As part of the ease of doing business in the country, the government is committed to introducing a single-window clearance mechanism for investors by mid-April next year. This technology-based platform for both domestic or global investors envisages to give all the information about the land, procedures, requirements and requirements to get that investment proposal cleared. "It will lead to a unified single sheet of information, which other approval ministries will draw. So, the investor doesn't have to do multiple applications in the end. Although, it is not going to replace any important approval because these are all important approvals.  

India's own 5G technology, TSDSI 5Gi, has completed the evaluation phase of ITU's International Mobile Telecommunications 2020 (IMT-2020) vision and now conforms with the stringent performance requirement. This means that India's contribution is now being accepted as the global 5G standard. The Telecom Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI), India’s body for telecom standards, said that global vendors will now need to make handsets and base stations conforming to this standard. The other two technologies that have completed the evaluation phase are 3GPP 5G-SRIT and 3GPP 5G-RIT submitted by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has got the green signal to roll out the ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission, resolving a long-standing issue of which arm of the administration would implement the prestigious project. The AI Mission is a five-year programme announced in the Budget two years ago. For the last couple of years, India has been harbouring big ambitions to develop its own AI roadmap and strategy to counter the lead that China already has in this area.

Telecom equipment from China may face fresh curbs after the Cabinet cleared a proposal to secure telecom infrastructure by designating a “trusted source” for the purchase of equipment by service providers. IT Minister said a National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector has been framed keeping in mind the national security. Under the provisions of this directive, the government will declare a list of trusted sources and trusted products for installation in the country’s telecom network. The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority, the National Cyber Security Coordinator.

"With an aim to qualitatively improve the ease of doing business of the IT industry particularly business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT-enabled services, the government has drastically simplified the other service provider (OSP) guidelines of the department of telecom. The new guidelines reduce the compliance burden of the BPO industry. It is clarified that the registration requirement for OSPs has been done away with altogether and the BPO industry engaged in data related work have been taken out of the ambit of OSP regulations.

India is planning to replace retiring coal-fired power plants with renewable generating capacity in a bid to cut the nation's carbon footprint. India is the world's second largest coal consumer after China, and the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Coal-fired plants currently account for over half its nearly 373 gigawatt (GW) power generating capacity. Many of those plants are getting retired. Some plants are already retired, and about 29 more plants are going to retire, and all that space will be occupied by renewable energy.  

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in the following 10 key sectors for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Atmanirbhar Bharat. The PLI scheme will be implemented by the concerned ministries/departments and will be within the overall financial limits prescribed.

Executive Director of International Energy Agency (IEA), Mr. Fatih Birol said that India has moved to the Centre stage of international Energy Affairs and is a role model for other major emerging economies. Speaking at a virtual launch of the Energy Technology Perspectives 2020, a new study of IEA which focusses on the technology needs and opportunities for reaching international climate and sustainable energy goals, Mr. Birol praised the Indian government for its efforts in providing clean energy to millions by way of schemes like Ujjawala and Ujala.

In another move that re-affirms India’s seriousness to ‘walk the talk’ on climate change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC. The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Another key function of AIPA would be to operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of India and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) of United Kingdom Government on cooperation in the field of Telecommunications /Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The MoU will contribute in strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding in the field of Telecomm./ ICTs.  Post-Brexit, the MoU is also aiming for enhanced scope of cooperation and opportunities for India.