Dearness Allowance increase to Central Government employees and pensioners approved, raising entitlement and affecting pay calculations.
Release of an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) to Central Government employees and pensioners with effect from 01.01.2014, increasing entitlements under the Sixth Central Pay Commission formula; payments to be made in cash but not before the March 2014 salary disbursement, with stated annual and financial-year fiscal impacts.

Financial support for new design institutes approved, enabling undergraduate and postgraduate design programs to meet regional needs.
The Union Cabinet approved financial support to establish four National Institutes of Design at Jorhat, Bhopal, Vijayawada and Kurukshetra to create institutional capacity and infrastructure for delivering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in design disciplines tailored to regional needs and to expand geographic access to specialised design education.

Financial assistance to public sector company approved, enabling loans and DPE guideline relaxations to support operational turnaround.
Cabinet approved a revival package for HMT Machine Tools Limited including a non plan working capital loan of Rs.75 crore, an additional non plan loan of Rs.61.04 crore to cover the cost of implementing the 1997 pay revision, a waiver of interest on a Government loan, one time relaxation to implement the 1997 pay revision, Board empowerment to increase retirement age for up to 10% of retirees in any year, and extensions for utilisation of sanctioned technology and training funds, aimed at motivating staff and supporting turnaround.

Host Country Agreement enables establishment of IFAD Country Office in India to enhance coordination and project supervision.
Approval was granted for signing a Host Country Agreement between India and IFAD to establish an IFAD Country Office in India to expedite coordination, facilitation, supervision and dissemination of development best practices.

Corporate social responsibility obligation now requires companies to invest profits in social projects, driving infrastructure like school toilets.
A regulatory requirement directs companies to allocate a portion of profits to socially relevant projects under Corporate Social Responsibility. India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. funded 28 toilet complexes in 15 schools built by Sulabh International, designed for environmental compatibility and accompanied by short-term training to schools and communities on effective use and hygiene, with maintenance responsibility resting with schools, parents and teachers.

Khadi Mark regulation establishes identity and quality assurance, empowering authorized use and supporting Khadi sector reforms.
Refurbishment of Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan was completed with Village Industries grant funding; procurement is focused on KVIC recognised institutions and units supported under employment generation programmes, with targets to expand suppliers, product range and turnover. The Ministry is implementing the Khadi Reform and Development Programme to upgrade institutions, provide marketing support, and distribute modern charkhas and handlooms to improve productivity. The Khadi Mark Regulations establish standards and empower KVIC to authorize use of a Khadi Mark logo for identity and assurance of origin.

International North-South Transport Corridor dry run to boost multimodal connectivity and facilitate trade and energy cooperation.
A dry run of the International North-South Transport Corridor will test the Nhava Sheva-Bandar Abbas-Tehran-Bandar Anzali-Astrakhan route and advance multimodal connectivity; review of the Gazvin-Rasht-Astara railway linkage and feasibility studies was agreed. Azerbaijan confirmed support for ONGC Videsh Limited's acquisition of participating interests in upstream and midstream assets and the BTC pipeline, and both sides committed to form a Joint Working Group on hydrocarbons while exploring renewable energy, hydroelectric, hospitality investment and easing registration of Indian pharmaceutical products.

Wage payment channel requirement under MGNREGS mandates bank or post office accounts for disbursing wages, with limited exemptions.
Payment of wages under MGNREGS must be routed through accounts in banks or post offices under the revised Schedule II provision, subject only to specified exemptions. Cooperative banks have opened accounts to facilitate these disbursements, and there is no provision for additional compensation to those banks for carrying out wage disbursement functions under the scheme.

Agricultural debt waiver provided tiered relief to eligible farmers with full waiver for small holders and conditional rebates for others.
The ADWDRS, 2008 covered direct agricultural loans disbursed by Scheduled Commercial Banks, Local Area Banks, Cooperative Credit Institutions and Regional Rural Banks between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2007 that were overdue as on 31 December 2007 and unpaid up to 29 February 2008; small and marginal farmers received full debt waiver while other farmers received a 25% rebate conditional on payment of the balance 75%.

Duty-free jewellery limits reaffirmed; no proposal to change rules on carrying or wearing gold for incoming passengers.
There is no proposal to amend customs rules on carrying or wearing gold by passengers arriving from abroad; an earlier fiscal amendment to the Baggage Rules increased aggregate duty-free jewellery limits for Indian residents returning after residing abroad for over one year, with differentiated allowances by gender.

