September 2025

In short: India's schemes, budget and infrastructure this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.

Current Affairs — India › Economy & Infrastructure · 18 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu

Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.

An exhaustive, point-wise digest of September 2025's economy, infrastructure and scheme news — GST 2.0's two-slab reform, the ₹69,725-crore maritime package, the CAG report on state debt, the Global Innovation Index, and a wave of Bihar-focused agri-launches.

Cochin Shipyard on the Venduruthy waterway, Kochi — Cochin Shipyard, Kochi — India's largest public-sector shipbuilder, a direct beneficiary of the ₹69,725-crore maritime package approved this month for indigenous shipbuilding · I.Mahesh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

September 2025 — At a Glance

September 2025 was a landmark month for economic reform — the GST Council rolled out GST 2.0's two-slab structure, the Union Cabinet approved a ₹69,725-crore maritime package, and the CAG flagged a tripling of state debt over a decade. PM Modi's Bihar visit alone launched the National Makhana Board, a sex-sorted semen facility and a bamboo-based ethanol plant.

Headlines of the month

56th GST Council approves GST 2.0 — a two-slab structure (5% merit, 18% standard) plus a 40% demerit rate for sin/luxury goods, replacing the old 5/12/18/28% slabs.
The Union Cabinet approves a ₹69,725 crore maritime package for indigenous shipbuilding; the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) is formally launched.
CAG report: total public debt of all 28 states tripled (3.3×) in a decade — from ₹17.57 lakh crore (2013-14) to ₹59.60 lakh crore (2022-23).
India climbs to 38th in the Global Innovation Index 2025 (from 48th in 2020), holding 1st place among lower-middle-income economies.
PM Modi's Purnea (Bihar) visit launches the National Makhana Board, a sex-sorted semen facility, and lays the foundation for the Mahi Banswara Atomic Power Project.
5 years of PMMSY (Blue Revolution): fish production up from 141.6 to a record 195 lakh tonne; India is now the world's 2nd-largest fish producer.
Declining investor sentiment: net foreign investment fell from 80.1 bn (2020-21) to just 4.5 bn (2024-25) despite India remaining the fastest-growing major economy.

1. Tax, Fiscal Health & Financial Reform

GST 2.0 — the two-slab reform

What — The 56th GST Council replaced the four slabs — 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% — with a broad two-slab structure: a merit rate of 5% and a standard rate of 18%, plus a new special demerit rate of 40% for pan masala, tobacco, cigarettes, high-end cars and aerated drinks.
Exceptions — Tobacco stays at 28% + cess (not the 40% slab) until Centre-to-state compensation loans are repaid; the 12% slab survives only for bricks under a special composition scheme.
Benefits — GST on insurance and essential medicines exempted; a Section 54(6) amendment allows 90% provisional refund for inverted-duty-structure cases, aligned with zero-rated supply refunds.

GST 2.0 — old vs new slab structure
	Old (pre-Sept 2025)	New (GST 2.0)
Slabs	5%, 12%, 18%, 28%	5% (merit), 18% (standard)
Sin/luxury goods	28% + cess	40% special demerit rate
Tobacco	28% + cess	Stays at 28% + cess (transition pending)

GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) launched

What — A statutory appellate body under the CGST Act, 2017 to hear appeals against GST Appellate Authority orders — a Principal Bench in New Delhi plus 31 State Benches, each with 2 Judicial Members, 1 Technical Member (Centre) and 1 (State).
e-Courts Portal — A digital platform (GSTN + NIC) lets taxpayers file appeals online, track cases and attend hearings digitally.

CAG report on state debt

Headline finding — Combined public debt of all 28 states tripled (3.3×) in a decade — from ₹17.57 lakh crore (2013-14) to ₹59.60 lakh crore (2022-23); debt-to-GSDP ratio rose from 16.66% to nearly 23%.
Highest / lowest debt-to-GSDP — Punjab (40.35%), Nagaland (37.15%), West Bengal (33.70%) topped; Odisha (8.45%), Maharashtra, Gujarat had the lowest ratios.
'Golden rule' breach — In FY23, 11 states (incl. AP, Punjab, WB, Kerala, Bihar, TN) spent part of their borrowings on revenue deficits instead of capital expenditure — violating the principle that debt should fund investment, not operating costs.

