Abuse of dominant position triggers sanction and cease-and-desist for unilateral price hikes and unfair payment clauses.
Abuse of dominant position arose from unilateral and arbitrary raising of EWS flat prices without enabling provisions in the Scheme brochure or allotment letter, and from imposing a one-sided penal interest clause on delayed payments without a reciprocal provision for delayed possession; such conduct was treated as abusive under Section 4(2)(a)(i), resulting in a financial penalty and a cease-and-desist direction to prevent recurrence.

Populist policy definition to guide fiscal devolution, with incentives for states that avoid populist spending.
The 15th Finance Commission will define a populist policy for purposes of fiscal devolution and recommend monitorable, performance-based incentives for states that avoid populist expenditures and that expand tax coverage, adopt Direct Benefit Transfer, promote ease of doing business, and manage population growth, while operating under government-prescribed terms of reference and conducting wide stakeholder consultations.

Index of Eight Core Industries shows year-on-year growth, with mixed sectoral performance and provisional data noted.
The Index of Eight Core Industries (base 2011-12) records a year on year increase in January 2018 and positive cumulative growth for April-January 2017-18. Sectoral performance was mixed: petroleum refinery products, cement, electricity and steel showed notable positive monthly growth, while crude oil, natural gas and fertilizers declined; coal rose modestly. The release includes monthly and cumulative indices and growth rates, states recent months' data are provisional, and notes renewable electricity is included and weights are scaled from the IIP.

Bilateral investment promotion strengthens trade and encourages cross border investments across infrastructure, technology and manufacturing sectors.
A government led summit combined a minister chaired CEO roundtable with targeted B2B meetings to promote bilateral economic engagement, surface investment plans, resolve operational impediments and encourage investments in infrastructure, transport, energy, electronics, IT and manufacturing by highlighting domestic reform measures and investment propositions.

Regulatory oversight failures prompt calls for tighter law and stronger enforcement to deter and address large-scale bank fraud.
Inadequate regulatory supervision, deficient internal controls and lapses by auditors and bank management facilitated fraudulent letters of undertaking from a single branch to obtain overseas credit. The commentary stresses regulatory accountability gaps and calls for tightening legal and enforcement frameworks, enhancing regulator vigilance, pursuing fraudsters through criminal and civil processes, and using insolvency and recovery mechanisms to address wilful defaults and recover diverted assets.

Request for Proposal content standards for insolvency resolution invite public comments to strengthen transparency and evaluation clarity.
RFP content standards for resolution plans under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code should provide relevant information consistent with legal limits and clearly articulate the process, evaluation criteria, and timelines to ensure transparent, efficient bidding in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. Stakeholders are invited to submit comments identifying their name, role, and email to the designated feedback address to help standardise the RFP framework.

Memorandum of Understanding establishes programme-based research support to strengthen collaborative development research and capacity-building.
Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and Canada's International Development Research Centre establishes a framework for programme based research support to address global and local developmental challenges, committing the parties to cooperative research activities and capacity-strengthening across areas such as finance, agriculture, industry and health.

Electoral bonds: purchase and encashment rules confine donations to eligible parties through authorised bank branches.
The notification establishes an Electoral Bond mechanism allowing Indian persons and entities to purchase bearer instruments for political funding, restricts receipt to Political Parties meeting voting-strength criteria, limits issuance and encashment to designated branches of an authorised bank, requires encashment into the party's authorised bank account with same-day crediting, and imposes a short validity period after which bonds will not be paid.

Fiscal consolidation roadmap invites public input on fiscal status, GST impacts, debt and deficit management recommendations.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission seeks public and institutional suggestions to formulate a fiscal consolidation roadmap addressing Union and State debt, deficit and cash balances while promoting inclusive growth; it will assess the fiscal effects of enhanced tax devolution, the Goods and Services Tax (including transitional compensation and abolition of cesses), States' GST expansion, the necessity of revenue deficit grants, revenue mobilisation and non tax reforms such as Direct Benefit Transfers and public finance management, demographic progress toward replacement population growth, and sanitation and solid waste management measures.

NITI Aayog role in national policy expanded to mandate farmer price mechanisms, lessee credit access and a national AI programme.
Budgetary enhancement reinforces NITI Aayog's central policy role with specific mandates to ensure fair farmer prices, enable credit access for lessee cultivators without undermining landowner rights, and to launch a national programme directing artificial intelligence research and applications. The Aayog's remit spans design and implementation support through the Atal Innovation Mission, incubation funding, sectoral policy inputs, state engagement via cooperative and competitive federalism measures, and strengthened outcome based monitoring, evaluation and SDG tracking.

