The Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana is a scheme for developing Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FSPV) Projects with Energy Storage Systems (ESS). It aims to expand floating solar power generation while making productive use of existing water reservoirs and industrial ponds.

Key Features

The scheme envisages the development of 5,000 MW of Floating Solar Photovoltaic projects with co-located Energy Storage Systems having a minimum storage capacity of two hours, equivalent to 10,000 MWh.

The projects will be sanctioned during FY 2026–27 to FY 2030–31, while the disbursement of financial support will continue up to FY 2032–33.

Under the scheme, Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of ₹1 crore per MW will be provided to eligible floating solar projects after their successful commissioning.

An additional CFA of up to ₹50 lakh per project will be available for feasibility studies, including bathymetry, hydrography, environmental studies and other preparatory activities required to de-risk project development.

Significance

The scheme is expected to increase India’s floating solar capacity by 5,000 MW, compared with the existing capacity of around 700 MW. It will enable the productive utilisation of existing reservoirs and industrial ponds, thereby reducing competition for scarce land resources.

The integration of Energy Storage Systems will improve grid reliability by supporting power availability beyond periods of solar generation.

The scheme is expected to contribute to the reduction of approximately 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, supporting India’s clean-energy and climate goals.

It is also expected to generate around 16,000–17,000 full-time equivalent employment opportunities across the project value chain. In addition, the scheme will encourage domestic manufacturing of floating systems and strengthen the wider floating solar project value chain.

Cholera is a potentially life-threatening waterborne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It primarily affects the intestines and can cause severe watery diarrhoea and dehydration. Without timely treatment, severe cholera can become fatal within hours.

Transmission

Cholera is mainly transmitted through drinking water or consuming food contaminated with Vibrio cholerae. It is particularly common in areas affected by poor sanitation, overcrowding, war and famine, with outbreaks more frequent in warm climates.

The bacteria can survive in brackish and coastal waters, and consumption of raw shellfish such as shrimp and crab can also transmit the disease. However, cholera is not commonly spread through casual person-to-person contact.

Cholera is largely preventable and potentially eliminable when populations have sustained access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene practices.

Symptoms

Most people infected with Vibrio cholerae do not develop symptoms, although they may still shed the bacteria through faeces for 1–10 days and contribute to transmission.

Symptoms generally appear 12 hours to 5 days after infection. Most symptomatic cases are mild or moderate, while a smaller proportion develop severe acute watery diarrhoea and life-threatening dehydration.

Treatment

The primary treatment for cholera is rapid rehydration through adequate oral fluids or intravenous fluids in severe cases to prevent dehydration.

Antibiotics such as doxycycline, erythromycin or azithromycin may be prescribed in appropriate cases to reduce the severity and duration of illness. Zinc supplementation may also be provided to children aged 6 months to 5 years.

Antidiarrhoeal medicines are not recommended for cholera because they may worsen the condition.

VISHWAS 2026 is a one-time dispute resolution initiative launched by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Ministry of Labour & Employment. It aims to facilitate the amicable settlement of disputes relating to the levy of damages and penalties under EPF-related matters.

The scheme provides eligible employers with a transparent, fully digital and time-bound mechanism to settle pending disputes. It seeks to promote voluntary compliance, reduce litigation and resolve long-pending cases, while safeguarding the interests of employees.

Duration

The scheme came into effect on 29 June 2026 and will remain operational for six months from the date of notification.

Cases Covered

VISHWAS 2026 broadly covers four categories of cases. These include cases where penalty or damages orders are under challenge before a judicial forum, final orders where recovery is pending or partly completed, including Recovery Certificate (RRC) cases, and cases where notices have been issued but final orders are yet to be passed.

It also covers cases where notices for penalty or damages have not yet been issued.

Exclusions

Cases where damages or penalties have already been fully recovered are excluded from the scheme. It also excludes cases involving fraud, misappropriation or deliberate falsification of records, as well as cases where the applicable statutory interest has not been fully deposited.

Application Process

Eligible employers with pending disputes can apply through the EPFO Employer Portal using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or e-Sign. Applicants must provide an undertaking that they will not pursue any further appeal concerning the dispute settled under the scheme.

