In order to manage the overall food security and to prevent unscrupulous speculation, the Government of India has decided that Traders/Wholesalers, Retailers, Big Chain Retailers and Processors in all States and Union Territories have to declare their Stock position of wheat on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/wsp/login) w.e.f. 01.04.2025 and then, on every Friday till further orders. All the respective legal entities to ensure that stock are regularly and correctly disclosed on the portal.
Wheat Stock Limit is expiring on 31.03.2025 for all categories of entities in States and UTs. Thereafter, the entities have to disclose the wheat stock on portal. Any entity which is not registered on the Portal, may register themselves and start disclosing the wheat stock on every Friday.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution is maintaining a close watch over the stock position of wheat to prevent speculation, control prices and ensure easy availability in the country
The Competition Commission of India has approved acquisition of Athaang Devanahalli TollwayPrivate Limited, Athaang Jammu Udhampur Highway Private Limited and Quazigund Expressway Private Limited by Cube Highways Trust and Cube Highways and Infrastructure V Pte. Ltd.
The Proposed Combination envisages:
acquisition of 100% shareholding of Athaang Devanahalli Tollway Private Limited (ADTPL) by Cube Highways and Infrastructure V Pte. Ltd. (Cube V); and
acquisition of 100% shareholding of (i) Athaang Jammu Udhampur Highway Private Limited (AJUHPL), and (ii) Quazigund Expressway Private Limited (QEPL) by Cube Highways Trust (Cube Trust).
(Hereinafter ADTPL, AJUHPL and QEPL are collectively referred to as the ‘Targets’)
The Cube Trust is an infrastructure investment trust registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 (as amended). The road assets/ SPVs of Cube Trust are engaged, inter alia, in the operation and maintenance (O&M) of various road and highway projects in India.
Cube V is registered as a foreign portfolio investor with the SEBI and acquires, operates and manages road assets in India.
The Targets have been incorporated in India as special purpose vehicles and are engaged in the business of operating (through governmental concessions) roads and highways in India.
The Competition Commission of India has approved the proposed combination involving, inter alia, Maple Infrastructure Trust (MIT); CDPQ Infrastructures Asia III Inc. (CDPQ Asia); Maple Highways Pte. Ltd.; 360 ONE Private Equity Fund and certain road assets of the Ashoka Buildcon group.
The Proposed Combination involves the acquisition by MIT, acting through Maple Infra Invit Investment Manager Private Limited (Maple IM) of Ashoka Dhankuni Kharagpur Tollway Limited (ADKTL); Ashoka Sambalpur Baragarh Tollway Limited (ASBTL); Ashoka Belgaum Dharwad Tollway Limited (ABDTL); Ashoka Highways (Bhandara) Limited (AHBL); and Ashoka Highways (Durg) Limited (AHDL) (Proposed SPV Acquisitions) and certain inter-connected transactions.
MIT is a private trust settled under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and was registered as an infrastructure investment trust under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, on 24thFebruary 2020. MIT is, through its special purpose vehicles, engaged in the business of owning and operating road assets in India. Maple IM is the investment manager of MIT.
CPDQ Asia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec (CDPQ). CDPQ is a global investment group that manages the funds of its depositors, primarily comprised of public and para-public pension and insurance plans from Québec.
Maple Sponsor is the sponsor of MIT for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014.
360 ONE Private Equity Fund is registered with the SEBI as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund and is established for the purpose of investing in various sectors in India and worldwide. The 360 ONE Private Equity Fund is managed by its investment manager, 360 ONE Alternates Asset Management Limited.
ADKTL, ASBTL, ABDTL, AHBL and AHDL are engaged by the National Highway Authority of India Limited (NHAI) to provide infrastructure concession services.
The Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of 100% equity shareholding in 11 road special purpose vehicles owned by Ashoka Concessions Limited and Ashoka Buildcon Limited by Epic Concesiones 2 Private Limited.
