Business
Union Budget: Key measures to bolster 1 crore MSMEs, 1.59 lakh startups

New Delhi, Feb 1: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced significant measures to bolster more than 1 crore registered micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), employing 7.5 crore people and generating 36 per cent of the country’s manufacturing.
With their quality products, these MSMEs are responsible for 45 per cent of our exports, the Finance Minister said while presenting the Budget 2025-26.
To help them achieve higher efficiencies of scale, technological upgradation and better access to capital, the investment and turnover limits for classification of all MSMEs will be enhanced to 2.5 and 2 times, respectively.
“This will give them the confidence to grow and generate employment for our youth,” said the Finance Minister.
To improve access to credit, the credit guarantee cover will be enhanced. For micro and small enterprises, it will be enhanced from Rs 5 crore to 10 crore, leading to additional credit of Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the next 5 years.
“For startups, it will be increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore, with the guarantee fee being moderated to 1 per cent for loans in 27 focus sectors important for Atmanirbhar Bharat,” FM Sitharaman said, adding that for well-run exporter MSMEs, credit availability with guarantee cover will be for term loans up to Rs 20 crore.
“We will introduce customised credit cards with a Rs 5 lakh limit for micro-enterprises registered on Udyam portal. In the first year, 10 lakh such cards will be issued,” she said.
The Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs) for startups have received commitments of more than Rs 91,000 crore. These are supported by the Fund of Funds, set up with a government contribution of Rs 10,000 crore.
Now, a new Fund of Funds, with an expanded scope and a fresh contribution of another Rs 10,000 crore will be set up.
A new scheme will be launched for 5 lakh women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes first-time entrepreneurs. This will provide term loans up to Rs 2 crore during the next 5 years.
The scheme will incorporate lessons from the successful Stand-Up India scheme. Online capacity building for entrepreneurship and managerial skills will also be organised, the Finance Minister said.
To promote employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in labour-intensive sectors, “our government will undertake specific policy and facilitation measures”, FM Sitharaman added.
With more than 1.59 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of January 15, India has firmly established itself as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.
Business
Microsoft joins India’s Yotta Data Services to boost AI innovation in country

New Delhi, May 28: Microsoft and Yotta Data Services, India’s leading sovereign cloud infrastructure and platform services provider, on Wednesday partnered to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in India.
The partnership enables Microsoft and Yotta to engage with IndiaAI Mission participants, government agencies, IITs, startups, enterprises, and software development companies to leapfrog AI innovation.
Microsoft said it would bring its AzureAI services to Shakti Cloud, Yotta’s AI cloud platform, to offer cutting-edge AI capabilities to developers, startups, enterprises, and public sector organisations across India.
“Our partnership with Yotta to power Shakti Cloud will help unlock AI innovation at scale. Microsoft is honoured to play its part in helping the country realise its AI ambitions through innovation that reflect India’s unique needs and priorities,” said Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India and South Asia.
India is already among the top global markets on AI adoption and return on investment. Together with Yotta, we will continue to help India become an AI-first nation, securely and responsibly, he added.
As of May, IndiaAI Mission has received over 500 proposals for developing indigenous AI models.
Shakti Cloud customers will benefit from a rich ecosystem and vast catalogue of foundational LLMs and SLMs available on Azure AI Foundry to develop, deploy and scale at the speed of AI.
Built-in safety tools, content filters, groundedness detection, and copyright protection will empower organisations to build and scale AI responsibly. As a global provider of software, infrastructure, and cloud services, Microsoft runs on trust and enables trustworthy AI by prioritising security, privacy, and safety.
“This partnership is a key step forward towards India’s AI self-reliance and digital transformation, and we are excited to be able to support Indian enterprises in their journey towards AI excellence with a full gamut of offerings,” said Sunil Gupta, Co-founder, CEO and Managing Director, Yotta Data Services.
The combined strength of Microsoft’s services backed by Yotta’s infrastructure gives access to some of the best capabilities to support AI development in the country.
“It will make cutting-edge AI capabilities accessible for Indian enterprises of all sizes and give a huge boost to driving the nation’s AI ambitions,” Gupta noted.
In January this year, Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced a collaboration with IndiaAI, a division of Digital India Corporation, to advance AI and emerging technologies in the country, and established AI Centre of Excellence and AI Productivity Labs to foster inclusive growth.
National
WBSSC job case: Questions surface over Mamata Banerjee’s announcement on fresh recruitment

