BIS, has brought in some fresh standards for certain home appliances. The BIS in a statement said that these items will have to follow the norms set by the bureau. These include refrigerators with or without low temperature, freezers and household frosts. BIS standards that help to ensure quality certification of goods and incidental matters, have been made applicable to refrigerators and freezers from Jan 2020 and as such the industry players dealing in these goods will have to mandatorily comply with the standards issued by BIS and also obtain requisite BIS registrations.”

BIS is in the process of setting standards for services provided by e-commerce companies and aggregators like Flipkart, Ola, AirBnB among others. BIS, has been in discussion with various stakeholders to lay out standards for several issues ranging from standardisation of invoices and websites. It also plans to come out with certification for secure websites in order to curb the menace of fly by night operators in the digital commerce industry. The certification will help consumers in identifying the reliable ones," said an official who did not want to be identified.

India and the US have inked a Memorandum of Understanding to co-operate on intellectual property examination and protection for the next 10 years and to strengthen the IP systems in both countries. The MoU was signed between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), represented by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Andrei Iancu, and Secretary from India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The memorandum will strengthen the intellectual property (IP) systems of both countries, enabling further innovation and growth.

IIT Madras Researchers have booted up ‘MOUSHIK,’ an indigenously-made Microprocessor, that can cater to the rapidly-growing IoT devices, an integral part of Smart Cities of a Digital India.  MOUSHIK is an Indigenous RISC-V Microprocessor and is the third chip of the SHAKTI family, all of which were conceptualized and developed by this Centre and were first time ‘silicon successes.’ The Field Applications of ‘MOUSHIK’ include:

• Smart cards including Credit cards, ID Cards, Debit cards, Travel Cards for Metros and Driving Licenses

• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

• Office Management Systems including Attendance, surveillance cameras and safe locks

• Personalized Health Management Systems

• Consumer Electronics including but not restricted to Washing Machines and Water pump monitoring systems

The White Paper highlights the Role of digital technologies for smart cities, discusses the key smart solutions, deliberates the need of Global Standardization and connectivity related aspects specific to smart cities, and tries to identify the framework for ICT Infrastructure for the success of Smart Cities Mission in India.

NITI Aayog CEO said the government was pushing for electric mobility with FAME and FAME 2 schemes, bringing down the rate of taxes on electric vehicles at 5%, as compared to 28% for other vehicles and 43% for hybrid vehicles. Tax exemption, up to Rs 1 lakh, to people who are buying electric vehicles to increase focus on electrification will be huge. If India has to emerge as a leader in clean, connected and shared mobility, there are two important things to keep in mind — one is that India is a major user of two- and three-wheelers and 80% of people travel in these vehicles. Second, battery will be an important component. Battery manufacturing and storage will be a key component and storage will have to be linked to renewable energy integration with the grid. 

India plans to offer $4.6 billion in incentives to companies setting up advanced battery manufacturing facilities as it seeks to promote the use of electric vehicles and cut down its dependence on oil, according to a government proposal seen by Reuters. A proposal drafted by NITI Aayog, a federal think tank chaired by Prime Minister, said India could slash its oil import bills by as much as $40 billion by 2030 if electric vehicles were widely adopted.