The Proposed Combination envisages acquisition of 100% equity shareholding by Epic Concesiones 2 Private Limited (EC2PL) in road 11 special purpose vehicles (Target SPVs) owned by Ashoka Concessions Limited (ACL) and Ashoka Buildcon Limited (ABL) (Proposed Equity Transaction).
EC2PL is a private limited company engaged in owning and operating infrastructure projects. It is owned by Infrastructure Yield Plus II (IYP II) & Infrastructure Yield Plus IIA (IYP IIA) (collectively IYP), which are both schemes of the Infrastructure Yield Trust, an irrevocable and determinate contributory investment trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and registered with the SEBI as a Category I – Infrastructure Alternative Investment Fund, under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012. The investment manager of IYP II and IYP IIA is EAAA India Alternatives Limited (EIAL) which is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of EFSL, the parent entity of EC2PL.
The Target SPVs are eleven road SPVs have been incorporated in India and are engaged in the business of operating (through governmental concessions) roads and highways in India.
The Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) was announced on 15th September, 2015 with the objective to reduce country’s reliance on the import of gold in the long run and mobilise gold held by households and institutions in the country to facilitate its use for productive purposes.
The GMS comprised of 3 components:
Short Term Bank Deposit (1-3 years)
Medium Term Government Deposit (5-7 years), and
Long-Term Government Deposit (12 – 15 years)
Based on the examination of the performance of the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and evolving market conditions, it has been decided to discontinue the Medium Term and Long Term Government Deposit (MLTGD) components of the GMS w.e.f. March 26, 2025.
Accordingly, any gold deposits tendered at the designated Collection and Purity Testing Centre (CPTC) or GMS Mobilisation, Collection & Testing Agent (GMCTA) or the designated bank branches under the said components of GMS shall not be accepted with effect from March 26, 2025. However, the existing deposits under MLTGD shall continue till redemption as per extant guidelines of GMS issued vide Reserve Bank Master Direction No. DBR.IBD.No.45/23.67.003/2015-16 dated October 22, 2015 (as updated).
Further, the Short-Term Bank Deposits (STBD) offered by the banks under GMS shall continue at the discretion of the individual banks based on the commercial viability as assessed by them. The detailed guidelines of Reserve Bank in this regard shall follow.
The following are the lists, in order of merit of 349(223+89 + 37) candidates who have qualified on the basis of the results of the Combined Defence Services Examination (II), 2024 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission in September, 2024 and SSB interviews held by the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence for admission to the 159th (DE) Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course i.e. No. 218 F(P) Course.
2. There are some common candidates in the three lists for various courses.
3. The number of vacancies, as intimated by the Government is100for Indian Military Academy [including13vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ Certificates (Army Wing) holders],32for Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala Executive Branch (General Service)/Hydro[including06vacancies for NCC ‘C’ Certificate (Naval Wing) holders] and32for Air Force Academy, Hyderabad[03vacancies are reserved for NCC ’C’ Certificate (Air Wing) holders through NCC Spl. Entry].
4. The Commission had recommended2534, 900,and613as qualified in the written test for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy, respectively. The number of candidates finally qualified are those after SSB test conducted by Army Head Quarters.
5. The results of Medical examination have not been taken into account in preparing these lists.
6. Verification of date of birth and educational qualifications of these candidates is still under process by the Army Headquarters. The candidature of all these candidates is, therefore, Provisional on this score. Candidates are requested to forward their certificates, in original, in support of Date of Birth/Educational qualification etc. claimed by them, along with Photostat attested copies thereof to Army Headquarters /Naval Headquarters /Air Headquarters, as per their first choice.
7. In case, there is any change of address, the candidates are advised to promptly intimate directly to the Army Headquarters /Naval Headquarters /Air Headquarters.
8. These results will also be available on the UPSC website athttp://www.upsc.gov.in. However, marks of the candidates will be available on the website after declaration of final result of Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) Course for Combined Defence Services Examination (II), 2024.
