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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the fintech company Razorpay to enhance India’s startup environment. The MoU is established to facilitate startups, innovators, and entrepreneurs to leverage financial tools, support for ecosystem and founder enablement programmes to aid growth.

The purpose of the collaboration is to help early and growth stage startups to scale efficiently through digital payment solutions and financial infrastructure. It also offers support in terms of incorporation, mentorship, and guidance to help startups to formalise and grow their businesses. As part of this initiative, a dedicated platform named Startup Sahayak has been launched to support early-stage founders by offering end-to-end assistance, including company incorporation, access to central and state government schemes and guidance on funding opportunities.

Under this partnership, DPIIT and Razorpay will conduct regular knowledge sessions through the Startup India Hub on topics such as applied artificial intelligence, marketing, product development and financial management. DPIIT-recognised startups will be provided incorporation support with zero professional fees along with credits and incentives across financial and business tools. Startups will also be given pitch deck reviews, application guidance and curated resources. In addition, selected startups will be onboarded into founder communities to enable peer learning, networking and access to domain-specific expertise.

The collaboration will also look at how innovation challenges can be conducted under the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge initiative, with specific focus on fintech-driven problem statements and digital innovation. Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Sanjiv, stated that the initiative to be in line with the government’s focus on building an enabling startup ecosystem through better financial infrastructure availability. CEO and Co-founder of Razorpay, Shri Harshil Mathur, pointed out the need for infrastructure and mentorship, especially in the backdrop of increasing startup growth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The MoU was signed by Deputy Secretary, DPIIT, Shri T. L. K. Singh and Chief Information Officer, Razorpay, Shri Arif Khan.

The partnership accentuates the joint efforts of both public-private institutions in enhancing access to financial infrastructure, mentorship, and institutional support for Indian’s startup endeavor.

India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) effective for the span of 2031-2035 has been approved by the Union Cabinet. The objective of the revised NDC is to reduce the country’s emission intensity by 47% and attain 60% electric power from resources which are non-fossil based. Other commitments include the establishment of carbon sink of 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes of Co2 equivalent via extensive forestry and tree cover by 2035.

India successfully exceeded its prior NDC formalised in 2015, which pledged 33-35% reduced emission intensity and 40% non-fossil electric capacity well ahead of its designated target of 2030. As of 2026, non-fossil capacity has reached over 52.57% following a 2.29 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent carbon sink attained through afforestation and 36% reduction in GDP emission intensity from 2005-2020.

Strategically, India is responding to its new climate action plan by expanding renewable energy, battery storage systems and green energy corridors. By local level adoption and institutional capacity these are being implemented through schemes such Green Hydrogen Mission, PM Surya Ghar Yojana, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and PM-KUSUM. On the international front, India is taking the initiative by forming partnership through International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Global Biofuel Alliance.

Considering the impacts of climate change, India is emphasizing on upscaling adaptation measures for disaster across major sectors of the economy. These measures involve protection of coastlines, restoration of mangrove, glacier monitoring and climate resilient infrastructure. Operating through the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plan of Climate Change, India’s NDC is also being realised through programmes like Jeevan Mission, MISHTI and PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana and people-oriented endeavours such as Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).

The revised NDC ushers in a significant step in elevating India’s climate ambition. It builds on the shoulders of prior achievements with a new approach by combining mitigation, adaptation and institutional mechanisms. While progressing India’s long term goal of realising net zero emissions by 2070 and the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.

The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has retained the retail inflation at 4% for the next 5 years till March 2031. The inflation margin of 2% on the lower end and 6% on the upper end is also retained. This is the second time the government has retained the inflation target. This targeting is done under the Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework of the RBI.

India adopted the FIT framework in 2016. The Monetary Policy Committee had then set the target for the first time at 4% with an upper and lower range of 2% until March 2021. When time came for reviewing the target and limits again, a discussion paper was published by RBI in August 2025. In this paper, the RBI posed questions such as whether the inflation target should be changed or removed altogether, keeping only the tolerance range, and whether the tolerance band should be changed too. These questions were opened for feedback for various stakeholders. The paper also mentioned that in the 9 years of the FIT framework, the first and the last three years had inflation rates which were closer to the target, but the inflation rates of the middle three years were closer to the upper tolerance limit due to the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Since the adoption of FIT, the average inflation stands at 4.9% as opposed to 6.8% in the pre-FIT period. Amid the global shocks, too, FIT has been successful in keeping the inflation under the target band. The credibility and adaptability of the framework have led to its continuation.

Space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos has test-fired a new engine called “Agnite”. It is the largest single-piece rocket engine for the booster stage. Traditional rocket engines take months to build. But “Agnite” is fully 3D-printed in just 7 days. It is made as a single piece using a strong material called Inconel. Inconel is a nickel-chromium-based superalloy which has resistance to corrosion and oxidation, and it also retains strength at high temperatures.

The founders of Agnikul Cosmos stated that the single-piece Inconel construction and 3D printing significantly reduce engine manufacturing time from months to just a few days by eliminating complex processes like machining and assembly. Additionally, they use electric pump architecture over gas generators because of its simpler design, which requires less maintenance and potentially increases the reusability of the rocket. The successful engine test demonstrates that the propulsion system is ready for large-scale operations and multiple launches within a short period. Traditionally, satellite launches involve multiple stakeholders like vehicle manufacturers, launch providers and ground station operators. This creates coordination problems and delays in launching. Agnikul’s end-to-end platform consolidates all these functions and becomes a single integrated service provider. From engine manufacturing and testing to mission control and ground stations, all functions are managed in-house.

This development shows the growing role of private player participation in Indian space sector. Such technological advancement is important for sectors like defence and disaster management, where timely launches are directly linked to strategic and real-time outcomes, thereby strengthening India’s position in responsive and mission-critical space operations.

Recently, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2025 was published. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is India’s official primary survey for high frequency data on employment and unemployment. It was launched in 2017 by the National Statistical Office (NSO). It provides estimates of key labour market indicators such as Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR). This data is used for planning policy and decision making as well as for research.

According to PLFS 2025, the LFPR remained stable at 59.3%, with male participation at 79.1% and female participation at 40%. The LFPR of rural and urban male stood at 80.5% and 76.2% respectively. Whereas the LFPR of rural and urban female was at 45.9% and 27.7% respectively. This indicates that the labour force participation is more in rural area than in urban area. The WPR was more stable in 2025 as compared to 2024. The overall WPR stood at 57.4% and the male and female WPR was 76.6% and 38.8% respectively. The UR estimates showed reduction in unemployment across sectors and genders. The overall UR stood at 3.1%. In case of self-employment, the share decreased to 56.2%, whereas the share of salaried employment increased to 23.6%. The employment share of agriculture sector reduced to 43%, while manufacturing and services saw small increases.

PLFS 2025 experienced some methodological changes. The survey shifted from a June-July cycle to a January-December cycle. This was done to keep uniformity with the international standards of reporting labour force indicators. The sample design was also changed to enhance the frequency and representativeness of the indicators. Due to these changes, data from 2025 is not strictly comparable with previous PLFS reports and must be interpreted within the new framework.

The Flexible Inflation Target of 4% with a tolerance band of 2% to 6% was first introduced in:

Which of the following changes has been proposed in the 2026 Transgender Persons Amendment Bill compared to the 2019 Act?

Select the correct answer:

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Answer: Option B
2016

Answer: Option B
Mandatory medical board certification for transgender identity
Narrowing of the definition of transgender persons