Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister announces revised Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) Policy for 2024-25
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy has announced a significant revision in the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) [OMSS(D)] Policy for the year 2024-25. This policy aims to enhance food security and ensure efficient distribution of rice to various stakeholders.
Ministry of Communications launches Sanchar Saathi Mobile
The Ministry of Communications has launched a suite of citizen-focused initiatives. Key highlights of the event included the launch of the Sanchar Saathi Mobile App,National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 and the inauguration of the Intra Circle Roaming facility at DBN Funded 4G Mobile Sites.
RBI announces Daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) Auction
Based on assessment of the liquidity conditions, it is decided that the notified amount for the daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction to be conducted on January 17, 2025, Friday, will be ₹50,000 crore.
RBI publishes details of steps introduced to encourage use of Indian Rupee and local / national currencies for settlement of cross border transactions
The Reserve Bank has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the central banks of the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Maldives, to encourage cross-border transactions in local currencies. Further, in December 2023 the Foreign Exchange Management (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations were revised to enable cross border transactions in all foreign currencies (including local currencies of trading partner countries) and INR.
RBI releases list of NBFCs in the Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) under Scale Based Regulation for NBFCs
The Reserve Bank of India announced today the list of NBFCs in the Upper Layer under Scale Based Regulation for NBFCs for the year 2024-25. once an NBFC is classified as NBFC-UL, it shall be subject to enhanced regulatory requirement, at least for a period of five years from its classification in the layer, even in case it does not meet the parametric criteria in the subsequent year/s.
SEBI SMART 2025
A Symposium on India’s Securities Market Tech Stack was organized in Mumbai by SEBI along with market participants which showcased India’s tech journey in the Securities Market. Regulators, market participants from across the world participated in the Symposium.
DPIIT enters into strategic partnership with ITC to bolster India’s startup ecosystem and innovation
Under this partnership, ITC is looking to deploy startup solutions in key areas such as digital platforms for Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), integrating renewable energy opportunities for manufacturing locations, energy storage systems, etc.
RBI to conduct Daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) Auctions
RBI has decided to conduct Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auctions on all working days in Mumbai with reversal taking place on the next working day, until further notice. The reversal of VRR auction conducted on a Friday will take place on the ensuing Monday or the next working day, if Monday is a holiday in Mumbai. The auction will be conducted between 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM every day.
MNRE issues Operational Guidelines for implementation of various components under PM-Surya Ghar
It is clarified that these guidelines are in addition to the existing mode of implementation undertaken by consumers (capex mode) through the national portal (https://www.pmsuryaghar.gov.in/), and these alternative models will supplement the national portal-based implementation of the scheme.
MeitY organises consultation meeting of government officials and industry on the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025
The consultation session invited feedback, comments, and inputs from various sectors covering key topics, including consent management, data principal rights, compliance frameworks, and mechanisms for cross-border data transfers, along with topics related to notices, consent, reasonable security safeguards, children’s data, and breach reporting. The feedback gathered during the session will be incorporated into the final rules.
