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October 03, 2025 India Rolls Out Key Policy Changes, Boosts Manufacturing, and Addresses Unclaimed Deposits

India has ushered in October 2025 with a series of significant policy changes impacting financial services, education, agriculture, and manufacturing. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched an incentive scheme for banks to return unclaimed deposits, while the Union Cabinet approved a mission for self-reliance in pulses and hiked Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Rabi crops. Furthermore, new rules came into effect across banking, pensions, and digital payments, and the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) received an overwhelming response.

Major Policy Shifts and Economic Initiatives Take Effect in India

The first few days of October 2025 have seen the Indian government implement and announce several crucial policy decisions and schemes, aiming to enhance financial inclusion, agricultural self-reliance, and domestic manufacturing capabilities. These developments are particularly relevant for students preparing for competitive exams.

New Financial and Regulatory Rules Effective October 1, 2025

India introduced a wide array of new rules and guidelines across various sectors starting October 1, 2025, focusing on financial flexibility, cybersecurity, fraud control, and consumer safety. Key changes include:

  • National Pension System (NPS) Overhaul: Non-government subscribers can now invest up to 100% in equity and diversify across multiple schemes using a single Permanent Account Number (PAN), offering greater flexibility in retirement planning.

  • RBI Cheque Clearing Reform: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is transitioning from batch-based cheque processing to continuous clearing, with phased implementation beginning October 4, 2025, to ensure faster settlements and quicker access to funds.

  • UPI Transactions: The P2P "collect request" (pull transaction) feature has been discontinued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enhance security and mitigate fraud risks.

  • Banking Charges and Agreements: Banks have introduced new or revised charges for lockers, debit cards, ATM limits, and service failures. Customers are also required to update their bank locker agreements as per new RBI norms.

  • NRI PPF Account Restrictions: Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are now barred from opening new Public Provident Fund (PPF) accounts, and extensions for existing ones are restricted.

  • Online Gaming Regulation: The Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Act has banned real-money betting and gambling applications, allowing only e-sports and skill-based games.

  • Railway Reservations: New Aadhaar-based guidelines have been implemented for booking general tickets online, restricting the first 15 minutes of general ticket reservation to Aadhaar-verified users to curb misuse by agents.

RBI Launches Incentive Scheme for Unclaimed Deposits

To address the growing issue of unclaimed deposits, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a year-long incentive scheme for banks, effective from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The objective is to encourage banks to actively pursue customers for reactivation of their inoperative accounts and return over ₹67,000 crore in unclaimed amounts currently lying in the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. Banks will receive graded payouts based on the period an account has remained inoperative and the deposit amount, with incentives ranging from 5% to 7.5% of the recovered sum, capped at ₹5,000 to ₹25,000.

Union Cabinet Approvals Bolster Agriculture, Education, and Research

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to several significant proposals:

  • Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses: Approved for a six-year period from 2025-26 to 2030-31, this landmark initiative aims to boost domestic production and achieve self-sufficiency in pulses, with a financial outlay of ₹11,440 crore.

  • Hike in Rabi Crop MSP: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for the 2026-27 marketing season. The sharpest hike was for safflower (₹600 per quintal), followed by lentil (masur) at ₹300 per quintal.

  • Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP) Phase III: The continuation of BRCP Phase III was approved, a collaborative effort between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Wellcome Trust (WT), UK, with a total cost of ₹1500 crore. This program aims to nurture top-tier scientific talent and promote interdisciplinary translational research.

  • New Kendriya Vidyalayas: Approval was granted for the opening of 57 new Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country, with an outlay of over ₹5,862 crore.

  • Dearness Allowance and Relief: An additional installment of three percent Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners was approved, effective from July 1, 2025, benefiting approximately 49.2 lakh employees and 68.7 lakh pensioners.

Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) Exceeds Expectations

The Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), launched in April 2025, has garnered an unprecedented response. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reported receiving 249 applications for incentives, committing investments totaling ₹1.15 lakh crore (approximately $13 billion), which is nearly double the original target of ₹59,350 crore ($6.7 billion). This overwhelming interest, with over 60% participation from MSMEs, projects a production value exceeding ₹10.34 lakh crore and is expected to generate 1.41 lakh direct jobs, significantly surpassing initial targets. The scheme aims to strengthen India's self-reliance in the electronics supply chain and position it as a global manufacturing hub.

Small Savings Schemes Interest Rates Unchanged

The government has maintained unchanged interest rates for all small savings schemes, including Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS), and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), for the October-December 2025 quarter. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter of stable rates for these popular schemes, providing predictability for small investors.

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