Daily News - Thursday, 27 March 2025
Innovation is key to India’s future: Goyal (Financial Express)
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted India’s progress in intellectual property rights (IPR), noting that the country now ranks sixth globally in trademark filings and granted around 100,000 patents last year, while its Global Innovation Index ranking improved from 81 in 2015 to 39. Speaking at the National Intellectual Property Awards ceremony, he emphasised the need to reduce delays in trademark processing and copyright enforcement to better protect rights holders and foster innovation. Goyal reiterated India’s rich history of innovation, citing the origins of ‘zero’ and chess, and stressed that strengthening the IPR ecosystem will be key to India’s journey toward becoming a Viksit Bharat.
‘Drug census’ & healthcare in focus in ₹2.36-lakh-crore Punjab budget (Financial Express)
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a ₹2.36-lakh-crore budget for FY26, with no new taxes and a strong focus on combating the drug menace, including launching the state’s first-ever drug census next year to collect household-level data on drug usage and de-addiction. Key allocations include ₹5,598 crore for the health sector, ₹9,992 crore for power subsidies in agriculture, and ₹10 lakh per annum insurance cover for all families, while a new crop diversification scheme for kharif maize in Bathinda, Kapurthala, and Gurdaspur was also introduced. The state’s effective revenue deficit and fiscal deficit are projected at 2.51% and 3.84%, respectively, while a second line of defence will be established at the border with 5,000 home guards alongside the BSF.
Reliance Green, L&T Energy and Waaree among 9 to win green hydrogen projects (Financial Express)
Under the second tranche of the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Scheme, nine companies, including Reliance Green Hydrogen, L&T Energy, AM Green Ammonia, and Waaree Clean Energy Solutions, secured tenders to set up green hydrogen production facilities, with a total of ₹2,238.59 crore allocated as incentives by SECI. The largest allocations went to AM Green Ammonia (₹513 crore), Waaree Clean Energy Solutions (₹510.3 crore), and Green Infra (₹437.4 crore), with the awarded companies expected to invest around ₹80,000 crore to establish 450,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen capacity. The National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in 2023 with a ₹19,744 crore outlay, aims to achieve at least 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen production per annum by FY30, with the government capping financial incentives at ₹50/kg in the first year, ₹40/kg in the second, and ₹30/kg in the final year.
Four States Key to Green Energy Goals (The Economic Times)
India’s total renewable energy potential stands at 2,109,655 MW as of March 31, 2024, with wind power contributing 55%, solar energy 36%, large hydropower 6%, small hydropower 1%, and other sources like biomass and bagasse-based cogeneration making up 2%. Over half of this potential is concentrated in four states—Rajasthan (20.3%), Maharashtra (11.8%), Gujarat (10.5%), and Karnataka (9.8%)—while Jammu & Kashmir (including Ladakh) leads among union territories with a 6% share. The MoSPI’s Energy Statistics India 2025 report highlights that bagasse-based cogeneration is particularly efficient in sugar-producing regions, further strengthening India’s renewable energy mix.
Laws should not stifle investments: Malhotra (Financial Chronicle)
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, speaking at the FATF Private Sector Collaborative Forum 2025, cautioned against overzealous anti-money laundering (AML) measures that could stifle legitimate investments and financial inclusion, emphasizing the need for targeted and precise regulations. He highlighted that multiple overlapping laws impose a heavy compliance burden on financial service providers and stressed the importance of refining risk-based approaches to ensure they remain effective without creating unnecessary barriers. India, having undergone a FATF mutual evaluation last year, was placed in the regular follow-up category—an acknowledgment of its strong AML and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework, a distinction shared by only a few G20 nations.