Benefits

The scheme allows eligible employers to settle certain legacy disputes by offering substantially reduced rates for historical defaults committed before 14 June 2024, subject to payment of the applicable statutory interest and fulfilment of prescribed conditions.

For employers, VISHWAS 2026 provides an opportunity to regularise legacy EPF compliance issues at a lower financial cost while reducing prolonged litigation.

Although the scheme primarily targets employers, employees can benefit indirectly through the faster resolution of long-pending EPF disputes and improved compliance by establishments.

NITI Aayog released a comprehensive report titled “India’s Services Sector: Insights on Regulatory Regime in Professional Services”. The report examines the regulatory framework governing knowledge-intensive professional services in India and identifies structural bottlenecks that affect professional mobility, services exports and global competitiveness.

Significance of the Services Sector

The services sector contributes around 55% of India’s GDP and GVA and accounts for nearly 30% of total employment. India is the world’s 7th-largest services exporter, with a 4.3% share of global services exports in 2024, compared with around 2% in 2005.

Within the sector, professional and management consulting services have emerged as an important area of strength. Their share in India’s total services exports reached around 20% in 2024–25, while their Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) increased from 0.95 in 2005 to 3.0 in 2024. An RCA value above 1 indicates a comparative advantage in international trade.

Regulatory Framework for Professional Services

Professional services operate within a combination of sector-specific regulations and cross-sectoral laws. Important cross-sectoral frameworks include the Companies Act, 2013, Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, Partnership Act, 1932, and FEMA and RBI regulations.

The report highlights that India’s regulatory system is often fragmented and uneven across professions and States, creating difficulties for professional mobility, business expansion and international recognition.

OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index

The OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) measures regulatory barriers affecting services trade across 22 sectors and 51 countries. It helps countries compare regulatory restrictions and identify areas requiring reform.

India is among the most restrictive countries in architectural, legal and accounting services, while its engineering-services regime is comparatively more liberal.

Challenges in Professional Services

Legal Services

The Advocates Act, 1961 primarily regulates advocates and does not provide a clearly defined framework for several categories such as in-house counsels, Legal Process Outsourcing professionals and legal consultants.

India also has limited arrangements for international recognition and mobility of legal professionals. Restrictions on corporate structures and Multi-Disciplinary Practices (MDPs) further limit the ability of Indian law firms to scale and provide integrated professional services.

Accounting and Auditing Services

The accounting sector faces regulatory concerns arising from the roles of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

Limited Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) restrict international professional mobility. The report also highlights the absence of a dedicated regulatory framework for bookkeeping, particularly regarding qualifications, ethical standards and record-keeping.

Architectural and Engineering Services

Architecture is regulated under the Architects Act, 1972, whereas professional engineering practice does not have a comprehensive statutory framework.

The absence of a clear framework for engineering practice can create overlaps between architects and engineers and gaps in professional accountability. Architects also face restrictions on adopting modern business structures such as LLPs and companies, which can limit their scalability and global competitiveness.

Healthcare and Allied Healthcare Services

The healthcare sector faces jurisdictional overlaps, particularly within the AYUSH sector, involving the Ministry of AYUSH, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and State-level authorities.

Another major concern is interstate professional mobility, as medical professionals may need No Objection Certificates (NOCs) when transferring registration between State Medical Councils. Delays in implementing the National Exit Test (NExT) and partial operationalisation of the NCAHP Act, 2021 also affect standardisation of professional competency.

India and Global Services Trade

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) provides four modes of international services trade. Mode 1 refers to cross-border supply, Mode 2 to consumption abroad, Mode 3 to commercial presence and Mode 4 to the movement of natural persons.

India has made no GATS commitments in legal and architectural services. In engineering services, India has made limited commitments, including a 51% foreign-equity cap under Mode 3.

India is also not a signatory to the WTO’s 2017 Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, which seeks greater transparency and predictability in licensing and qualification requirements.

