In an era of fast technological change, startups now play an important role in the growth of the Indian economy and job creation, innovation, and digital inclusion. The Indian startup ecosystem, however, has traditionally been marred by the lack of geographical inclusivity in terms of access to VC funding, mentorship, incubation spaces, technological resources, and network of businesses in big cities.
The Out of Pocket Expenditures (OOPE) on health is one of the primary barriers impeding a sustained access to quality healthcare in India. While the National Health Accounts Estimates for India (2021-22) reports a reduction in OOPE as percent of Total Health Expenditure (THE) from 64.2 percent in 2013-14 to 39.4 percent in 2021-22, a concerning trend is observed in the rise in the Per Capita OOPE (Rs.) at current prices from Rs.2097 in 2017-18 to Rs.2600 in 2021-22 (National Health Systems Resource Centre, 2024).
FASTag is India’s flagship electronic toll collection system, introduced in 2016 to enable seamless, contactless payment of user fees at toll plazas using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. It was launched by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with the objective of reducing congestion, improving transparency in toll collection, and enabling smoother highway mobility.
BharatNet is India’s flagship rural broadband infrastructure programme, implemented by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, through Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL). It was originally launched as the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) in October 2011 and later renamed BharatNet. Its core objective is to provide affordable, non-discriminatory broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country, thereby strengthening last-mile digital connectivity for rural citizens, government services, and local businesses.
Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) is a multilingual, AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) platform for agriculture, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 with an allocation of ₹150 crore (Press Information Bureau [PIB], 2026c). The Government describes it as a nationwide, voice-first system designed to provide farmers with reliable, real-time and location-specific advisories on crops, weather, markets, pests and diseases, soil health, and access to allied services and government schemes (PIB, 2026c).
The Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) is a digital registration platform launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) on January 11, 2023, in association with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Its purpose is to bring Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) into the formal ambit and make them eligible for Priority Sector Lending (PSL) benefits (PIB, 2023b; SIDBI, n.d.). IMEs are enterprises that cannot register on the main Udyam Registration Portal because they lack mandatory documents such as a Permanent Account Number (PAN) or a GST Identification Number (GSTIN) (Business Standard, 2023)
Policy UpdateAditi Natasha Bhuinyan Background The ASPIRE Scheme (A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries and Entrepreneurship) was launched on 16 March 2015 by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and employment in…