NITI Ayog

So far, a total of 187 QCOs covering 769 products have been notified for compulsory certification of BIS by various departments/ ministries of the government

The government is finalising the CCUS Mission roadmap and outlay as experts highlight the importance of long-term LNG supply contracts and domestic gas production for energy security

While India is a major exporter of chemicals, it is also heavily reliant on imports, resulting in a $31 billion trade deficit in the sector in 2023

BVR Subrahmanyam says India must drive down error rates in welfare delivery to Japanese precision levels to avoid exclusions, fund loss and policy distortion

In order to ease patient load and improve access, NITI Aayog is likely to recommend expanding the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi across NCR, using existing idle hospital infrastructure

In the aftermath of 'reciprocal tariffs' by the US, India should adopt dual-track approach and selectively reduce high tariffs on non-sensitive agricultural commodities imports from Washington, while also strategically offer concessions where domestic supply gaps exist, a NITI Aayog working paper has said. The Aayog in a working paper, titled 'Promoting India-US Agricultural Trade Under the New US Trade Regime', said that India's agricultural sector needs safeguards, to ensure price stability for both producers and consumers, against excessive volatility in international markets. "A dual-track approach is essential now. In the short term, India should consider to selectively reduce high tariffs on non-sensitive imports and negotiate non-tariff safeguards on vulnerable segments such as poultry," the paper said. It noted that sudden announcement of "reciprocal tariffs" and enhanced market access for US exports following re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in

A NITI Aayog report on Monday mentioned Turkiye as one of the nations from which India can adopt global best practices for addressing skill gaps in the country's medium enterprises. The report titled 'Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises' listed programmes of Turkiye in addition to Canada, Singapore and Australia for encouraging medium enterprises. The report said Turkiye's "KOSGEB provides distance training on entrepreneurship; an effective, easy and flexible entrepreneurship training without time and space constraints by E- Akademi Programme Entrepreneurship Support Programme, with preferential treatment for women, youth and handicapped entrepreneurs." Also, observing that Turkey's e-Academy is an online training platform providing subsidised courses, enhancing accessibility for SMEs across regions, the report said, "online training programs can be offered at a subsidized rate, and free of cost for marginalized groups (as provided in Turkey's e-Academy)." Turkiye is facing

A report published by NITI Aayog says that the MSME sector contributes 29% to the GDP, adding 40% to the export and employing 60% of the workforce

The opposition BJP and the Congress flayed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for skipping the Niti Aayog meeting being chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. It is the first major meeting of the prime minister with the CMs of states and lieutenant governors of Union Territories after Operation Sindoor. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said that it is "unfortunate" for the people of West Bengal that the chief minister chose not to attend the meeting of the think tank, where CMs of several other states are attending. "By not attending the meeting, the people of the state got deprived, as the issues of West Bengal will not get raised there. The state government has missed the chance to raise several pressing issues which are important for West Bengal," Bhattacharya said. This move to go against the Centre will "not benefit" the state, the BJP leader said. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "Had she attended the meeting, the chief ...

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will not be attending the NITI Aayog's 10th governing council meeting to be held in the national capital on Saturday, according to government sources. The sources said that the CM has designated state Finance Minister K N Balagopal to go in his stead. However, since it is a meeting of CMs, it is not clear whether Balagopal would be able to attend it, the sources said. No reason was given for the CM not attending the meeting. Last year also, Vijayan had not attended a Niti Aayog meeting of CMs in Delhi and had sent Balagopal in his stead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday chair the 10th governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog, which will focus on states, with a view to make India a developed nation by 2047, according to an official statement. The theme of the meeting is 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047'.

Government think tank NITI Aayog has pitched for relaxing eligibility criteria for schemes that offer subsidies for capital and interest on loans at the state level to enhance competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. The Aayog in a report titled 'Enhancing MSMEs Competitiveness in India' also suggested making skill development initiatives easily accessible, especially for MSMEs that face challenges due to their location or size. "At the state level, lowering eligibility barriers for schemes that offer subsidies for capital and interest on loans will better address the financing needs of MSMEs throughout their lifecycle," the report said. Given their success in providing credit to MSMEs, especially in remote areas, it said non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) need to scale up their operations. The report suggested that a crucial step in this process is for SIDBI to play a significant role by providing funding to help NBFCs improve their ...

