MNRE has expanded the ALMM Order to introduce ALMM List-III for Ingots and Wafers, which will take effect from 1 June 2028. Suitable grandfathering provisions have been built in to protect projects already in the pipeline.
The current order of MNRE, extends mandatory sourcing requirements from ALMM lists, already in place for modules and cells, one step further up the solar supply chain to include the ingots and wafers, which currently remains heavily import-dependent.
The Government is implementing a Central Sector Scheme for “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)”. As on 1st March 2026, 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have been registered across the country under this scheme.
As on 1st March, 2026, 1175 FPOs are registered as 100% women members under the 10,000 FPOs scheme.
As on 1st March, 2026, 23.55 lakh women farmers are registered across the country under the 10,000 FPOs scheme.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare- Shri Bhagirath Choudhary.
In a landmark step towards strengthening rural drinking water governance, Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 were signed with the States of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, marking the formal launch of reform-linked implementation under the extended phase of the Mission which was approved by the union cabinet on 10th March 2026.
For Rajasthan the MoUs was signed and exchanged between Smt. Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary (Water), DDWS, and Shri Akhil Arora, Additional Chief Secretary, PHED Rajasthan.
For Madhya Pradesh it was signed and exchanged between Smt. Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary (Water), DDWS, and Shri P. Narahari, Principal Secretary, PHED Madhya Pradesh.
The extension of Jal Jeevan Mission till December 2028, with enhanced outlay, aims to restructure and reorient the programme towards assured service delivery, with a focus on functionality, water quality, sustainability and community ownership.
India is participating in the United States Navy-led multinational anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise ‘Sea Dragon 2026’ being held near Guam, in March 2026.
The exercise brings together forces from Australia, Japan and New Zealand, aimed at enhancing coordination and combat readiness in undersea warfare.
According to an official statement from the Australian Ministry of Defence, the Indian Navy is taking part alongside the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which has deployed a P-8A Poseidon aircraft and around 50 aviators from its recently re-formed No. 12 Squadron to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
The Himachal Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to strengthen the dairy sector in the State, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu saying the initiative will enhance milk processing capacity and generate employment opportunities for farmers.
The MoU signing ceremony between the Government of Himachal Pradesh and NDDB was held in Shimla . Speaking to the media, Sukhu said the agreement aims to introduce world-class technology in milk processing and related bio-products while strengthening the State's dairy infrastructure.
India concluded its campaign at the World Boxing Futures Cup with a haul of five medals, including one gold, on March 15, 2026.
Competing across the Youth Olympic weight categories, the Indian U-19 men's and women's team delivered a series of assured performances.
Leading the charge was Chandrika Pujari, who delivered a commanding performance in the women's 51 kg final to defeat Uzbekistan’s Mardonova Nazokat with a unanimous decision to stand atop the podium.
Three Indian boxers finished with silver medals after reaching the finals in their respective categories.
Gunjan (48kg) went down to her opponent from England by a 5-0 decision, while Joyshree Devi (54kg) fought hard but lost 4-1 to a boxer from the United States.
In the men's 50kg category, L. Ambekar Meetei also settled for silver after losing his final bout to Ukraine.
Earlier in the tournament, Radhamani Longjam (57kg) had secured a bronze medal.
Senior ambassadors, diplomats, policymakers and agribusiness leaders representing over ten nations formally launched the Asia-Africa Agri Alliance (AAAA), with the objective of accelerating agricultural trade, investment, technology transfer and policy cooperation between Asia and Africa.
Asia and Africa together account for over 40 per cent of global agricultural production and bilateral agri-trade already exceeds $90 billion annually.
The continent holds 65 per cent of the world's remaining arable land, a young and rapidly growing workforce, and an agricultural sector projected to reach a $1 trillion market by 2030.
The Asia-Africa Agri Alliance (AAAA) has been constituted as a neutral, not-for-profit Section 8 institution to bridge these gaps through institutional, investment-ready and policy-aligned mechanisms, an official statement said.
Shriram General Insurance Company announced the launch of Shri Health Suraksha 2.0, an enhanced health insurance suite engineered for greater flexibility and 'all-inclusive' protection.
Shri Health Suraksha 2.0 integrates modern medical procedures with traditional AYUSH treatments.
The plan is designed to eliminate out-of-pocket stress for policyholders through a "No Co-payment" structure and expanded coverage for medical consumables.
Key Features of Shri Health Suraksha 2.0:
- Unlimited Restoration Benefit: Automatically restores the sum insured an unlimited number of times within a policy year.
