs from unfair competition by restricting substandard imports and by setting quality standards that, once met, enable MSMEs to compete nationally and internationally; the government provides implementation time and sectoral support to facilitate compliance and bolster MSME roles in supply chains and exports.

Economic collaboration through investment dialogues to deepen bilateral investment, boost SME funding and align skills with industry.
Expansion of bilateral economic collaboration through strategic investment dialogues aimed at deepening India-Singapore investment ties, emphasizing scaling capital into priority sectors, improving the investment climate, targeting SME investment, and prioritising sustainable development and decarbonization; alongside education-and-skills cooperation to align workforce development with industry needs through joint technical and continuing education initiatives.

Economic cooperation via CECA negotiations advances bilateral trade, narrows differences across goods, services, digital trade, and procurement.
Negotiations on a proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement advanced across five tracks-Goods, Services, Digital Trade, Government Procurement and Rules of Origin-with intensive discussions narrowing differences and track leads directed to pursue virtual intersessional action plans to achieve convergence; chief negotiators underscored a commitment to balanced outcomes and strengthened bilateral economic partnership while initiating an India-Australia Agri Tech Forum for technology transfer and stakeholder engagement.

Statistical data dissemination: MoSPI/NSSO presents ASUSE survey results and methodologies to improve national accounts data use and feedback.
A one day MoSPI/NSSO data user conference will present ASUSE 2021 22 and 2022 23 results, methodologies, use of multipliers, data quality assessment, and provide unit level datasets. The event is intended to enhance stakeholder engagement and clarify how ASUSE outputs support national accounts indicators such as establishment and worker counts, Gross Value Added, GVA per worker, and Gross Value Output per establishment.

Government security repayment: maturity proceeds payable at par with electronic credit or pay order; bank details required.
Repayment of the Government security is payable at par on the maturity date, with interest ceasing from that date. If the repayment date is a non-working day, payment will be made on the previous working day. Under sub-regulations 24(2) and 24(3) of the Government Securities Regulations, 2007, maturity proceeds to registered holders in Subsidiary General Ledger, Constituent Subsidiary General Ledger or Stock Certificate form must be paid by pay order with bank particulars or by electronic credit; holders must submit bank account particulars in advance. Absent such particulars, holders may tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices before maturity to obtain repayment.

Citizen-centric e-commerce: balance digital growth with measures to protect local retailers and employment through cautious regulation.
E-commerce expansion must be citizen centric and balanced: digital growth should empower consumers and innovate service delivery but proceed in an orderly fashion to prevent disruptive market consolidation, predatory pricing, and displacement of local businesses and employment. Policy should protect small retailers and vulnerable segments through affirmative support and calibrated regulatory measures, informed by dispassionate, data-driven study of e-commerce's impact on employment and consumer welfare.