Policy Ledger

The Policy Ledger

Every policy we write about, tracked from announced → notified → funded → implemented → measured. Each card shows the promise, the document that established it, the outcome we are tracking and the date we will check again.

Rural & welfareWatching

Nutrient Based Subsidy rates, rabi 2026–27

Keep phosphatic and potassic fertilisers affordable for the rabi season, with DAP held at ₹1,350 a 50 kg bag, at an estimated cost of ₹62,370.02 crore.

Announced11 November 2026

NotifiedNot yet

Funded11 November 2026

Implemented1 October 2026

MeasuredNot yet

Funded: Cabinet approved the outlay. Together with kharif 2026, P&K support of about ₹1.04 lakh crore is roughly 92 per cent above the Budget estimate.
Implemented: Rates apply retrospectively from 1 October 2026.
Tracking: Whether complex (NP/NPK) fertiliser output and sales recover towards target, and whether DAP's share of phosphate sales falls back.
Next check: 15 January 2027: Department of Fertilizers production and sales data for November–December 2026
Documents: Cabinet decision, 11 November 2026
Our analysis: A fixed DAP price and late subsidy rates are steering farmers towards India’s scarcest fertiliser

WorldWatching

Prohibition on exporting lithium-ion battery black mass

Keep black mass in India so that domestic recycling and refining plants get feedstock and recover more lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Announced11 November 2026

Notified10 November 2026

FundedNot yet

Implemented10 November 2026

MeasuredNot yet

Funded: A regulatory measure; no outlay. It complements the ₹1,500 crore recycling incentive scheme.
Implemented: In force with immediate effect, until further orders.
Tracking: Domestic black mass payables against export parity, formally collected battery tonnage, and utilisation of domestic refining capacity.
Next check: 10 May 2027: Six months of payables and collection data
Documents: DGFT Notification 49/2026-27, 10 November 2026 (via commerce ministry release)
Our analysis: India has borrowed Indonesia’s export ban for a market that works nothing like nickel

Growth & jobsEarly

Capex Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing

Capital support of 30 per cent of eligible investment for two lithium plants (at least 30 kt each) and two nickel plants (at least 50 kt each), capped at ₹500 crore and ₹900 crore per beneficiary, within an outlay of ₹2,814 crore over FY2026–27 to FY2030–31.

Announced4 November 2026

NotifiedNot yet

Funded4 November 2026

ImplementedNot yet

MeasuredNot yet

Notified: Scheme guidelines and the bidding process are still to come.
Implemented: Beneficiaries are to be chosen in two stages: technical qualification, then lowest capital support sought.
Tracking: Selection of beneficiaries, commissioning dates, qualified output and repeat sales to battery-grade buyers.
Next check: 31 March 2027: Publication of guidelines and call for bids
Documents: Cabinet decision, 4 November 2026
Our analysis: India’s mineral processing subsidy should buy supply that works in a disruption

Growth & jobsWatching

₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for critical mineral recycling

Develop capacity to separate and produce critical minerals from secondary sources such as battery waste and e-waste, under the National Critical Mineral Mission.

AnnouncedSeptember 2025

NotifiedNot yet

FundedSeptember 2025

ImplementedNot yet

MeasuredNot yet

Announced: Approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2025.
Implemented: The government says domestic recycling capacity is under-used for lack of feedstock.
Tracking: Recycling capacity created under the scheme and its utilisation once the black mass export ban applies.
Next check: 31 March 2027: Beneficiary list and capacity commissioned
Documents: Referenced in the commerce ministry release of 11 November 2026
Our analysis: India has borrowed Indonesia’s export ban for a market that works nothing like nickel

TradeDisputed

India–UK trade agreement: whisky tariff concession

Cut India's duty on UK whisky from 150 per cent to 75 per cent on entry into force, falling to 40 per cent by the tenth year.

Announced24 July 2025

Notified15 July 2026

FundedNot yet

Implemented15 July 2026

MeasuredNot yet

Funded: A tariff concession; the cost is forgone customs revenue.
Implemented: In force from 15 July 2026, but customs is examining whether bulk Scotch qualifies.
Tracking: Whether bulk Scotch, about four-fifths of volumes, clears at the preferential rate, and whether CBIC issues a classification instruction.
Next check: 31 December 2026: A CBIC instruction or ruling on heading 2208.30 versus 2106
Documents: Reporting on the tariff schedule and classification dispute (Vinetur, citing Reuters and The Financial Express)
Our analysis: Three customs questions decide whether a trade deal’s tariff cut is real

A stage is marked only when a document shows it happened. “Measured” requires published outcome data, not an announcement.