SC order on regulatory assets (DISCOM finances)

What — SC directed State Electricity Regulatory Commissions and DISCOMs to liquidate existing regulatory assets within 4 years and clear new ones within 3 years; capped regulatory assets at 3% of a DISCOM's ARR.
Oversight — Invoked Section 121, Electricity Act, 2003, empowering APTEL (Appellate Tribunal for Electricity) to monitor compliance and initiate *suo motu* proceedings against defaulting states.

Global Innovation Index 2025, and declining investor sentiment

GII 2025 — WIPO's Global Innovation Index evaluates 139 economies; India climbed to 38th (from 48th in 2020), 1st among lower-middle-income economies and in Central/Southern Asia; best in Knowledge & Technology Outputs (22nd), weakest in Institutions (58th).
Foreign-capital paradox — Despite ~8.2% average GDP growth (2021-24), net foreign investment fell from 80.1 bn (2020-21) to 4.5 bn (2024-25) — driven by PE/VC exits ($33 bn in 2024), FPI selling, and investor caution over geopolitical/policy risk.

2. Infrastructure & Maritime

Cabinet approves ₹69,725-crore maritime package

What — A four-pillar package to build indigenous shipbuilding capacity: extends the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) to 2036 (₹24,736 cr corpus), a Shipbreaking Credit Note (₹4,001 cr), a Maritime Development Fund (₹25,000 cr), and a Shipbuilding Development Scheme (₹19,989 cr).
Significance — Expected to generate ~30 lakh jobs, attract ~₹4.5 lakh crore investment, and expand domestic shipbuilding to 4.5 million Gross Tonnage annually; a National Shipbuilding Mission will oversee it.

Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling, and large ships as infrastructure

MLFF tolling — India's first comprehensive Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) — a barrier-less system — launches at Choryasi Fee Plaza, Gujarat (NH-48), using FASTag + RFID + ANPR readers; MoRTH plans 25 more fee plazas this fiscal.
Large ships — Commercial vessels of ≥10,000 GT (Indian-owned/flagged), or ≥1,500 GT if built in India, now qualify for infrastructure status under Transport & Logistics — part of Maritime India Vision 2030.

Hydel projects and cross-border rail links

Oju (Subansiri) project — Environmental clearance recommended for the 2,220 MW Oju hydel project on the Subansiri (Arunachal Pradesh, near the China border) — the largest planned project in the Subansiri cascade.
Sawalkote project — The long-stalled ~1,856 MW Sawalkote project on the Chenab (J&K) is fast-tracked following the Indus Waters Treaty's abeyance after the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
India-Bhutan rail links — Centre approved Bhutan's first-ever railway links: Kokrajhar (Assam)-Gelephu, 69 km, ₹3,456 cr; and Banarhat (WB)-Samtse, 20 km, ₹577 cr.

3. Schemes, Data & Industry

PM's Bihar visit — National Makhana Board and Sex-Sorted Semen facility

National Makhana Board — Launched at Purnea, Bihar, with a ₹475 crore development package; Bihar produces ~90% of India's makhana (fox nut), mainly in the Mithilanchal region ('Mithila Makhana' has a GI tag).
Sex-Sorted Semen facility — A ₹10 crore facility under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission at Purnea will use indigenous Gausort technology to produce 5 lakh doses/year with ~90% accuracy for female-calf births, cutting the cost burden of unproductive male calves.
Bamboo-based ethanol plant — India's first zero-waste 2G bioethanol plant inaugurated at Numaligarh Refinery, Assam — uses all parts of bamboo to produce 60,000 KL ethanol/year plus industrial chemicals.