Ban on unregulated deposit schemes to criminalise illicit deposit taking and enable asset attachment and depositor restitution.
The proposed central Bill establishes an ex ante prohibition on promoting, operating, advertising or accepting deposits in Unregulated Deposit Schemes, creates offences for running such schemes and for fraudulent default, and empowers State designated Competent Authorities to attach and realise assets for disgorgement and restitution to depositors; it prescribes timelines, defines "Deposit" and "Deposit Taker," provides for courts to oversee repayment, and enables a central online database and Central Government authority to modify the list of Regulated Deposit Schemes.

Title correction: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code amendment's main title year amended to reflect the correct enactment year.
Corrigendum amends the main title of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, as published in the Gazette, by replacing the reference "Act, 2017" with "Act, 2018", an administrative correction to the printed title issued by the Secretary to the Government of India.

Tax devolution and grants framework to guide fiscal consolidation and state funding, including performance incentives and GST impacts.
The 15th Finance Commission is to recommend tax devolution between Union and States, allocation of State shares of divisible taxes, and principles and amounts of grants in aid under Article 275, assess fiscal impacts of GST and prior devolution, propose a fiscal consolidation roadmap for Centre and States, advise on augmenting State funds for Panchayats and Municipalities, consider performance based incentives for State reforms and programmes, and review disaster management financing under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Loan agreement secures multitranche financing for Rajasthan water sector restructuring, enabling canal rehabilitation and irrigation improvements.
Loan agreement between the Republic of India and the New Development Bank provides the first tranche of financing under a Multi Tranche Financing Facility to support Rajasthan water sector restructuring. The financing targets rehabilitation and modernization of the Indira Gandhi Canal to stop seepage, conserve water, remediate waterlogged areas, improve irrigation and drinking water supply, and enhance irrigation management through involvement of water users' associations. Implementation is to be carried out by the Government of Rajasthan, primarily through the Rajasthan Water Resources Department, over a six year period, pursuant to the Facility Framework Agreement and Project Agreement signed by authorised representatives.

Wholesale Price Index: marginal monthly rise while annual wholesale inflation eased, driven by food and manufactured product shifts.
The all commodities Wholesale Price Index for January 2018 rose marginally month on month to 115.8 (provisional) with annual wholesale inflation at 2.84% and a fiscal year build up of 2.30%. Primary Articles declined overall (notably Food Articles), Non Food Articles and selected Manufactured Products rose, Minerals eased and Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas increased slightly. Fuel & Power recorded a small uptick despite lower electricity prices. The WPI Food Index inflation rate declined compared with the prior month. Detailed annexes provide commodity level and six month trend data.

Extension of narcotics assistance scheme to fund enforcement capacity and rehab-focused demand reduction measures nationwide.
The central government extended the Assistance to States and UTs for Narcotics Control scheme to provide financial assistance to states and union territories and their anti-narcotics agencies for strengthening enforcement capabilities against illicit trafficking, with the Narcotics Control Bureau designated to process assistance requests. The scheme also funds capacity building and training and emphasizes a dual strategy of supply reduction through enforcement and demand reduction through rehabilitation and de-addiction measures.

Industrial production growth: general index rose year on year, driven by manufacturing and capital goods expansion.
Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production (base 2011-12) for December 2017 show a year on year rise in the General Index driven mainly by Manufacturing, with sectoral indices for Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity reported alongside 2 digit NIC breakdowns and use based classifications; the release lists high positive and negative item contributors by weight and records revisions to earlier months, with detailed statements and the next release date provided on the Ministry website.

Consumer price index revision indicates provisional rise in annual inflation; food price trends also signalled.
Provisional release of the Consumer Price Index (Base 2012=100) and Consumer Food Price Index for January 2018 presents all India and State/UT Rural, Urban and Combined indices, point to point annual inflation rates and month on month changes. Annexures provide group and sub group indices, category inflation rates, and State/UT breakdowns. Data collection and compilation methods are summarised, limitations noted where schedule receipt was low, and the indices for January 2018 are explicitly stated as provisional.

National Health Scheme implementation examined; advisory council reviewed modalities informed by health reform and fiscal coordination analysis.
Implementation modalities for the National Health Scheme announced in the annual budget were examined by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, informed by presentations on health reforms, fiscal-monetary coordination, and a World Bank report to guide policy and financing considerations.

Industry 4.0 promotes Smart Factory digitization to modernize manufacturing and support policy goals expanding employment and sector share.
The National Productivity Council designates Industry 4.0 as the theme to promote digitization, interconnection and Smart Factory concepts to enhance manufacturing versatility, resource efficiency and integration, and links this technological transition to policy goals of expanding the Manufacturing Sector, strengthening MSMEs for employment, and supporting national productivity through NPC's consultancy and regional presence.