AAFT launches undergraduate animation and game design programs to train digital artists for India's booming animation and gaming industry.
AAFT launched three undergraduate programmes-B.Sc. in Animation, B.Des. in Animation, and B.Sc. in Game Design-designed to address a shortage of skilled digital artists by combining practical training in animation, VFX, modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, rigging, game mechanics, UI/UX and VR/AR with industry mentorship, project-based learning, alumni networking, and placement assistance to prepare graduates for roles across films, streaming platforms, gaming, advertising and related creative sectors.

Economic growth projections and policy shifts signal GST adjustment, fiscal consolidation, and Swadeshi strategic push for manufacturing competitiveness.
Prioritises sustaining growth and completing fiscal consolidation with GDP projections of 6.8-7.2% next fiscal and a commitment to a fiscal deficit target of 4.4% of GDP; anticipates moderate near-term inflation and cautions on financial contagion risk if AI productivity gains disappoint. Announces GST restructuring as an adjustment factor, urges cautious engagement with external uncertainty, and promotes trade and industrial measures-including FTA engagement with Europe, a disciplined Swadeshi approach, a National Input Cost Reduction strategy, progression toward strategic indispensability, and reforms for gig-worker terms-to boost manufacturing competitiveness and export resilience.

Digital addiction is undermining education, work and mental health and requires standardised data-driven interventions.
Digital addiction is a growing public health concern harming academic performance, workplace productivity, and mental health, requiring a shift from access-focused policy to behavioural-health interventions. The document identifies a critical lack of comprehensive national data and urges use of the upcoming national mental health survey to inform a standardised, multi-dimensional indicator set-covering recreational screen time, sleep quality, anxiety and stress, attendance and task completion, and safety concerns like cyberbullying and real-money gaming-to evaluate interventions and integrate digital wellbeing into mental health strategy.

Urea price hike and per-acre cash transfers to farmers proposed to encourage balanced fertilisation and soil-friendly practices.
Replace part of the urea subsidy with a modest retail price increase coupled with per-acre direct cash transfers to maintain purchasing power while making nitrogen prices reflect agronomic scarcity; use zone- and crop-specific benchmarks to reward efficient nitrogen use, incentivise balanced fertilisation and soil-restorative practices, operationalise via Aadhaar-linked sales and integrated tracking, pilot across agro-climatic systems, and address tenancy allocation concerns.

Central fiscal consolidation targets 4.4% GDP deficit in FY26 while preserving higher public capital spending and leveraging improved market financing.
The Union government is on track to meet a 4.4 percent of GDP fiscal deficit target in FY26 by combining fiscal consolidation with sustained public investment: central capex share rose from ~12.5% to 22.6% (FY20-FY25) and effective capex to ~4% of GDP, revenue deficit narrowed to its lowest since FY09, and central incentives (SASCI) helped states maintain capex near 2.4% of GDP while sovereign rating actions reflected fiscal credibility.

Crop diversification funded by procurement savings to incentivise pulses, oilseeds and maize while protecting food security.
The Economic Survey proposes voluntary crop diversification funded by savings from improved stock management and reduced procurement costs, offering per acre or per quintal incentives, price deficiency payments and assured offtake to encourage shifts from rice and wheat to pulses, oilseeds and maize in agro ecologically suitable regions. Implementation is through a Centre State partnership with conditional transitional financing and reinvestment of fiscal savings into post harvest infrastructure, while maintaining food security via adjustable procurement volumes and structuring support as area based, decoupled payments for WTO compatibility.

India's AI strategy should pursue resource efficient, inclusive development while sequencing regulation alongside deployment to avoid energy intensive lock ins.
India should leverage late entry to pursue a resource efficient, inclusive AI pathway aligned with public objectives, prioritising application led innovation, domestic data use, human capital and shared infrastructure rather than frontier scale model race. Regulation, data governance and safety must be sequenced alongside deployment: policy must decide what to build domestically, what to source, what to regulate early, and what to allow to evolve, so as to avoid passive consumption and prevent path dependence that could deepen structural divides.

Marijuana seizure at IGI Airport after profiling and X ray screening; passenger arrested and contraband seized under NDPS Act.
Customs officers intercepted an arriving passenger after spot profiling, diverted him to the green channel for X ray screening and a detailed baggage search, recovering multiple vacuum sealed packets concealed in polybags. Diagnostic testing indicated the substance was prima facie ganja/marijuana; the narcotic material and concealing articles were seized and the passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act.

Free trade agreements provide reliable market access and drive export competitiveness while relying on state-level implementation.
An expanding network of Free Trade Agreements provides reliable market access, enabling export-focused firms to boost production and integrate into global value chains while exposing them to international competition that drives productivity and reliability. The benefits of these agreements increasingly hinge on state-level implementation, with states required to supply infrastructure, regulatory certainty, and administrative coordination for firms to realise export competitiveness.

