The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD).
The Revised NPDD, a Central Sector Scheme, has been enhanced with an additional Rs.1000 crore, bringing the total budget to Rs.2790 crore for the period of the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) to boost growth in livestock sector. Implementation of revised RGM, as Central Sector component of Development Programmes scheme is being done with an additional outlay of Rs.1000 crore that is total outlay of Rs.3400 crore during 15th Finance Commission cycle,
from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Two New activities added are: (i) One-time assistance of 35% of the capital cost for establishment of Heifer Rearing Centres to Implementing Agencies for creation of 30 housing facilities having total 15000 heifers and,
(ii) To encourage farmers to purchase High genetic merit (HGM) IVF heifers to provide 3% interest subvention on loan taken by the farmer from milk unions / financial institutions/ banks for such purchase. This will help in systemic induction of high yielding breeds.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for setting up of a new Brownfield Ammonia-Urea Complex of 12.7 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) annual capacity of Urea production within the existing premises of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL), Namrup Assam,
with an estimated total project cost of Rs.10,601.40 Crore with Debt Equity ratio of 70:30 through a Joint Venture (JV), under the New Investment Policy, 2012 read with its amendments on 7th October, 2014. The tentative overall time schedule for commissioning of Namrup-IV Project is 48 months.
Additionally, the Cabinet also approved the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL)’s equity participation of 18% in relaxation to the limits prescribed in Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines; and constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to oversee the process of setting up of Namrup-IV Fertilizer Plant.
In the proposed JV, equity pattern will be as under:
(i) Government of Assam: 40%
(ii) Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL): 11%
(iii) Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL): 13%
(iv) National Fertilizers Limited (NFL): 18%
(v) Oil India Limited (OIL): 18%
BVFCL’s share of equity shall be in lieu of tangible assets.
The project will increase the domestic Urea production capacity in the country especially in the North-Eastern region. It will meet the growing demand of Urea fertilizers of North East, Bihar, West Bengal,
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. The establishment of Namrup-IV unit will be more energy efficient. It will also open avenues for additional direct and indirect employment opportunity to the people of the area. It shall help achieve the vision of self-reliance in Urea in the country.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the ‘Incentive Scheme for promotion of low-value BHIM-UPI transactions Person to Merchant (P2M)’ for the financial year 2024-25 in the following manner:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of 6- lane access controlled Greenfield High Speed National Highway starting from JNPA Port (Pagote) to Chowk (29.219 km) in Maharashtra. The project will be developed on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs. 4500.62 Crore.
Reserve Bank and the Bank of Mauritius (BOM) have signed a pact for establishing a framework to promote the use of the Indian Rupee and the Mauritian Rupee (MUR) for cross-border transactions. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and BOM Governor Rama Krishna Sithanen G C S K, the central bank said.
The RBI said the MoU aims to promote the use of INR and MUR in bilateral trade. The MoU covers all current account transactions and permissible capital account transactions as agreed upon by both the countries.
The framework would enable exporters and importers to invoice and pay in their respective domestic currencies,
which in turn, would enable the development of a market in the INR-MUR pair.
Use of local currencies would optimise costs and settlement time for transactions.
Use of local currencies in bilateral transactions will eventually contribute to promoting trade between India and Mauritius as well as deepen financial integration and strengthen the historical, cultural, and,
economic relations between India and Mauritius.
"This collaboration marks a key milestone in strengthening bilateral cooperation between RBI and BOM," RBI said.
"The MoU documents were exchanged in Port Louis, Mauritius in the presence of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam."
Delhi Police has launched a dedicated squad against eve teasing, 'Shishtachar,' with at least 30 teams deployed across the national capital, especially in hotspots, to check incidents of harassment and ensure the safety of women in public spaces. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had in the Delhi assembly election manifesto promised to establish 'Anti-Romeo squad',
as in Uttar Pradesh, to enhance women's safety in public spaces.
The initiative adopts a multi-faceted approach, involving prevention, intervention and victim assistance. The squads have been directed to focus on enforcing the law without imposing personal or cultural morality, while also ensuring that victims are protected from undue public scrutiny or embarrassment.
They will be provided with one four-wheeler and adequate two-wheelers to ensure effective patrolling and quick response.
District Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) have been tasked with identifying and listing hotspots prone to harassment, with squad deployment focusing on these areas.
The 'Anti-Romeo squad' for women's safety were first set up by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 to fulfil the BJP's poll pledge after the party came into power there.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has infused over Rs. 5 lakh crore into the banking system since mid-January through bond purchases, forex swaps, and early-April maturity repos. Aiming to maintain surplus liquidity and ensure the transmission of its rate cut benefits to borrowers, the central bank is set to inject an additional Rs. 50,000 crore via bond repurchases.
Additionally, even as RBI injects liquidity, it continues to withdraw rupees by selling dollars from its forex reserves. This strategy has helped stabilize the financial system, but short-term interest rates remain elevated due to liquidity deficits and economic uncertainties.
SBI Mutual Fund has introduced two new investment options centred around India’s public sector banking sector:
SBI BSE PSU Bank Index Fund – An open-ended scheme that mirrors or tracks the BSE PSU Bank Index.
SBI BSE PSU Bank ETF – An open-ended exchange-traded fund (ETF) that also replicates the BSE PSU Bank Index.
Their objective is to deliver returns closely aligned with the performance of the BSE PSU Bank Index, subject to tracking error. However, SBI Mutual Fund has clarified that achieving this investment objective is not guaranteed.
The funds will primarily allocate 95% to 100% of their assets to stocks listed in the BSE PSU Bank Index.
Additionally, up to 5% of assets may be invested in government securities, tri-party repo, and units of liquid mutual funds to ensure liquidity.
Minimum Investment & Listing Details
The minimum investment amount during the New Fund Offer (NFO) period is Rs. 5,000, with additional investments allowed in multiples of Rs. 1.
The benchmark index for these funds is the BSE PSU Bank TRI.
Units of the SBI BSE PSU Bank ETF will be listed on both NSE and BSE for trading.
These funds are ideal for investors seeking to capitalise on the performance of PSU banks through a diversified and structured investment vehicle.
The Indian government has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to address challenges faced by the country’s rapidly growing fintech sector. The panel, set up by the Department of Financial Services, includes representatives from key government bodies such as the Department of Economic Affairs, NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Electronics and IT,
the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), as well as regulatory authorities like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
In addition to government officials, the committee will also feature fintech industry leaders, including Lalit Keshre (Groww), Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter),
Varun Dua (Acko General Insurance), and Ajay Kaushal (BillDesk). Their role will be to provide industry insights and help shape policies to support fintech innovation while ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks.
The primary objective of this initiative is to assess the fintech sector’s growth, and its impact on banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI),
and identify hurdles faced by startups. The committee will also review regulatory developments and propose measures to create a more enabling environment for fintech innovation. A report is expected to be submitted within three months from its first meeting.
This move follows a series of regulatory actions by the government and RBI over the past few years.
In 2023, the RBI increased risk weightage for consumer credit exposure of banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Furthermore, in a recent crackdown, the central bank penalized four peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms—Faircent, LEO1, Finzy, and Rang De—for non-compliance with regulatory norms.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) landscape in India is witnessing a significant shift, with emerging players steadily gaining market share. In a notable development, Flipkart Group’s payment app, super.money, has risen to become the fifth-largest UPI player, surpassing Kunal Shah-led CRED in February 2025.
This reshuffling in the rankings reflects the increasing competition in the digital payments ecosystem.
According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Flipkart‘s super.money recorded approximately 139 million UPI transactions in February, overtaking CRED, which saw its transaction volume remain stagnant at around 130 million for the past year.
Meanwhile, Navi, a fintech and credit platform founded by Sachin Bansal, secured the fourth position in November 2024 and further solidified its standing with 261 million UPI transactions in February.
This development underscores the growing influence of new-age fintech players in a sector long dominated by market leaders PhonePe and Google Pay.
The influx of these platforms has begun to fragment the market, chipping away at the share of established giants.
Mark Carney, an economist and political newcomer, has been sworn in as Canada's new prime minister.
He took office just days after being elected leader of the governing Liberal Party.
Carney replaces outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in office for nine years, after a landslide victory in Liberal leadership race.
He previously held roles as governor of the Bank of Canada, the country's central bank, and of the Bank of England, and helped both countries weather major financial disruption.
