Foreign direct investment policy update: expanded sector permissions and eased conversion, pledge, and escrow rules for investors.
The circular exempts construction-development activities for educational institutions and old-age homes from general conditionalities, permits apiculture under controlled conditions and includes R&D in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and life sciences within industrial park activities; it raises the foreign investment limit in terrestrial/FM radio, clarifies conversion of imported capital goods and pre-operative expenses to equity with defined application procedures and allows pledging of shares and non-interest-bearing escrow accounts under specified regulator conditions.

MCA21 NEFT payments: upload eForm, transfer funds, then link UTN and SRN to confirm payment.
MCA21 allows NEFT payments: upload eForm, select NEFT, generate SRN/eChallan, transfer full amount to designated MCA collection account, obtain UTN, then log into MCA21 to link UTN with SRN by supplying originating account number and amount; successful matching notifies MCA21 to create a work item. Separate SRNs and separate single transactions are required for filing fees and stamp duty, and SRNs expire if payment/notification does not reach MCA21 within the settlement window.

Protectionism warnings: openness in trade and professional mobility urged to foster India-US electronics manufacturing collaboration.
India aims to build a manufacturing hub for advanced electronics by promoting US-India collaboration in education, research, and institutional linkages to support innovation and high end production. The Minister warned that protectionism and barriers to trade or the movement of professionals would be counter productive, urging openness, diaspora engagement, and cooperative frameworks to facilitate investment, talent flows, and technology partnerships.