9. For any further information, the candidates may contact Facilitation Counter near Gate ‘C’ of the Commission’s Office, either in person or on telephone Nos. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 between 10:00 hours and 17:00 hours on any working day.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, 15,057 Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) have been opened till 28.2.2025 across the country For smooth supply and product availability at JAKs, an end-to-end IT-enabled supply chain system has been established; It comprises one central warehouse at Gurugram and four regional warehouses at Bengaluru, Guwahati, Chennai and Surat
Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 7:02PM by PIB Delhi
Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana scheme, a total of 15,057 Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) have been opened till 28.2.2025 across the country, the State- and Union-territory-wise numbers of which are at Annexure.
Lack of availability of medicines to JAKs is not a systemic issue. For smooth supply and product availability at JAKs, an end-to-end IT-enabled supply chain system has been established. It comprises one central warehouse at Gurugram and four regional warehouses at Bengaluru, Guwahati, Chennai and Surat. Further, 36 distributors have been appointed across the country to strengthen the supply chain system. Availability of 400 fast-moving products is monitored regularly to ensure their availability. Further, a minimum stocking mandate has been implemented for 200 medicines consisting of the 100 top-selling medicines in the scheme product basket and 100 fast-selling medicines in the market. Under the stocking mandate, the Jan Aushadhi Kendra owners become eligible for claiming incentive based on stocks of the said 200 medicines maintained by them. Thus, supply of medicines to JAKs is ensured through the system of warehouses and distributors and monitoring system and incentives are in place to encourage JAKs to stock the products that are more in demand. JAKs being run on an entrepreneurship model, the actual stocking of products is done by entrepreneurs based on demand for the same.
To safeguard against complaints about the quality of medicines sold from JAKs, stringent measures as specified below are in place to ensure that the medicines supplied through Jan Aushadhi Kendras meet standards:
Medicines are procured only from suppliers certified for World Health Organization – Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP).
Each batch of drugs supplied under the scheme is tested at laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and only after passing quality tests, medicines are dispatched to Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
Quality audit of the facilities of vendors is routinely done by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India.
Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) opened till 28.2.2025
S. No.
State / Union Territory
JAKs opened
1
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
9
2
Andhra Pradesh
275
3
Arunachal Pradesh
34
4
Assam
170
5
Bihar
812
6
Chandigarh
11
7
Chhattisgarh
278
8
Delhi
492
9
Goa
15
10
Gujarat
760
11
Haryana
408
12
Himachal Pradesh
71
13
Jammu and Kashmir
318
14
Jharkhand
148
15
Karnataka
1,425
16
Kerala
1,528
17
Ladakh
2
18
Lakshadweep
1
19
Madhya Pradesh
545
20
Maharashtra
708
21
Manipur
54
22
Meghalaya
25
23
Mizoram
15
24
Nagaland
22
25
Odisha
682
26
Puducherry
33
27
Punjab
489
28
Rajasthan
486
29
Sikkim
11
30
Tamil Nadu
1,363
31
Telangana
199
32
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
39
33
Tripura
28
34
Uttar Pradesh
2,658
35
Uttarakhand
313
36
West Bengal
630
Total
15,057
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Smt Anupriya Patel in Rajya Sabha in written reply to a question today.
New Investment Policy (NIP) to facilitate fresh investment and making India Self-Sufficient in the urea sector Total 6 new urea units have been set up under NIP-2012 including 4 Urea units set up through Joint Venture Companies (JVC) of nominated PSUs and 2 Urea units set up by the private companies
Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 7:01PM by PIB Delhi
The Government had announced New Investment Policy (NIP) – 2012 on 2nd January, 2013 and its amendment on 7th October, 2014 to facilitate fresh investment in the urea sector and to make India self-sufficient in the urea sector. Total 6 new urea units have been set up under NIP-2012 which includes 4 Urea units set up through Joint Venture Companies (JVC) of nominated PSUs and 2 Urea units set up by the private companies. The units set up through JVC are Ramagundam Urea unit of Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (RFCL) in Telangana and 3 Urea units namely Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL) in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, respectively. The units set up by private companies are Panagarh Urea unit of Matix Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (Matix) in West Bengal; and Gadepan-III Urea unit of Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (CFCL) in Rajasthan. Each of these units has installed capacity of 12.7 Lakh Metric Tonne per annum (LMTPA). These units are highly energy efficient as they are based on latest technology. Therefore, these units have together added urea production of 76.2 LMTPA thereby total production urea production capacity (RAC) has increased from 207.54 LMTPA during 2014-15 to 283.74 LMTPA in 2023-24.
