The Department of Telecom is working on rolling out a Rs 15,000-crore (€1.8 billion) worth production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to promote the domestic production of telecom equipment.  The DoT is preparing the draft cabinet note to provide financial incentives to companies that produce 5G telecom equipment. The scheme's primary aim would be to boost the domestic production of telecom equipment and reduce the dependence of Chinese suppliers. State-run Indian Telephone Industries Limited (ITI), Sterlite Technology, Tejas Network, and Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd. (HFCL) are some of the domestic players involved in the manufacturing of telecom equipment.

Artificial intelligence (AI) driven technology startups in India can now showcase their innovative solutions in various fields such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and more, through a new challenge initiated by the government. In order to promote and showcase such innovative AI solutions developed by entrepreneurs, an AI Solution Challenge is being organised for Indian startups in the field of Artificial Intelligence by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

BIS is continuously evolving in its pursuit of excellence, in various fields of its activities. Innovation is the cornerstone of any organizational evolution; and continuous creation of intellectual property, through research, is the foundation of such innovations. As per BIS Act, 2016, Section 10 (2) (d), one of the functions of the Bureau is to undertake, support and promote such research as may be necessary for formulation of Indian Standards. With a view to aid the creation of a vibrant atmosphere of research in BIS, where fertile minds can work on generation of knowledge, which can create evidence for trying out new ideas & innovations, eventually leading to progressive organizational evolution with the aim to meet its objectives, serve better and excel in all spheres of its activities, a draft research policy has been formulated as provided at Annex I.

India and the European Union have renewed their agreement to expand scientific and technological cooperation aimed at strengthening their collaboration in this area in the next five years. Last week, the two sides agreed to renew the agreement on scientific cooperation till 2025 at the 15th India-EU Summit, which was led by Prime Minister from the Indian side.

The European Union delegation was headed by European Council President Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The agreement was initially signed on Nov 23, 2001 and renewed in 2007 and 2015.

Apiary-CoE aims to incubate 100 start-ups in the field of blockchain technology and to contribute to government of India's 'Make-in-India' and 'Digital India' programmes

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has launched Apiary, a centre of excellence (CoE) in Blockchain and also an 'Idea Challenge Program in Blockchain' at STP incubation centre, Gurugram in association with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of Haryana, Government Blockchain Association and several blue-chip companies and top tier academic institutions.

A framework that would help cities follow a climate-sensitive approach in urban planning and development was launched. The objective of the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0 is to provide a roadmap for cities for combating climate change while planning and implementing their actions, including investments. The framework has 28 indicators across energy and green buildings, urban planning, green cover and biodiversity, mobility and air quality, water management and waste management.

The five-year project will design a tailor-made transport emissions assessment framework for India. The NITI Aayog and the International Transport Forum (ITF) of Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), have jointly launched a project aimed at decarbonizing India’s transport sector. The program, Decarbonizing Transport in Emerging Economies (DTEE), is a collaboration between the ITF and the Wuppertal Institute, supported by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.