The ‘National Manufacturing Mission’ introduced in the Union Budget 2025-2026 by the Finance and Ccorporate Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, is an extension to the ‘Make in India’ Project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. Despite progressive results from “Make in India”, several structural challenges persist- such as inadequate infrastructure, complex regulations, and reliance on imports for critical components.
Gyan Bharatam Mission is a visionary mission launched by the Indian government, which aims to revive and allow universal access to the manuscript heritage of India. In the Union budget of India 2025-26 presented on 1st February 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the Gyan Bharatam Mission to safeguard the manuscripts containing ancient India’s diverse and valuable knowledge through digitization and making them available for posterity.
The Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF), an initiative launched in 2018, aims to attract talent to doctoral research programmes in some of the best institutions in India. The purpose of this fellowship is to improve the research ecosystem by offering admission to top PhD students directly in institutes such as IITs, IISc, IISERs, and other leading central universities.
Government of India launched Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) in 2021, consolidating existing nutrition and child development programs into a unified framework aimed at tackling malnutrition through an integrated, lifecycle approach. Administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), Mission Poshan 2.0 is one of the world’s largest nutrition-focused initiatives.
Rapid urbanization in India creates simultaneous developmental advantages and various complications for national growth. The Government of India introduced the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2005 as its principal urban development program to manage increasing urban demands.
The ASEAN-India Science and Technology Cooperation is a very important framework which fosters innovation and research collaboration in the region. A strategic and well-implemented approach is essential to maximise the impact of the cooperation. By strengthening the funding mechanism in which the contributions from ASEAN member states will be increased so that the cooperation equally impacts all the concerned states. The contribution will depend on their GDP and their technological capacity. This will provide better financial support for large-scale projects, thus leading to technological advancements and regional integration.
The concept of Purvodaya was first introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 during the inauguration of an Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Paradip, Odisha. The initiative stepped up in Union Budget 2024-25 with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman allocating significant funds for infrastructure, industrial and skill development programs in the region. This policy aims to position India as a global economic powerhouse by leveraging the potential of all regions under the broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.