The government has modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or more local content, a move aimed at promoting 'Make in India' and making the country self-reliant. The revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017, has introduced a concept of Class-I, II and non-local suppliers, based on which they will get preference in government purchases of goods and services.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued notification GSR 308(E) dated 22nd May 2020 regarding the emission norms for L7 (Quadricycle) category for BS VI. These norms are applicable from the date of notification. This notification completes the process of BS VI for L, M & N category vehicles in India. The emission norms are in line with EU with WMTC cycle. The procedure for testing is laid down in AIS 137-Part 9.

The government will soon frame efficiency parameters for batteries powering electric vehicles (EVs) as it invites bids for setting up giga factories or giant battery plants in India. A high-level panel has been set up under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to frame performance criteria and efficiency parameters that can help battery swapping in EVs.
The government wants Made in India batteries to be technologically agnostic wherein the efficiency of the cell as well as life cycle is defined.

India joined the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as a founding member to support the responsible and human-centric development and use of AI. GPAI is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative to guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth. With this, India has joined the league of leading economies including the US, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore to launch the global partnership.

This is a first initiative of its kind to evolve better understanding of the challenges and opportunities around AI using the experience and diversity of participating countries, an official statement said. To achieve this goal, the initiative will look to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities, it said.

India launched its first national Artificial Intelligence Portal called www.ai.gov.in. AI Portal has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) and IT Industry. National e-Governance Division of MEITY and NASSCOM from the IT industry will jointly run this portal. This portal shall work as a one-stop digital platform for AI-related developments in India, sharing of resources such as articles, start-ups, investment funds in AI, resources, companies and educational institutions related to AI in India. The portal will also share documents, case studies, research reports etc.

The government is taking China head-on in the area of electronics manufacturing as it boosts efforts to attract local production of mobile phones and ancillaries, while creating fresh investments and jobs.  The scheme is aimed at attracting large international manufacturer, while also empowering homegrown companies to emerge stronger and gain scale globally. A production linked scheme, which will give incentive worth Rs. 50,000 crore (€6 billion) on incremental output in the area of electronics manufacturing, is likely to help global companies such as Taiwanese, South Korean and home grown players like Lava, Karbonn, Micromax, etc.   

The commerce and industry ministry is working to identify certain key sectors like capital goods, leather and chemicals to establish India as manufacturing hub. Several meetings have taken place with stakeholders, including industry chambers, to identify those sectors which have the potential to become global winners and make India a strong manufacturing hub. The 12 champion sectors include modular furniture, toys, food processing like ready-to-eat food, agro-chemicals, textiles like man-made fibres, air conditioners, capital goods, pharma and auto components.

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has constituted a joint Science Communication Forum with a view to facilitate interaction, cooperation, and coordination amongst various public sector science communication institutions and agencies. The Forum brings together science communication efforts spread across various institutions and can help adoption of a common policy and best practices at a wider scale, ultimately aiming towards a national science communication framework. It is represented by senior officials from various central ministries and departments, including Agriculture, Health, Culture, Defense, Space, Atomic Energy, and Information & Broadcasting, in addition to Science & Technology.

India’s Department of Science & Technology and the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency have issued a joint call for proposals that aims at smartly integrating large amounts of renewable energy in local energy systems in Europe and/or India and in this way make energy supply cleaner, more efficient and affordable. The proposals should develop and demonstrate novel solutions, integrating all energy vectors (electricity, heating, cooling, water and wastes), including possibilities offered by batteries and electric vehicles; interconnect them; and optimize joint operation with increased share of renewables and a higher energy efficiency.