5 years of the Blue Revolution (PMMSY)

What — The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (launched 2020, ₹20,050 cr, now extended to 2025-26) completed 5 years; fish production rose from 141.6 to a record 195 lakh tonne (2024-25), making India the world's 2nd-largest fish producer (~8% of global output).
Other impact — 58 lakh direct/indirect jobs created (incl. 99,018 women empowered); per capita fish consumption up from 5-6 kg to 12-13 kg; exports rose to ₹60,524.89 crore (2023-24).

Census 2027 data reforms

Geotagging — India's 2027 Census will introduce digital enumeration, self-enumeration, caste counting (after 1931), and geotagging of every building with GPS coordinates during Houselisting Operations (April-Sept 2026) to improve welfare-scheme targeting.
SRS Statistical Report 2023 — The Registrar General's Sample Registration Survey shows Total Fertility Rate down to 1.9 (below replacement 2.1), Infant Mortality Rate down to 25 per 1,000, and Sex Ratio at Birth improved to 917 girls per 1,000 boys.

Centre directs 65% of NREGS funds to water conservation

What — MGNREGA's Schedule-I was amended to mandate minimum expenditure on water works by groundwater status: 65% for over-exploited/critical blocks, 40% for semi-critical, 30% for safe blocks — mobilising ~₹35,000 crore.

Other economy, industry & scheme news — quick facts

Scheme / event	Key fact
Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Recycling	₹1,500 crore incentive scheme (part of the National Critical Mineral Mission) for recycling e-waste and lithium-ion battery scrap; expects ₹8,000 cr investment, 70,000 jobs.
Angikaar 2025	Nationwide outreach campaign (4 Sept-31 Oct, 5,000+ Urban Local Bodies) under PMAY-U 2.0 to accelerate urban housing implementation.
World Food India 2025	Largest-ever edition at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi; PM Modi and Russia's Deputy PM discussed a BRICS grain/food exchange.
BHARATI Initiative	APEDA's new scheme to empower 100 agri-food/agri-tech startups with a 3-month export-readiness acceleration programme.
National Maritime Heritage Complex	₹3,500 crore complex at Lothal, Gujarat (Sagarmala Programme), to include the world's tallest lighthouse museum and 14 heritage galleries.
EEPC India platinum jubilee	Engineering Export Promotion Council India (est. 1955) celebrated 70 years as the trade-promotion body for the engineering sector.
India-ILO MoU on occupational classification	MoU to adopt the ILO's International Reference Classification of Occupations (IRCO), aligning Indian job data with global standards.
Blue Ports framework	DoF-FAO agreement to develop 3 pilot Smart Fishing Harbours (Vanakbara-Diu, Karaikal-Puducherry, Jakhau-Gujarat), ₹369.8 cr investment, under PMMSY.
Bima Sugam	An online insurance marketplace launched by the Bima Sugam India Federation for end-to-end digital buying, renewal and claims.
Pink Tax	Not a real tax — a pricing phenomenon where women pay more for gender-marketed products/services; 67% of Indians surveyed had never heard of it (IFSA study).
Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) 3.0	DPIIT-ADB tool to benchmark industrial parks as Leaders/Challengers/Aspirers, adding sustainability, green infra and digitalisation parameters.
Maitri 2.0	ICAR's 2nd Brazil-India Cross-Incubation Programme in Agritech, promoting sustainable agriculture and digital-tech co-innovation.
AI for Viksit Bharat / Frontier Tech Repository	NITI Aayog initiatives — an AI adoption/R&D roadmap, plus 200+ impact stories across Agriculture, Healthcare, Education and National Security.
Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL)	RBI Governor urged CCIL (est. 2001) to widen currency settlement beyond USD-INR, supporting rupee internationalisation.
UPI in Qatar	NPCI International + Qatar National Bank enabled UPI QR acceptance across Qatar's merchant point-of-sale terminals.
Jharsuguda (Odisha) projects	PM Modi unveiled ₹60,000 crore of telecom, rail and higher-education projects in Odisha's mineral-rich 'Powerhouse of Odisha'.
Mahi Banswara Atomic Power Project	PM Modi laid the foundation at Napla near the Mahi Dam, Banswara district, Rajasthan (tribal Rajasthan-MP-Gujarat tri-junction).