NEW DELHI, 29 October: — A Gram Panchayat receives Finance Commission grants, carries out schemes of many departments and answers to its Gram Sabha. On 28 October 2026 the Union Cabinet approved a scheme to change what that office can do. The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY) will run from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an outlay of ₹7,395.55 crore — ₹4,869.48 crore from the Centre and ₹2,526.07 crore from the States
India targets 7.5 lakh containers a year with Rs 10,000 crore scheme
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — India makes about 70,000 shipping containers (in twenty-foot equivalent units, TEUs) a year. The Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme, approved by the Cabinet on 28 October with ₹10,000 crore up to 2039-40, aims to lift that to 7.5 lakh TEUs, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said.
Most of the money, ₹8,891 crore, pays a fixed sum per container sold — ₹49,500 for a 20-foot unit and ₹86,625 for a 40-foot unit — provided 70% of content is domestic, rising to 90% from 2032-33.
PM Modi pushes outcome-based delivery at Rs 16,000 cr PRAGATI review
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed railway, Ekta Mall and bulk drug park projects worth more than ₹16,000 crore at the 54th PRAGATI meeting on 28 October.
He asked Chief Secretaries to review schemes with District Magistrates every month, called for domestic production of active pharmaceutical ingredients at the drug parks in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and asked that redeveloped stations such as Ahmedabad serve as multimodal hubs. He said governance must focus on outcomes over outlays.
What India gains
projects tracked to the date they open, not the date they are announced.
India, Mexico open talks for Preferential Trade Agreement
NEW DELHI, 29 October: India and Mexico have signed the Terms of Reference that formally launch negotiations on a Preferential Trade Agreement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.
The talks will cover market access for goods, rules of origin, customs, trade remedies and product standards. The ministry names automotive, chemicals, electronics, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, energy, critical minerals and medical devices as sectors with potential..
What India gains
:
A negotiated door into a market the ministry describes as strongly linked to global value chains.
HD Hyundai eyes $ 4-billion greenfield shipyard in Tamil Nadu
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding arm of HD Hyundai, reiterated its intent to be the primary strategic investor in a greenfield shipyard at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
This decision came after Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun in Seoul on 28 October.
A joint working group will steer the project and the detailed project report is expected within six months. Sonowal put the investment at $4 billion
Cancer drug prices slashed as 543 brands get new MRPs
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has published revised maximum retail prices for 543 brands of anti-cancer medicines, effective 9 November 2026, after capping trade margins on 137 non-scheduled cancer drugs on 17 October. Among the examples it gave, an anastrozole pack falls from ₹695.76 to ₹73, and a bevacizumab vial from ₹21,767.70 to ₹5,930.13. Blitz computed the cuts: 89.5% and 72.8%. The list will be updated as more makers file prices.
What India gains
cancer treatment within reach of more families.
Rs 1,000 crore subsidy to create 11,333 new micro enterprises
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi released ₹1,000 crore of margin-money subsidy on 28 October for 11,333 new micro enterprises. This was backed by about ₹3,260 crore of bank loans, the ministry said. They are expected to employ more than 1.02 lakh people.
India enveils four biodiversity publications at global meet
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — India released four publications at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Armenia, on 28 2026. Among them guidelines for recognising conservation outside protected areas and its fifth national report on biosafety, the Environment Ministry said.
MP rural tap coverage trails national average
NEW DELHI, 29 October: — By March 2025, 69% of rural households in Madhya Pradesh had a tap connection, against about 80% nationally, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Performance Audit Report. This was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 22 July 2026. The audit covers 2019-20 to 2023-24.
What India gains
From the audit is a precise map of where piped water breaks down after it is built — in the village committee and its accounts — at the moment the Centre is funding Panchayat capacity on that very point.
