National Turmeric Board to coordinate sector growth, promote R&D, quality standards and international market development.
Establishment of the National Turmeric Board to lead and coordinate sector development, promote consumption and international market growth, facilitate research and development of value added turmeric products, advance quality and food safety standards, and undertake capacity building for growers. The Board's composition includes a Central Government appointed Chairperson, representatives of relevant Union Departments and rotating State representatives, research institutions, farmer and exporter representatives, and a Secretary appointed by the Department of Commerce.

Technical textiles R&D approvals advance indigenous development, funding projects and curriculum expansion to bolster domestic capacity.
Ministry of Textiles approved 18 R&D projects under the National Technical Textiles Mission, combining high-value R&D, prototype and ideation grants across Geotech, Protech, Indutech, Sportech, Sustainable Textiles, Smart & E-Textiles, and Meditech, led by public research institutes to promote indigenous development and reduce import dependence. The Ministry also approved education, training and skill-development proposals to introduce academic papers, procure laboratory infrastructure and train trainers to support workforce capacity.

Duty remission scheme extension under RoDTEP preserves tax and duty reimbursements for exporters and continues committee review.
Extension of the RoDTEP Scheme preserves continued remission of taxes, duties and levies on exported products at existing rates, maintains the Scheme's budgetary framework and IT based implementation, and retains coverage of specified HS lines while reconstituting the RoDTEP Committee to review and recommend ceiling rates and consult export stakeholders.

Artisan welfare scheme expands market access and links traditional crafts to national convention infrastructure and events.
Phase 1 of Yashobhoomi has been dedicated as an integrated convention and exhibition centre positioned to host international conferences and exhibitions with multimodal connectivity and supporting infrastructure. In parallel, the government launched the PM Vishwakarma Yojna, a scheme for traditional artisans featuring a portal and outreach to expand market access, link artisans to exhibition platforms, and promote MSME participation, as part of broader measures to advance skill development, employment generation and inclusive economic growth.

Trade balance improvement narrows the deficit as imports fall and services exports support external receipts.
Overall exports (goods and services) in August 2023 and for April-August 2023 are estimated to have declined year on year while imports contracted more sharply, resulting in a substantial improvement in the overall trade deficit and a reduced merchandise trade deficit. Services exports contributed positively over April-August, and sectoral movements show notable export gains in electronic goods, engineering goods and selected agricultural products alongside steep declines in several import categories including silver, raw cotton, fertilizers and petroleum products.

Narcotics destruction: seized controlled substances incinerated at a CPCB authorized facility under hazardous waste rules with committee oversight.
Destruction of seized narcotics was carried out by the Delhi Customs Preventive Zone at a Central Pollution Control Board-authorized waste management facility by incineration, monitored by a High Level Drug Disposal Committee and executed in accordance with Hazardous & Other Wastes (M&TM) Rules, 2016, after transfer of contraband seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for final disposal under the prescribed hazardous-waste handling regime.

Trade policy: secure fair FTAs while boosting engineering exports through specialization, studies, and global expansion.
The Minister urges the engineering sector to expand exports in services, design, construction and R&D by 2030, recommends specialization and certification supported by National Education Policy 2020 flexibility, and calls for studies into international restrictions on Indian firms with potential reciprocal responses. He stresses negotiating fair and balanced Free Trade Agreements via stakeholder consultations to ensure benefits for businesses, professionals, and MSMEs and to better leverage FTAs for global market access.

National Logistics Policy centralizes digitization, standards and institutional mechanisms to cut logistics costs and boost performance.
The National Logistics Policy establishes a coordinated regulatory and institutional framework to reduce logistics costs and improve logistics performance through process reforms, digitization, capacity building and standardization. The Policy's Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan targets integrated digital systems, asset and service standardization, State engagement, EXIM logistics and sectoral plans, and creates governance mechanisms-such as a Services Improvement Group, dedicated logistics units and a digital issues portal-to enable inter-Ministerial coordination, industry integration via a Unified Logistics Interface Platform and data-driven interventions including a Logistics Data Bank and logistics cost estimation workstream.

Opium poppy licensing policy expands coverage and retains eligible cultivators under MQY M and CPS methods.
Annual policy increases eligible opium poppy cultivators and retains licences for those meeting the morphine yield threshold, while directing lower-yielding gum tenderers to the CPS-based method with five-year licences; prior-year CPS farmers who tendered and are not debarred remain eligible under relaxed conditions to broaden participation.

Most Favoured Nation duty remains applicable, while additional retaliatory duties on US apples, walnuts and almonds removed.
India has withdrawn additional retaliatory duties on US-origin apples, walnuts and almonds while retaining the Most Favoured Nation duty applicable to all imports; a Minimum Import Price for apples (with a specified exception) remains in force to prevent dumping and protect market quality, so the measure restores parity of market access without reducing base MFN tariff obligations.

