On April 27, India and New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement, concluded in a record 9 months from the announcement of negotiations on March 16, 2025. The FTA eliminates pre-FTA peak tariffs of up to 10% on Indian engineering goods and auto components exported to New Zealand, providing zero-duty market access acro

On April 19, the Ministry of Electronics and IT announced that the foundation stone for India's first advanced 3D chip packaging facility was laid at Info Valley, Bhubaneswar. The project is being implemented by 3D Glass Solutions Inc. (USA) through its wholly owned Indian subsidiary Heterogeneous Integration Packagi

On April 14, multiple sources reported that violent labour unrest in Noida is linked to wage differences across the NCR’s connected industrial belt, which includes Faridabad, Palwal, Manesar, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Noida. The issue began after Haryana increased minimum wages for unskilled workers by 35% from INR 14

On April 11, the Government of NCT of Delhi released the draft Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2026–2030 for a 30-day public consultation, signalling a clear shift from the earlier incentive-led framework to one anchored in time-bound regulatory mandates.
Registration bans and mandates:
Electric 3Ws (L5) only from Jan

On April 8, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra state announced that Vingroup has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth USD 6.5 billion with the Government of Maharashtra and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The investment covers electric mobility, integrated townships, renewable ene

On April 7, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) hosted a pre-bid conference for its scheme to promote the manufacturing of sintered rare earth permanent magnets, drawing participation from at least 25 companies. The scheme, with a total outlay of INR 72.8 billion, invites bids for setting up 6,000 MTPA of integrat

On April 6, the Technology Development Board (TDB) under DST signed an agreement with Scharge Pvt Limited to co-develop a next-generation EV charging solution for commercial fleet and depot operations under the India-UK Collaborative R&D Programme for Industrial Sustainability.
The project integrates Scharge's EV ch

On April 1, the Indian Government announced conditional customs duty concessions on clearance of goods manufactured in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) to improve capacity utilisation of manufacturing units impacted by global trade disruptions. It will benefit approximately 1,200 SEZ ma

On March 27, 2026, The Ministry of Heavy Industries amended the PM E-DRIVE scheme, halving the incentive for registered electric two-wheelers from INR 5,000 per kWh (capped at INR 10,000 per vehicle) to INR 2,500 per kWh (capped at INR 5,000 per vehicle) effective April 1, 2025, with a terminal date of July 31, 2026

On March 25, the Department of Atomic Energy announced its plans to scale domestic production capacity of rare earth permanent magnets to 5,000 tonnes a year by 2030, up from an operational samarium‑cobalt plant capacity of 500 tonnes today, as part of a broader push on critical minerals, including lithium. The curre

On March 13, 2026, the Ministry of Heavy Industries tightened localisation norms for N2 and N3 electric trucks by amending the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) under the PM E‑DRIVE scheme. The Gazette notification (S.O. 1331(E)) revises items 8, 9, and 10 of the PMP to phase in domestic assembly and manufacturing

On March 11, 2026, the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee on Industry said only 1,656,335 EVs had been incentivised under PM E‑DRIVE as of 31 January 2026, about 58.6% of the revised 2,826,634 target, with e‑trucks, e‑buses, and e‑ambulances still at zero and e‑rickshaws/e‑carts at just 3,602 units versus a 39,034 target

On March 10, the Union Cabinet approved changes to foreign investment guidelines for countries sharing a land border with India, relaxing rules for small, non‑controlling stakes and tightening timelines for approvals in specified manufacturing sectors.
Under the revised framework, “beneficial owner” will now be defin

On March 9, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas released a gazetted notification to invoke the Essential Commodities Act 1955. This order may be called the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026. The Central Government has assessed that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has resulted in the disruption

On March 2, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched an indigenously developed 30 kW Wide Band Gap (WBG)-based integrated drive system for electric vehicles, designed by C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram in collaboration with IIT Madras and Lucas TVS under the NaMPET programme. The motor–inverte

On February 12, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified a series of new mandatory safety devices for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, with key requirements coming into force between October 2025 and January 2028.
From 1 October 2027, trucks will need to comply with the revised brake performanc

On February 10, the Ministry of Heavy Industries informed Parliament that 26 accidents involving fire in electric vehicles were recorded in India over the last three years, out of 23,865 total accidents involving EVs captured on the eDAR portal since November 2022. The data shows 8 EV fire accidents in 2023, 9 in 202

On February 4, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified the Central Motor Vehicles (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026, via G.S.R. 112(E), further amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. These rules bring in WLTP-based Bharat Stage VI (BS‑VI) emission standards for M1 vehicles and M2 vehicles up to 3,

On February 7, India and the United States agreed on a framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal trade that includes specific provisions for automotive and related industries. India will receive a preferential tariff rate quota for automotive parts currently subject to the United States tariff imposed under Pr

On February 3, 2026, the Minister of Coal and Mines informed the Rajya Sabha that India is stepping up exploration, mining, and value addition of rare-earth minerals. The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy, is conducting exploration al