- Cumulative Bonus up to 250%: Rewards claim-free years with significant increases to the base sum insured.
- No Room Rent Capping: Removes limits on Room and ICU charges, allowing patients to choose facilities based on need rather than budget.
- Zero Co-payment: Ensures the insurer handles the full admissible claim amount without mandatory cost-sharing by the insured.
- Ambulance plus: Includes coverage of ambulance and air ambulance expenses up to sum insured
- Consumables coverage
Shriram General Insurance manages assets worth Rs. 14,249 Cr across with 69 lakh live policies. The company operates 285 branches with an employee strength of 4,219 across India, as of 31st December 2025.
Anil Aggarwal- MD & CEO of Shriram General Insurance.
The Government of India has approved the revision of commission rates payable to Arthiyas and cooperative societies engaged in procurement of wheat and paddy on behalf of the Government, effective from the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2026-27 onwards.
As per the existing guidelines governing procurement operations, commission is payable to societies, cooperatives, sub-agents and Arthiyas undertaking procurement of wheat and paddy on behalf of the Government and providing intermediary and aggregation services in the procurement process.
Based on requests received from various State Governments for revision of the commission rates, a sub-committee was constituted with representatives from FCI, state Governments and representative of the Department of Food and Public Distribution. The committee examined the prevailing rates and recommended revision of the commission structure.
Based on the recommendations of the committee, the Government has approved a hike in commission rates payable to Arthiyas and societies for procurement of wheat and paddy. After revision, the commission payable to Arthiyas for wheat in Punjab and Haryana will increase from ₹46.00 per quintal to ₹50.75 per quintal,
while for wheat in Rajasthan it will increase from ₹41.40 per quintal to ₹45.67 per quintal. The commission for paddy will increase from ₹45.88 per quintal to ₹50.61 per quintal.
Similarly, commission payable to cooperative societies has also been revised.
The commission for procurement of wheat will increase from ₹27.00 per quintal to ₹29.79 per quintal, while for paddy it will increase from ₹32.00 per quintal to ₹35.30 per quintal.
For procurement carried out at modern silos, the commission payable will be 50 per cent of the rate applicable in mandis, in line with the existing policy framework.
Banks have written off loans worth Rs 9.75 lakh crore in the last 11 financial years, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said.
The write off peaked in FY20 at Rs 1.59 lakh crore, and since then it has been declining to Rs 47,568 crore in FY25.
Banks have written off Rs 31,723 crore in FY15, Rs 40,416 crore in FY16, Rs 68,308 crore in FY 17, and Rs 99,132 crore in FY18, he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
In 2018-19, he said, the write off of loans crossed Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 1.59 lakh crore.
"Banks write off NPAs, including those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, as per RBI guidelines and policy approved by banks' boards. Such a write-off does not result in waiver of liabilities of borrowers, and therefore, it does not benefit the borrower," he said.
Jio Payments Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Financial Services, has introduced UPI-based cash withdrawal through its business correspondent touchpoints, marking an important step towards strengthening digital payments ecosystem and advancing financial inclusion.
The feature enables customers, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, to conveniently withdraw cash by simply scanning a UPI QR code and authorising the transaction through their UPI application, eliminating the need for debit cards or access to traditional ATM infrastructure, Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 11, 2026, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 50,000/- on Walchandnagar Sahakari Bank Ltd., Walchandnagar, Maharashtra (the bank), for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’.
The coastal village of Kusunpur in Odisha’s Kendrapada district has been selected as a “Smart Village” under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) initiative, sparking optimism among residents for improved livelihoods and sustainable development.
The project, launched on March 16, at Kusunpur village of Rajnagar block, aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision of “Viksit Bharat @2047” and represents a mission-mode effort by the Ministry of Science and Technology to foster technology-driven rural transformation.
Kusunpur, home to 130-135 families and a population of around 700-738 people, is Odisha’s first such model village under this programme.
The CSIR has selected six villages nationwide as “live laboratories” to test and implement scientific innovations through a “Lab to Land” approach.
These include Bhada in Gujarat, Chumathang in Leh-Ladakh, Joharat in Assam, Janakpur in Madhya Pradesh, Sawaipura in Rajasthan, and Kusunpur in Odisha. The villages identified in 2025 across diverse climatic regions, will serve as testing grounds for solutions in advanced agriculture, rural empowerment,nutrition, infrastructure, waste management, and technology integration.