Labour Codes aim to expand formal jobs and strengthen social security for women and gig workers through portability and recognition.
Effective implementation of the Labour Codes is central to expanding formal employment and improving security for women and gig/platform workers by consolidating laws, formally recognising gig workers, extending social security and benefit portability, enabling remote work for women post-maternity benefit, and leveraging a national unorganised-worker database linked to universal account identifiers to integrate welfare, skilling, and portability across platforms.

Pharma shift to value-driven focus on complex generics, biosimilars and advanced medical-device manufacturing.
The pharmaceutical industry is shifting to a value-driven approach emphasising complex generics, biosimilars and innovation to move up the value chain, supported by export orientation to regulated markets and vaccine leadership. The medical devices sector aims to reduce import dependence and scale advanced manufacturing-notably AI and 3D printing-while streamlining global certification processes to strengthen international market access and expand high-end equipment production.

Indian economy projected to grow 6.8-7.2% in FY27 amid reforms, undervalued currency, and fiscal consolidation aims.
Projected GDP growth for the next fiscal year is placed at 6.8-7.2 percent due to cumulative policy reforms and rising medium term potential. The Survey characterises the rupee as undervalued-helpful for export offset but deterring investment-and stresses the need for a strong, stable currency aligned with strategic objectives. It reports progress on fiscal consolidation toward a 4.4 percent fiscal deficit target, moderate external balances with a 0.8 percent CAD, and underscores that maximising benefits from free trade agreements requires enhanced domestic competitiveness.

Agriculture sector needs urgent reform across fertilisers, irrigation, and market links to boost resilience and incomes.
The survey identifies climate risks, water scarcity, small landholdings and productivity gaps as key constraints and calls for a reform agenda focused on overhauling fertiliser policy, strengthening irrigation, promoting crop diversification and climate resilient technologies, empowering farmer producer organisations, improving market integration and logistics, enhancing risk management, and boosting private investment in food processing and cold chains to raise resilience and farm incomes.

Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Rajya Sabha by Finance Minister; House adjourned after presentation.
The Finance Minister tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, providing English and Hindi copies and a statistical appendix, and the House was adjourned for the day following the submission.

India EU FTA signals strategic realignment but benefits hinge on India fixing supply chain, transport and delivery inefficiencies.
The India-EU FTA is a strategic alignment signaling less reliance on the US and cuts tariffs across most bilateral exports, but its benefits depend on India improving delivery speed, transportation, port efficiency and supply chain reliability; without such operational gains, tariff reductions alone will not automatically translate into expanded market share despite sectoral opportunities in jewellery, leather, footwear and selected apparel segments.

Agricultural export policy changes disrupt supply chains, risk losing markets, and hinder export-led growth potential.
Frequent trade policy interventions in agricultural exports-including ad hoc export bans and minimum export prices-disrupt supply chains, create market uncertainty, and impose reputational costs that make lost export markets hard to recover; stabilising domestic availability and prices through mechanisms such as subsidised distribution, buffer stocks and open market sales while aligning policy to support export access can enable export-led growth and better farmer incomes.

Economic Survey projects 6.8-7.2% GDP; India-EU FTA seen as strategic shift; trade and jurisdictional issues emerge.
The Economic Survey 2025-26 projects GDP growth of 6.8-7.2% for 2026-27 and notes rising automobile exports as evidence of India's growing trade competitiveness. The India-EU free trade agreement is framed as a strategic alignment affecting market access for Indian manufacturers. A reported territorial jurisdictional limitation in a defamation action against a media production highlights procedural constraints on forum selection for tort claims tied to widely distributed content.

India-made automobile exports rise as government incentive schemes boost EV registrations, production and manufacturing competitiveness.
Government incentive schemes and targeted policy measures have accelerated electric vehicle registrations and bolstered manufacturing competitiveness, contributing to rising exports across passenger, commercial, two wheeler and three wheeler segments, substantial production growth over the last decade, significant employment generation through the auto component ecosystem, and a meaningful share of GST receipts.

Trade negotiations with the US expected to conclude this year, potentially reducing external uncertainty for India.
Bilateral trade negotiations with the United States are expected to conclude within the year and may reduce external uncertainty. Negotiations have proceeded through multiple rounds but have been slowed by significant US tariff measures-amounting to a 50 percent levy including an additional penalty tied to crude oil purchases-that have intermittently disrupted trade and affected export prospects amid volatile capital flows.

India gold demand fell 11% in 2025 amid record prices; value rose 30% as investment demand strengthened.
India's gold demand fell 11% to 710.9 tonnes in 2025 as record-high prices and shifting consumer behaviour reduced volumes-notably jewellery down 24% and recycling down 27%-while value rose about 30% to Rs 7,51,490 crore. Investment demand grew, with Q4 investment volumes up 26% and value up 108%, and gold imports declined 17% to 663.7 tonnes. The WGC expects 2026 demand around 600-700 tonnes, supported by global uncertainty and continued interest in ETFs and digital gold.