NITI Aayog’s Recommendations

Continuous Professional Development

NITI Aayog recommends establishing a uniform and enforceable Continuous Professional Development (CPD) system across professions. This would help professionals keep pace with technological, regulatory and market changes while improving service quality.

Regulatory Harmonisation

The report calls for greater regulatory harmonisation and adoption of Good Regulatory Practices (GRPs). Qualification and licensing requirements should be transparent, publicly accessible and supported by clear appeal mechanisms and defined processing timelines.

Mutual Recognition Agreements

India should expand Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with other countries to improve the international recognition and mobility of Indian professionals.

Modern Business Structures

Professional firms should be permitted to adopt modern corporate structures where appropriate. Greater flexibility through LLPs, companies and multidisciplinary practices can improve scalability and enable Indian professional firms to compete more effectively in global markets.

Moving Towards High-Value Services

India should move beyond cost-based service delivery towards high-value, knowledge-intensive professional services such as research and development, engineering design, strategic technology and complex advisory services.

India’s approximately 1,700 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), employing more than 1.9 million professionals, can play an important role in this transition.

Preparing for Emerging Trends

The professional-services ecosystem needs to prepare for AI and automation, the green transition and geopolitical fragmentation. Emerging opportunities include carbon accounting, climate-risk advisory, sustainable finance, supply-chain restructuring and regulatory-compliance services.

Historical Evolution of Professional Services in India

India has a long tradition of organised professional knowledge. Ancient texts such as Dharmaśāstra and Arthashastra provided principles for skilled professions, while the Caraka Saṃhitā and Suśruta Saṃhitā contributed to medical knowledge.

The Śreṇī or guild system during the Mauryan and Gupta periods functioned as an early form of professional organisation. During the colonial period, institutions such as the Mayor’s Court of 1726, Supreme Court of Judicature of 1773 and High Courts of 1862 contributed to the development of modern professional regulation.

After independence, legislation and institutions such as the Advocates Act, 1961, professional councils and various commissions shaped India’s contemporary regulatory architecture.

Conclusion

India has developed a strong comparative advantage in professional services, but regulatory fragmentation, limited professional mobility, inadequate MRAs and restrictions on business structures continue to constrain its global potential. Regulatory harmonisation, Continuous Professional Development, modern business structures, wider international recognition and adoption of emerging technologies can help India shift towards high-value professional services, strengthen services exports and high-skilled employment, and enhance its position in Global Value Chains.

India’s sovereign green bond market is gaining momentum as strong investor demand has pushed these bonds to trade at a persistent greenium compared with conventional government securities. The average greenium in the first half of FY2026–27 reached its highest level since India began issuing sovereign green bonds in FY2022–23, indicating growing investor acceptance of green financial instruments.

What is Greenium?

Greenium, or green premium, refers to the lower yield that investors are willing to accept on a green bond compared with a conventional bond having similar characteristics. Since bond prices and yields move inversely, a lower yield indicates that investors are willing to pay a higher price for green bonds.

A stable greenium can reduce the government’s borrowing cost for financing environmentally sustainable projects. It can therefore support investments in renewable energy, clean transportation, climate adaptation and other low-carbon activities, helping India progress towards its Net Zero by 2070 target.

A persistent greenium also indicates growing investor confidence and maturity of the domestic green-finance ecosystem, particularly in relation to India’s green-bond framework and project evaluation mechanisms.

What are Sovereign Green Bonds?

Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) are government debt instruments introduced in the Union Budget 2022–23 to mobilise resources for projects supporting India’s transition towards a low-carbon economy.

The proceeds raised through SGrBs are earmarked exclusively for eligible green projects, which helps improve transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

India’s Sovereign Green Bond Framework was released by the Ministry of Finance in 2022 and is aligned with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles, 2021.

Key Features

SGrBs are issued through a uniform-price auction, are eligible for repo transactions, and can be traded in the secondary market. They are also eligible for Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) purposes, allowing eligible financial institutions to count them towards their mandatory SLR requirements.

Management of Sovereign Green Bonds

The proceeds from SGrBs are deposited into the Consolidated Fund of India and managed by the Public Debt Management Cell of the Ministry of Finance through mechanisms such as the Green Register.

