Clean energy stimulus can drive economic recovery by prioritizing least-cost, resilient, efficient, and equitable energy investments.
Direct recovery stimulus toward a clean, resilient, and least-cost energy future by investing in electric vehicles, energy storage, and renewable energy, guided by four principles: least-cost solutions, resilient and secure systems, efficiency and competitiveness, and social and environmental equity. Prioritize transport measures (safe public transit, non-motorized infrastructure, reduced vehicle travel, freight and passenger EV adoption, export development) and power-sector measures (better distribution operations, renewables and distributed resources, energy storage, flexible generation, resilience, and domestic manufacturing of clean technologies).

Incentivisation of state agricultural reforms to be designed for inclusion in the Finance Commission's allocation recommendations.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission met the Union Ministry of Agriculture to align its award recommendations with recent agricultural reforms, review measures including amendments to the Essential Commodities framework and two Ordinances on produce trade and farmer agreements, and to address agri export shortcomings. A joint Group of a Commission Member and the Secretaries of Agriculture and DARE was constituted to design a mechanism for incentivisation of states based on reform performance and to assess DARE/ICAR budget requirements for inclusion in the Commission's final recommendations.

Service sector competitiveness urged: reduce import dependence, focus on quality, and pursue new markets and skill development.
The Minister urged reduction of import dependence by using and upskilling domestic labour, and called on industry to build competitive advantage, focus on quality, and explore new markets and services. He said the Government will make targeted policy interventions, support startups and check unfair practices, while noting its limits on providing ongoing support and urging sectoral consensus on proposals.

Paperless exports enabled by secure QR coded Shipping Bills, removing physical proof and making export clearance fully electronic.
The CBIC introduced a Secure QR coded Shipping Bill to be transmitted electronically to exporters upon Customs allowance, eliminating the need for physical proof and making the export clearance process fully electronic from filing to the final order to allow export.

Trade contraction: sharp declines in exports and imports shift the balance, producing an overall trade surplus for the period.
India's April-May 2020-21 trade data show substantial year-on-year declines in both merchandise and services exports and imports; most merchandise sectors recorded negative growth while a few (iron ore, drugs & pharmaceuticals, spices, rice) grew. Oil and non-oil imports fell sharply, influenced by lower Brent prices. RBI-provided April services figures and estimated May figures indicate lower services exports and imports; together, merchandise and services data produce an overall trade surplus for April-May 2020-21, with provisional estimates subject to revision.

e-Office adoption modernizes internal office automation, enabling paperless, contactless file management and improved transparency.
CBIC has deployed the e-Office application as a Mission Mode Project to automate internal file-management functions-receiving and marking dak, online file operation, draft preparation, approval/signature, and dispatch-thereby aiming to accelerate decisions, improve transparency and accountability through monitoring, reduce paper use, and secure records against alteration, destruction, or backdating while enabling faceless, contactless administration.

Export curbs limited to specific diagnostic kits; other testing supplies freely exportable with exporter undertaking at export.
Export controls now target only expressly listed diagnostic kits, reagents, instruments and apparatus used in COVID 19 testing; those listed (including VTM kits, RNA extraction kits, RT PCR kits and reagents, falcon tubes, beads, probes specific to COVID 19 testing, reverse transcriptase enzymes, sterile swabs, silicon columns and magnetic stands) remain restricted for export, while all other diagnostic items are freely exportable subject to an exporter undertaking submitted to customs at export.

Basic Customs Duty change on lentils: temporary reduced import duty rates apply for a limited period before reversion.
Notification No. 26/2020-Cus reduces the Basic Customs Duty on Lentils (Masur) (HS 0713 40 00 / 071340 00), lowering the rate for imports from countries other than the USA from 30% to 10% and for USA-origin or USA-exported consignments from 50% to 30%. The reduced rates apply from 2 June 2020 to 31 August 2020; from 1 September 2020 the rates shown in column (2) of the notification's Table apply.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat in pharmaceuticals-policy incentives and trade measures to boost domestic API and KSM manufacturing.
The statement details government coordination to ensure continued supply and export of essential medicines during the Covid crisis, including targeted export restrictions to prevent hoarding. It announces industrial support measures as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat: financing for Bulk Drug Parks, a Production Linked Incentive scheme to promote domestic manufacture of critical KSMs, drug intermediates and APIs, expedited anti-dumping investigations, monitoring of bilateral trade for unfair competition, collaborative R&D encouragement, and use of select public sector units as plug-and-play manufacturing partners.