NITI Aayog on Friday suggested the government to provide fiscal incentives for auto components manufacturing and to develop brownfield large-scale auto clusters for positioning India as a key player in global automotive markets. The report titled "Automotive Industry: Powering India's Participation in Global Value Chains" was launched by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery. The report envisions the country's automotive component production growing to USD 145 billion, with exports tripling from USD 20 billion to USD 60 billion by 2030. "The government should provide operational expenditure (Opex) support to scale up manufacturing capabilities, with a focus on capital expenditure (Capex) for tooling, dyes, and infrastructure," it said. It outlines several strategic fiscal and non-fiscal interventions aimed at enhancing India's global competitiveness in the automotive sector. "The government should also support cluster development for fostering collaboration between firms through com

The US reciprocal tariffs will have a small indirect effect on India given the domestic economy's low dependence on foreign trade, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani said on Friday. He further said that in the medium term, the negative factors emanating from the imposition of tariff would be minimised with the implementation of the first phase of the proposed USA-India Bilateral Trade Agreement. In the long term, the eminent economist said the final BTA with US will aim to enhance the potential gains during the next 5 to 10 years. The US has announced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods. "This (26 per reciprocal tariffs) will have a small indirect effect on India given our low trade dependence," he said. Virmani explained that the reciprocal tariffs are calculated by a formula which includes US trade deficit with a country and imports from that country. He said every country is however feeling the effect of increased

The US plan to impose reciprocal tariffs will not have much impact on India and create several opportunities for the country, Niti Aayog Programme Director Pravakar Sahoo said on Friday. Compared to Mexico, China and Canada, which account for 50 per cent of America's total imports, India is favourably placed, he added. "We are looking at the data at a very dis-segregated level...these are preliminary results, but I can just give you the overview that we are not going to lose. This reciprocal tariff is not going to affect except very specific sectors and in fact, there are opportunities to really capture," he added. Sahoo was speaking after the release of the second edition of Niti Aayog's quarterly trade watch. He said that a detailed analysis of the reciprocal tariff plan's impact on India will be presented in the next edition of the report. The three main competitors in the US market are - Canada, Mexico and China. They account for 50 per cent of the USA's total imports of USD 3

Niti Aayog is working on a programme to improve India's penetration into global value chains for growth of domestic micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), CEO of the government think-tank B V R Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday. Observing that MSMEs are more affected by regulations than large companies, he said the prime minister has taken a major step towards deregulation and a task force under the cabinet secretary is working on it. Subrahmanyam was addressing a gathering after launching 'the Digital Excellence for Growth and Enterprise', or 'Dx-EDGE', a platform to empower MSMEs with the tools, knowledge and ecosystem needed to become future-ready, competitive and resilient. Dx-EDGE is a national initiative spearheaded by CII with the support of NITI Frontier Tech Hub (NITI FTH) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to drive digital transformation across India's MSMEs. The Niti Aayog CEO further said it is a fact that some of the big manufacturers have moved t

The committee strongly feels that there is a dire need for a more realistic assessment of the envisaged targets and expenditures thereon, the panel said

Share of women living in areas underperforming in financial inclusion will only increase over the next decade

NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani has said that work on the second phase of the investment friendliness index of states is in progress and it is expected to be released in a month or two. The Union government in its FY26 Budget announced the launch of the 'Investment Friendliness Index of States' in 2025 to further the spirit of competitive cooperative federalism. This index will motivate states to review regulations to identify what is impeding investment. The initiative aims to promote healthy competition among states to attract private investment. The Ministry of Finance is working on the parameters related to 'Investment Friendly Index of States' in consultation with NITI Aayog and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). In an interview with PTI-Bhasha, Virmani said, "The first phase of preparing the index has been completed. Work is going on in the second phase. In this, suggestions are being taken from the industry. The opinion of the industry is ..

Tariff does not protect any country and India needs to cut tariffs for its own good, irrespective of who tells India to do so, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Friday. Addressing the 69th Foundation Day of All India Management Association (AIMA), Subrahmanyam further said that being open to the world has to be among the top five priorities of India if it wants to become a developed country. To cut tariffs, India must complete trade agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom and other major economies, he added. The Niti Aayog CEO stressed that deregulation at both centre and the state levels are critical for making India a part of the global supply chains. There is interest in India but people visit, see and fly to other countries, he said. Subrahmanyam pointed that Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and others have been beneficiaries of 'China plus one' strategy of global companies. He argued that global value chain needs more than PLI (production linked incentive) --

Bold reforms, sustainable energy strategies, and a leadership role in global trade would be key to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047, government think tank NITI Aayog has said. Trade liberalisation, tariff reductions, and technological collaborations were explored as potential avenues to enhance India's global trade standing, it said. The observations were made by panellists at a conclave titled 'Towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Strengthening Economy, National Security, Global Partnerships, and Law', which was organised by NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Thursday. The panellists stressed the need for increased private sector investment in research and development, fiscal consolidation, and integration into global supply chains. "The consensus was that bold reforms, sustainable energy strategies, and a leadership role in global trade would be key to achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047," it said. According to the Aayog, sovereign credit ratings, energy security, and access to critical raw materials