The Green Finance Working Committee (GFWC), chaired by the Chief Economic Adviser, is involved in the selection and evaluation of eligible projects. The allocation and utilisation of funds are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The framework was also reviewed by CICERO, which rated it “Medium Green” with “Good Governance”, indicating alignment with international green-bond standards.

Current Status and Demand

India has around ₹877 billion of sovereign green bonds outstanding, with 30-year green bonds emerging as the dominant segment and outstanding issuance exceeding ₹500 billion.

Demand for green bonds has strengthened after some early issuances were cancelled or reduced because investors were not willing to accept yields considered suitable by the government. The growing demand for longer-maturity green bonds has subsequently strengthened the market.

Why are Investors Showing Strong Demand?

Insurance companies and pension funds have significant demand for long-term assets because their liabilities are also long-term. Green bonds classified as infrastructure investments provide greater flexibility for insurers while also helping them meet Asset-Liability Management (ALM) requirements.

The strong demand for 30-year green bonds therefore reflects the suitability of these instruments for institutions seeking long-duration assets.

Types of Sustainable Finance Instruments

Green Bonds

Green bonds are used to finance projects having a positive environmental impact. Their proceeds are ring-fenced for specific green projects, making their primary focus environmental and climate-related benefits. Sovereign Green Bonds are an example.

Social Bonds

Social bonds finance projects designed to generate positive social outcomes. Their proceeds are directed towards specific social projects, particularly those benefiting vulnerable, marginalised or underserved populations.

Sustainability Bonds

Sustainability bonds combine both environmental and social objectives. Their proceeds are allocated to a mixture of green and social projects, making them a hybrid use-of-proceeds instrument.

Sustainability-Linked Bonds

Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) are different from green and social bonds because their proceeds are generally not restricted to specific projects. Instead, their financial terms are linked to the issuer’s achievement of predetermined sustainability targets.

UltraTech Cement’s 2021 issuance is cited as India’s first overall and dollar-denominated sustainability-linked bond, with a target of reducing carbon intensity by 22.2% by 2030.

Green Bonds vs Sustainability-Linked Bonds

The key distinction is that green bonds are use-of-proceeds instruments, meaning the money raised must finance specified eligible green projects. In contrast, sustainability-linked bonds connect financial conditions to sustainability performance targets and can generally be used for broader corporate purposes.

Significance for India

A growing sovereign green bond market can help India mobilise private and institutional capital for renewable energy, clean infrastructure, climate adaptation and low-carbon development. A persistent greenium further suggests that investors are willing to accept relatively lower returns in exchange for exposure to credible green investments, potentially reducing the cost of climate financing for the government.

Vikram-1 is set to undertake its maiden launch, marking an important milestone for India’s private space sector. It is developed by Skyroot Aerospace and is India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket.

Key Features

Vikram-1 is a seven-storey-tall, four-stage orbital launch vehicle designed primarily for the small-satellite market. Its first three stages use solid fuel, while the fourth stage uses a cluster of four Raman hypergolic engines for precise orbital insertion.

The fourth stage uses MMH (Monomethylhydrazine) as fuel and NTO (Nitrogen Tetroxide) as oxidiser. These are hypergolic propellants, meaning they ignite automatically when they come into contact, eliminating the need for an external ignition system.

Structure and Technology

The rocket uses an all-carbon-composite structure, making it lightweight while maintaining structural strength. It incorporates indigenously developed propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid-fuel boosters.

Other technological features include ultra-low-shock pneumatic separation systems and advanced avionics for real-time navigation and guidance.

Payload Capacity

Vikram-1 is designed to carry up to 350 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and approximately 260 kg to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). It can also deploy multiple small satellites in a single mission, making it suitable for the growing small-satellite launch market.

Significance

The rocket is designed around simplicity, reliability and rapid launch capability, with the objective of enabling launches within 24 hours from any location. Its development strengthens India’s private-sector participation in space, supports the commercial small-satellite launch market, and contributes to the development of indigenous launch-vehicle technology.