The Government has implemented Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy w.e.f. 01.04.2010 for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers. Under the policy, a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on annual/bi-annual basis, is provided on notified P&K fertilizers depending on their nutrient content. The P&K sector is decontrolled, fertilizer companies are allowed to fix MRP at reasonable levels.The fertilizer companies manufacture/import fertilizers and do investment as per the market dynamics.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Smt Anupriya Patel in Rajya Sabha in written reply to a question today.
Scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma Medtech sector to promote research and development (R&D) including in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) provide training in AI-based tools to build human resource capacities in these areas for the pharmaceutical sector
Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 6:58PM by PIB Delhi
The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has taken steps to promote research and development (R&D) in the sector, including in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, in the pharmaceutical sector through the Scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma Medtech sector. Further, the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) under the aegis of DoP have introduced topics related to AI and block chain technology in their courses and they provide training to students in AI-based tools to build human resource capacities in these areas for the pharmaceutical sector. In addition, the Department of Biotechnology also supports AI-based research activities in the biotech sector, particularly in the healthcare and agriculture areas, in order to leverage emerging technologies for these sectors. Further, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, with the assistance of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, has undertaken a pilot project to evaluate the feasibility of a block-chain-based track-and-trace system for Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Smt. Anupriya Patel in Rajya Sabha in written reply to a question today.
Department of Pharmaceuticals hosts Industry Dialogue on Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector (PRIP) Scheme at Bengaluru Innovate in India and Make for the World aiming to position the country as a global leader in innovation and manufacturing for the world: Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals
Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 6:57PM by PIB Delhi
The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, hosted an Industry Dialogue on the scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma-MedTech Sector (PRIP) at Bangalore on 25th March 2025. The event served as a significant platform for representatives from industry, startups, and research institutes, including representatives from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and innovation hubs like C-CAMP (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms), to engage in discussions aimed at fostering collaboration, and leveraging government initiatives to accelerate research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical and MedTech sectors.
The session provided detailed insights into the PRIP Scheme, along with other government initiatives promoting and enabling research innovation in the sector. Notable initiatives such as ICMR’s Patent Mitra, MedTech Mitra, and Indian Clinical Trial and Education Network (INTENT) programme were discussed, with an emphasis on support for patent filing, facilitating the innovation journey, clinical trials, and commercialization of R&D outcomes. The CSIR’s Innovation Complex and C-CAMP’s incubation facilities were also highlighted as key enablers for translational research and industry collaboration.
Shri Amit Agrawal, Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, underscored India’s comparative advantage in enhancing the resilience of global supply chains, a goal further supported by the PRIP Scheme. He advocated progression from “Make in India” also Innovate in India and Make for the World aiming to position the country as a global leader in innovation and manufacturing for the world.
In the breakout sessions, representatives from startups, Industry, academia and other stakeholders gave in-depth feedback regarding research and innovation opportunities, emerging R&D trends, strategies to enhance industry-academia collaboration. Useful suggestions were made regarding maximising funding opportunities and scaling up innovative research initiatives to drive the sector’s growth.
The stakeholders were encouraged to submit their feedback and project details through the Expression of Interest (EoI) hosted on the Department of Pharmaceuticals website, which will be open till April 7, 2025. This process will help refine the implementation strategy of the PRIP Scheme, ensuring it aligns with industry need and drives sectoral growth.
The Industry Dialogue in Bangalore was an insightful and productive event, with participants reaffirming their commitment to fostering a collaborative, innovation-driven ecosystem in the Pharma-MedTech sector.