• Operational Guidelines for Delivery of Demand Incentive under FAME India Scheme: Phase – II. Read more
• Notification for FAME India Scheme Phase II Read more
• Constitution of inter-ministerial panel for monitoring, sanctioning of projects under FAME II, aimed at incentivising clean mobility. Read more

According to Commerce and Industry Minister, Government of India is working on a blueprint to increase FDI inflows to $100 billion through a targeted approach.  The minister also outlined his strategy to create a win-win partnership with other countries and retain the focus on a collaborative approach to global trade at a time when countries such as the US were seeking to undermine the relevance of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The World Bank has committed to provide India funds worth $300 million to aid its energy efficiency programme. The move will help the government set up the requisite infrastructure to push forward its ambition of expanding e-mobility in the country. The aid received from the World Bank will supplement the funds that the Centre proposes to raise by levying a one-time fee from conventional fuel based vehicle buyers in a bid to provide financial assistance to the e-mobility programme.

The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and France on technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy.   India and France aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.

During the meeting of 3rd Indo-German Working Group for cooperation on water and waste management which concluded in New Delhi, both sides discussed potential cooperation in this area. Both sides decided to work on developing reference documents for the textile sector, Water Governance, Marine Litter, waste to energy landfill sites, water quality management, training and capacity building of local bodies and Circular Economy.

The European Union is upbeat on Indian innovators, startups, incubators and accelerators for collaboration in space technology.  The collaboration has been on for almost four years, the two sides are also working together in the space sector on Copernicus and Galileo, the EU’s flagship Earth observation and navigation programmes, respectively. For Galileo, the grouping is promoting startups and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) market applications in India.

The government launched NCAP, a time-bound national level strategy to tackle increasing air pollution. The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year. However, the international experiences and national studies indicate that significant outcome in terms of air pollution initiatives are visible only in the long-term, and hence the programme may be further extended to a longer time horizon after a mid-term review of the outcomes.

Cabinet has approved Continuation of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), and for incurring expenditure up to Rs. 1000 crore (€125 million) till 2019-20 by Atal Innovation Mission for expanding Atal Tinkering Labs to 10,000 schools in view of their huge success at school level. The aim of the government's flagship initiative is to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. 

A new National industrial policy, aimed to develop global value chains, and to boost India’s manufacturing competitiveness, is awaiting cabinet approval.  Manufacturing cannot happen end to end only in one geography, and it has to be part of a global value chain and global supply chain. That is why a new industrial policy focusing on developing mutually beneficial value chain and supply chains is required.

The government has reduced the allocation for Startup India programme but added more monies to the Make in India kitty in the Budget 2019-20. The allocation for Startup India programme has been slashed to Rs 25 crore (about €3 million) for 2019-20 from Rs 28 crore (€3.5 million) in 2018-19.  On the other hand, the total allocation for Make in India initiative was increased to Rs 473.3 crore (€ 59 mn) for 2019-20 as against Rs 149 crore (€18.6 mn) in 2018-19.