Free trade agreement negotiations between UK and India progressed in a hybrid twelfth round; ministers agreed to advance talks.
Free trade agreement negotiations between the United Kingdom and the Republic of India progressed in a hybrid twelfth round from 8-31 August 2023, combining in-person and virtual participation. Ministers used the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial meeting on 24-25 August to take stock of the talks and agreed ways to progress negotiations, with a further (thirteenth) round scheduled for September.

Economic partnership initiatives strengthened to boost trade, tech collaboration, and payments connectivity between India and New Zealand.
Ministers committed to strengthening bilateral economic relations by testing new economic partnership approaches, coordinating technology and expertise sharing, and sustaining senior-level dialogue. They agreed to establish working groups after stakeholder consultations to pursue cooperation in agriculture and horticulture, pharmaceuticals, and logistics, while advancing trade facilitation measures including wooden log imports, mango exports and Vapour Heat Treatment facilities. They welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding to liberalise air services and endorsed discussions on Unified Payments Interface interoperability to promote ease of business, trade and tourism, with periodic review of working group progress.

Free Trade Agreement negotiations progress as parties commit to conclude a fair, balanced, mutually beneficial trade deal.
India and the United Kingdom reaffirmed commitment to advance the Free Trade Agreement negotiations: twelve rounds have been completed with several chapters finalised, though issues remain outstanding. Chief negotiators briefed ministers on the state of play and joint efforts to resolve remaining matters. Ministers stressed continuing the current pace of exchanges and improving mutual understanding, with teams to negotiate through the end of August followed by higher level stock taking, aiming to conclude a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade agreement to enhance bilateral economic cooperation.

Export safeguards for Basmati rice: value-threshold registration and committee review to prevent misclassification and illicit exports.
The Government directed APEDA to require a Registration - cum - Allocation Certificate (RCAC) for Basmati export contracts at or above a specified value threshold; contracts below the threshold are to be held in abeyance and reviewed by a committee to examine price variations and possible misuse for exporting non-basmati white rice, with the committee reporting within one month, and APEDA to consult trade to discourage such misuse.

Policy repo rate pause maintains current stance while prioritising withdrawal of accommodation to anchor inflation expectations.
The Monetary Policy Committee resolved to keep the policy repo rate unchanged and to continue a stance focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure inflation progressively aligns with the medium term 4 per cent target while supporting growth. The decision was based on assessment of resilient domestic activity, transitory but sizeable food price shocks, risks from uneven monsoon and global developments, and the need for proactive liquidity management and readiness to act if supply shocks broaden and unanchor inflation expectations.

Customs cooperation: cross-border trade facilitation enhanced through land, rail, river and air transshipment and data exchange.
Bilateral measures enhance customs cooperation and trade facilitation by permitting rail, inland waterway and air transshipment and customs clearance at Inland Container Depots to decongest land border crossings; discussions also covered opening land customs stations, port access implementation, infrastructure development, pre arrival data exchange, and electronic connectivity between transit modules.

Review of AITIGA to commence formal negotiations with quarterly sessions aimed at enhancing and diversifying India ASEAN trade.
The ministers endorsed the Terms of Reference and Work Plan for a review of the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), approved commencement of formal negotiations under defined modalities, agreed a quarterly negotiation schedule and targeted conclusion of the review in 2025 to enhance FTA facilitation, address bilateral trade asymmetries, and diversify trade.

Mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operators boosts reciprocal customs facilitation and supply chain security between India and Australia.
Approval is granted for a Mutual Recognition Arrangement between India and Australia recognising Australia's Trusted Trader Program and India's Authorized Economic Operator Program to provide reciprocal customs facilitation and expedited clearance for accredited exporters, consistent with the WCO SAFE Framework; the arrangement enters into force upon signature by authorised representatives and has been finalised with concurrence of both customs administrations.

Trade deficit improvement follows stronger services surplus despite contraction in merchandise exports across key sectors.
India's July 2023 trade shows overall export contraction offset by larger import declines, producing a narrower trade deficit; merchandise exports fell while services exports rose, with provisional services estimates subject to revision and sectoral divergences-iron ore, electronics and certain agricultural products grew, whereas petroleum, gems & jewellery and several intermediate goods contracted.

Policy repo rate maintained; MPC to withdraw accommodation to align inflation with target while supporting growth.
The MPC kept the policy repo rate and related standing facility rates unchanged while emphasising a stance of gradual withdrawal of accommodation to align CPI inflation with the medium term target of 4 percent within a +/- 2 percent band, balancing that objective with support for growth. The decision reflects resilient domestic demand, food-driven near-term inflationary pressures, and external risks; the MPC signalled readiness to respond to persistent inflationary shocks and will monitor developments closely.