Kolkata, May 28: After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the notification of fresh recruitment for teaching and non-teaching jobs will be issued on May 30 and the “untainted” teachers, who lost jobs following a Supreme Court order last month, will have to appear for the written examination, questions and loopholes have started surfacing over her announcement.
The fact that the Chief Minister’s announcement about the fresh recruitment process and the state government’s persuasion on the review petition in the Supreme Court order will go on simultaneously has led to concerns.
The question that is surfacing on this count is whether the state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) have submitted the segregated lists of “untainted” and “tainted” candidates along with their respective review petitions.
The opposition parties and the legal experts have said that since the inability of the state government and the commission to furnish the segregated lists was the main reason for both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court to cancel the entire panel of 25,753 jobs, any review petition without that segregated list is bound to pose questions on how serious is the state government to protect the jobs of the “untainted” teachers.
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has already challenged the Chief Minister to publicly clarify whether the state government and WBSSC have submitted the segregated list along with the review petition.
“The Chief Minister is highly optimistic about the outcome of the review petition. So she should clarify whether she had submitted the segregated list along with the review petitions. Otherwise, it will be evident that the state is just conducting a time-killing exercise by projecting the review petition,” Adhikari said.
The second question that is arising over the Chief Minister’s announcements and clarifications on Tuesday is that while she stressed mainly that part of the Supreme Court order that details the fresh recruitment, she virtually avoided that portion of the order which details the steps to be adopted by the government to ensure the termination of services of the “tainted” ones and also recover the money they received as salaries.
“How could the state government abide by one part of the apex court and ignore the other part? Instead, on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said she would try to protect even the jobs of those who were not included among the ‘untainted’ ones. Does not this hint at another corruption?” questioned senior advocate and the CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya.
He also questioned the legal sanctity of the Chief Minister’s claims that the fresh recruitment process and the state government’s persuasion on the review petition in the Supreme Court order will go on simultaneously.
“The question is whether any scope for review prevails once the fresh recruitment process starts as per the apex court order. The Chief Minister is just using the review petition as a tool of time-killing exercise and giving false hopes to ‘untainted’ candidates,” Bhattacharya said.
National
PM Modi to attend Sikkim’s statehood golden jubilee celebrations tomorrow

New Delhi, May 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the golden jubilee celebrations marking 50 years of Sikkim’s statehood at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok on Thursday, May 29, according to an official statement from the Home Department.
Marking 50 glorious years of Statehood, the Prime Minister will participate in ‘Sikkim@50: Where Progress Meets Purpose and Nature Nurtures Growth’. The historic event will commemorate Sikkim’s transformation from a monarchy to becoming the 22nd state of India in 1975, following a referendum that led to the merger of the erstwhile Chogyal kingdom with the Indian Union.
The northeastern state, India’s second smallest, attained full statehood on May 16, 1975. The accession came with a special constitutional safeguard — Article 371F — ensuring the preservation of Sikkim’s unique ethnic identity, cultural traditions, and customs.
Over the past five decades, Sikkim has emerged as a model for sustainable development and eco-friendly governance, drawing national and global recognition for its green initiatives and environmental stewardship.
The Sikkim government has planned a year-long series of activities under the theme ‘Sunaulo, Samriddha and Samarth Sikkim’, celebrating the essence of the north-eastern state’s cultural richness, tradition, natural splendour and history.
Meanwhile, PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects, including a new 500-bedded District hospital worth over Rs 750 crore in Namchi district; a Passenger Ropeway at Sangachoeling, Pelling in Gyalshing District; a Statue of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Atal Amrit Udyan at Sangkhola in Gangtok District, among others.
The Prime Minister will also release the Commemorative coin, souvenir coin and stamp of 50 years of Statehood.
While PM Modi was originally scheduled to participate in the Statehood Day celebrations on May 16, the visit was deferred due to Operation Sindoor — India’s military response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Earlier, on May 16, the Prime Minister had extended his greetings to the people of Sikkim through a message on X, stating, “Warm greetings to the people of Sikkim on their Statehood Day! This year, the occasion is even more special as we mark the 50th anniversary of Sikkim’s statehood! Sikkim is associated with serene beauty, rich cultural traditions and industrious people. It has made strides in diverse sectors. May the people of this beautiful state continue to prosper.”
In preparation for the high-profile event, the Sikkim government has extended formal invitations to all officers from the rank of Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary (and their equivalents), along with staff from various state departments, public sector undertakings, and central government agencies in Gangtok.
The invitees have been requested to attend the function in traditional attire and will be seated in the Western Gallery of the stadium.
The celebration is scheduled to commence at approximately 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.
Additionally, the heads of departments and secretaries have been instructed to ensure full attendance from their respective teams to make the event a grand success.
To facilitate the smooth execution of the ceremony, the Sikkim government had earlier issued an advisory, announcing the temporary closure of offices and schools in Gangtok along with vehicular movement restrictions across key routes in the capital city.
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