The central government has identified 20 sectors where India can meet domestic demand as well as become a ‘global factory of the world’ by pushing out more exports and reining in costly imports, Commerce and Industry Minister. We had first identified 12 sectors. Now, there are eight more. We have 20 sectors where Ficci and other associations form a part of our engagement. Earlier, food processing, iron and steel, electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, automobile parts, and leather and footwear were among the sectors identified for import substitution and increasing exports.

Minister for MSMEs, Road Transport & Highways, Govt of India, said that the government is likely to set up a multi-purpose R&D centre to reduce import dependence and promote the Make in India (MII) and Made in India initiatives. Addressing an ‘Interactive Meeting of Industry Chambers & Business Associations’, organized by FICCI, Mr Gadkari said, “Industry can buy land and the government will support by providing technology and equipment to the centre.” The industry can tie-up with various IITs and engineering colleges, especially those in agri-related equipment, to find solutions to various products being imported and develop under the Make in India and Made in India campaigns.

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).

India has for the first time made it to the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020. India has moved up four positions since 2019 to become the third-most innovative lower-middle-income economy in the world, according to the report. India, at 48, also retains the highest rank in the central and southern Asia region.

India ranks in the top 15 in indicators such as information and communications technology services exports, government online services, graduates in science and engineering, and research and development (R&D)- intensive global companies. The report has attributed the improvement to universities, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology in Bombay and Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, besides its top scientific publications, stating that India is the lower middle-income economy with the highest innovation quality.

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.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has selected Andhra Pradesh to conduct a study on energy efficiency measures in refractory industries. Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) making refractories in East and West Godavari districts have been chosen for the study. The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) will take up a detailed study in the refractory clusters. Detailed energy audits will be conducted by TERI by closely interacting with stakeholders, manufacturers and industry associations.  This will help assess the areas of improvement for energy savings and to identify the scope for introducing latest technologies.

India has achieved an unexpected benefit on the energy front during this Covid-19 pandemic phase. The gap between the share of renewables and coal-fired power in India’s electricity generation sector has narrowed more than ever before. The share of renewables increased from 17 % just before the pandemic to almost 24 % and coal-fired power declined from 76 % to 66 %,” said energy analysts of International Energy Agency (IEA) in their note on India’s energy sector. IEA is of the view that the clean energy transition is good, both for the economy and the environment of India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer.

The Leaders held the 15thIndia-European Union Summit on the 15th July 2020. They endorsed this "India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025” as a common roadmap to guide joint action and further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership over the next five years. In a complex international environment, the Republic of India and the European Union, both "unions of diversity", sharing values of democracy, rule of law and human rights, are equally convinced of the necessity to preserve the rules-based international order and effective multilateralism. India and the EU have a common interest in each other's security, prosperity and sustainable development. They can contribute jointly to a safer, cleaner and more stable world. They therefore endeavour to develop further their Strategic Partnership, based on this Roadmap.

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.