Skill development coordination: NSDA aligns national frameworks, databases and state plans to expand vocational training capacity.
Coordination of national skilling policy and implementation is led by the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), an autonomous body tasked with aligning and harmonising the Government's skilling efforts and facilitating achievement of national skilling targets. NSDA's functions include operationalising the National Skills Qualification Framework, rationalising central skill development schemes, creating and maintaining a national skills and labour market database, developing online education resources, advising on vocational training capacity expansion, and engaging State Skill Development Missions for convergence and planning.

E-insurance: repositories authorized to dematerialize and store insurance policies electronically under regulatory framework.
E-insurance has been introduced to hold insurance policies in electronic form through authorised repositories; the regulator granted certificate of registration to five entities to operate as insurance repositories, dematerialize paper policies, and open electronic insurance accounts for policyholders, providing centralised electronic custody and record-keeping of insurance policies.

Budgetary support for employee salary and statutory dues to relieve hardship and assist company revival and restructuring efforts.
Approval was granted for targeted budgetary support in the form of a Non Plan loan to HMT Limited for salary, wage and statutory dues for March-September 2013, and separate funds to HMT Machine Tools Limited for statutory obligations (including provident fund and gratuity) for September 2012-March 2013, directed at immediate discharge of employee claims and statutory liabilities while the companies pursue revival and restructuring.

Foreign investment approval permits acquisition of domestic payments firm by foreign entities, altering ownership structure.
Cabinet approval authorises acquisition of 100 percent equity stake in M/s Prizm Payment Services Private Limited by M/s Hitachi Consulting Software Services India Private Limited and M/s Hitachi Limited, Japan, enabling cross border investment and resulting in a material foreign investment into the country and transfer of complete ownership to the acquiring foreign entities.

Procurement preference for MSEs grants registered firms free tenders, EMD exemption and priority to match lowest bid.
The Single Point Registration Scheme of NSIC grants registered MSEs free tender sets, exemption from earnest money, and procurement priority allowing them to supply a portion of requirements by matching the lowest non MSE bid under a specified price band mechanism; the release also records an increasing state wise trend in MSE registrations over the three reported years with accompanying totals.

Foreign investment cap in telecom: automatic route allowed to a defined threshold; additional investment subject to prior approval.
The policy permits full foreign ownership in telecom subject to a two tier entry regime: foreign investment up to a defined automatic threshold is allowed without prior approval, while investment beyond that threshold requires prior government approval, and all investments must comply with security and license conditions notified by the telecommunications authority; the measure was formalised by an official press note following inter ministerial consultation.

Industry support schemes drive cluster modernization and facility funding for bell-metal artisans, enabling targeted raw-material and infrastructure aid.
Central assistance to the Assam bell-metal industry is delivered through MSME schemes - notably the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme, MSME-Cluster Development Programme and Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme - complemented by state industrial policy and NEIIP; a Model Common Facility Centre at Hajo Kamrup was approved with initial instalment released. Handicraft schemes administered by the Development Commissioner support cluster SHGs, a common facility centre, a raw material bank and targeted raw-material assistance to bell-metal and brass artisans.

Price Stabilisation Fund reform: MPSF proposed to restructure the scheme and address bottlenecks for beneficiaries.
Modified Price Stabilisation Fund (MPSF) Scheme is being formulated to restructure the existing Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) in order to address operational bottlenecks and make the scheme more beneficiary-friendly, following recommendations of government review committees, and is currently under government consideration.

Promotion of MSME: India Inclusive Innovation Fund to support grassroots innovation and strengthen enterprise development.
The Interim Union Budget reiterates MSME promotion through a public procurement policy, technology centres, common facility centres and the Khadi mark, and proposes creation of the India Inclusive Innovation Fund under the Ministry of MSME with an initial government contribution to support grassroots innovations and enterprise scaling.

Net borrowing correction confirmed for receipts budget; figures in annexure and paragraph to be read accordingly.
Correction of the Net Borrowing figure for the Receipts Budget 2014-15: the Net Borrowing amount is confirmed as Rs. 457321.43 crore and replaces entries at the main Capital Receipts page, Annexure-I (Sl. No. 1.02) and the referenced paragraph; an errata is being issued to record the change.