Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) announced it has introduced Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology in its smart meters. The private power distributor has so far installed 230,000 smart meters on the Radio Frequency (RF) technology. The company said the "first-of-its-kind" technology integration has been done involving meter manufacturers and NB-IoT service of Reliance-Jio Network. "NB-IoT is a new and cost-effective technology in 4G and 5G spectrum with fast deployment quality.

The Union Cabinet approved the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for air conditioners (ACs) and light-emitting diode (LED) lights with an aim to boost the local component supply ecosystem for these items. Under the new PLI, a sum of Rs 6,238 crore (€73 billion) has been approved as incentives to selected manufacturers over a five-year period starting 2021-22.  Since last April, the cabinet, headed by Prime Minister, has approved PLI for five sectors. But unlike the previous ones the latest scheme solely focuses on component manufacturing.

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Prime Minister said production linked incentive scheme, which is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and exports, is expected to increase the country's production by USD 520 billion in the next five years. In this year's Budget, about Rs 2 lakh crore was earmarked for the PLI scheme for the next five years and "there is an expectation that the scheme would result in increasing the production by about USD 520 billion in the next five years".  There is also an expectation that the current workforce in the sectors, which will avail the benefits of the PLI scheme, will be doubled and job creation will also increase.

MoS for Education, Communications, Electronics and IT, said that materials are the backbone of the manufacturing sector in the country and that India’s electronics manufacturing has grown from Rs 1.90 lakh crore (€ 22.3 billion) International Energy Agency akh crore to Rs 5.33 lakh crore (€62.7 billion) in recent years. From contributing approximately 1.3% in 2012, the share of mobile phone manufacturing has increased to 3.6 per cent during 2019 - 2020. This growth has opened employability for thousands,".

Union Minister asked automobile manufacturers to hike localisation of components to 100% or else the government will think of increasing basic customs duty on imported items, but the auto industry wants support for localisation of electronic parts, specially semiconductors. Speaking at an event organised by the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said the present level of localisation of parts in the Indian auto sector is around 70% and "at any cost we need to stop imports of auto components".

The engineering R&D (ER&D) sector is one of the fastest growing industries in India. This E R&D policy has become first of a kind in the country. The aim of the policy is to contribute approximately 45% to India’s engineering R&D needs during the policy tenure. “Karnataka is currently the leading contributor to the Indian Engineering R&D industry revenue. The State is home to over 400 leading R&D Centers/ GCCs. This policy aims to retain this position, generation of intellectual properties (IPs), and to make this as skilled knowledge capital,”. It is to be noted here that the expenditure of global E R&D is forecast to clock $2 trillion by 2025, and the same industry is growing at an CAGR of around 12.5% in India.

India wants to start negotiations on an investment deal with the European Union simultaneously with a trade agreement in a renewed push to boost bilateral ties with the trade bloc. Keen to accelerate investments, technology and capital flows from the EU, India wants the investment and trade deals to happen parallelly and independently. “Both the investment deal and trade deal will have to happen parallelly and independently. The EU has said it is ready to consider launching negotiations on a standalone investment protection agreement, which would increase legal certainty for investors on both sides. 

India has implemented several measures to facilitate trade, such as simplification of procedures and customs clearances for imports and exports, according to WTO. Geneva-based World Trade Organisation said that the other trade-facilitation initiatives introduced by India since 2015 include introduction of Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE); Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade (SWIFT); the Direct Port Delivery and the Direct Port Entry facilities; and the increased use of the Risk Management System (RMS). These points were part of the report of India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR), which began on January 6 at the World Trade Organization.

The Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister has called for embarking on Mission 'one nation one standard' and make India the leader in setting global benchmarks in setting standards. He said that lab testing in India should be of world standards and modern equipment and latest technologies should be used. BIS should explore international partnerships and associations to achieve synergy in the field. He said that "gap analysis" of BIS and government labs be taken up on a priority basis as well. In management parlance, gap analysis refers to the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance.