Rollback of Advance Pricing Agreement: filing window extended for prior applications with proof of additional fee before agreement entry.
Sub rule (5) of the rule on rollback of Advance Pricing Agreements is amended to allow filing of rollback applications in Form 3CEDA with proof of payment of the additional fee at any time on or before the thirtieth day of June, 2015 or the date of entering into the agreement, whichever is earlier, where the APA application or the APA was filed or entered into prior to the end of March 2015.

Intergovernmental grants under the 13th Finance Commission: allocations specified to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for local bodies and projects.
Central government released intergovernmental grants under the 13th Finance Commission recommendations to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, itemising purpose-linked transfers. Andhra Pradesh's package lists Implementation of Statistical System, PRI/ULB/Special Area grants, additional central assistance for projects, and state-specific new initiatives. Telangana's package identifies PRI/ULB/Special Area grants and a related PRI/ULB grant line. The announcement sets out allocation categories and totals for each State without specifying disbursement mechanics.

National Small Savings Fund investment releases to states increase allocations of special state government securities for FY 2014 15.
Final disbursements under the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) were made to State Governments as investments in special State Government securities, representing transfers against small savings collections and receipts from redemption of special State/Central Government securities. These releases adjust State treasury liquidity and record the cumulative allocations credited to States for FY 2014 15.

Financial assistance under Section 90 supports formation of an SPV for the Polavaram Irrigation Project.
Assistance under Section 90 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 commits central budgetary support for formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle to finance and structure implementation activities for the Polavaram Irrigation Project in the relevant financial year.

Goods and Services Tax leadership: new Empowered Committee chair named by consensus to advance GST implementation.
Selection of a new chair for the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers was effected through intergovernmental consultation to facilitate implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. Broad consultations among states and union territories produced a consensus candidate to assume the chairmanship to strengthen committee governance and coordination in the GST transition process.

Reserve price methodology for FM radio auctions set by valuation mean, with fixed floor for border region channels.
TRAI recommends that valuation for FM channels in 253 new cities be the simple mean of three approaches based on population, per capita GSDP, FM listenership and per capita gross revenue, and that the reserve price for each such city be fixed at 80% of that valuation; for 11 border cities with population below 1 lakh a fixed reserve price as approved in Phase III policy is applied.

Financial disincentives on MSOs to enforce billing, electronic pre paid mechanisms, and protect subscribers' payment transparency.
Amendments to the QoS Regulations impose monetary sanctions on MSOs failing to issue bills and receipts, address non compliance that produces consumer grievances and opaque Subscriber Management System records, and require electronic implementation of pre paid options. A separate financial disincentive applies for failure to honour a subscriber's chosen pre paid or post paid model. MSOs have 60 days to align processes to these requirements to enhance billing transparency, consumer protection, and revenue accountability.

Transfer of sentenced persons enables inmates to serve remaining sentences in home state, promoting rehabilitation and family proximity.
Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons permits convicted Indian nationals in Qatar and Qatari nationals in India to be transferred to their home jurisdictions to serve remaining sentences, facilitating family proximity and social rehabilitation. Complementary MoUs establish cooperation in ICT for commercial and capacity building, scientific and technical collaboration in atmospheric and ocean sciences, diplomatic training exchanges, radio and television programme exchange, and daily English language news exchange between national news agencies.

Advance Reservation Period extended for train bookings, expanding the advance booking window under revised railway reservation rules.
The Ministry increased the Advance Reservation Period for bookings from originating stations to an extended booking horizon excluding the date of journey, permitting reservations for any journey commencing within that horizon. The general extension does not apply to certain daytime express and special trains that retain lower advance-reservation limits, and the existing long-range reservation ceiling for foreign tourists remains unchanged.

Issuance calendar correction for government dated securities clarifies auction week and maturity-wise allocation for scheduled issuance.
Corrigendum amends Sr. No. 21 of the Issuance Calendar for Marketable Dated Securities to read August 24-August 28, 2015, specifying a total auction amount of Rs. 14,000 crore allocated by maturity: 5-9 years, 10-14 years, 15-19 years, and 20 years & above with specified ranges for each bucket.

Undisclosed foreign assets taxable at 30% with heavy penalties; voluntary disclosure window allows regularisation under new law.
The Act charges tax at thirty per cent on an assessee's total undisclosed foreign income and assets, defined to include undisclosed foreign-source income and the value of assets located outside India for which no satisfactory source of investment is shown; computation disallows deductions and permits reduction only to the extent of previously assessed foreign income evidenced to the Assessing Officer. Assessments may be made on notice or to best judgment if the taxpayer does not comply; tax authorities exercise court-like discovery and production powers; an attached appellate and revision framework applies. Voluntary declarations permit payment of thirty per cent tax plus a penalty equal to that tax, with prescribed formality and timelines, and declared assets receive limited protection from wealth-tax and certain prosecutions if conditions are met.

FDI policy liberalization expands sectoral access, enabling increased foreign investment and administrative reforms to boost manufacturing.
Regulatory and administrative measures accelerate manufacturing growth through simplified procedures, corrected duty structures and expanded FDI policy allowing greater foreign participation in defence, railway infrastructure, construction, medical devices and insurance. Procedural relaxations to industrial licensing and classification of commencement of production aim to ease implementation. Infrastructure and facilitation measures include the e-Biz portal, multiple industrial corridors coordinated by a National Industrial Corridor Development Authority, the Make in India programme with 25 thrust sectors and an Invest India Investor Facilitation Cell, plus strengthened skill development via a dedicated ministry, apprenticeship amendments and textile/jute support schemes.

Cross LoC trade disruption due to narcotics seizures led to suspension and diplomatic intervention to restore movement.
Seizures of narcotics from trucks crossing the Line of Control led local authorities to detain drivers and seize vehicles while the other side initially refused repatriation, producing stranded drivers and held trucks; diplomatic intervention and bilateral zero point meetings subsequently resolved the impasses and trade was resumed, with a stress that cross LoC trade should not be made hostage to smuggling and alleged offenders be dealt with under law.

Lower excise duty spurred temporary production growth in the automobile industry, reversing prior declines across multiple vehicle categories.
Impact of a temporary reduction in excise duty on the automobile sector is described, with production statistics indicating that excise duty was reduced from February 2014 through December 2014 and subsequently reverted to the earlier higher level; during that reduced-duty interval most vehicle categories showed higher production and earlier negative trends were reversed, supported by comparative period data for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers, and totals.

Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board to review sector performance and support National Manufacturing Policy implementation.
The Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board was established to periodically review the manufacturing sector-including state-wise and sector-wise performance-assess implementation of the National Manufacturing Policy, and deliberate policy recommendations to support manufacturing growth.

Relaxed FDI norms in construction sector expand eligibility and simplify capital and exit requirements, encouraging affordable housing investment.
Amendment to the FDI policy for the Construction Development Sector eases area restriction norms, reduces minimum capitalization requirements and simplifies exit provisions, and exempts projects allocating thirty percent of project cost to affordable housing from area and capitalization conditions to encourage investment in serviced plots and low cost housing.

Special Economic Zones support agro and food processing exports while their contribution to overall SEZ exports remains limited.
Special Economic Zones under the SEZ Act, 2005 and Rules, 2006 have enabled nine formal approvals for Agro and Food Processing SEZs, eight notified and four currently exporting. Reported operational data show that physical exports from these SEZs during the first three quarters of 2014-15 comprised a modest share of total SEZ exports, as disclosed in a written ministerial reply.

Trade remedies and WTO challenges to reverse inconsistent import measures and protect exporters' market access.
The Government monitors and challenges import measures affecting Indian exporters through bilateral engagement, WTO Committee processes, and the WTO dispute settlement system, while also deploying trade remedies against unfair foreign practices. Recent actions cited include negotiated regulatory replacement to address transit seizures, withdrawal of safeguard duties on textile inputs by some countries, and a WTO dispute concerning inconsistent countervailing duty measures on steel, reflecting a combined strategy of monitoring, diplomacy, multilateral litigation, and trade remedy use to protect export market access.

Appointment of DRAT Chairpersons announced, imposing fixed-term limits and age-based tenure constraints for judicial incumbents.
Appointment of chairpersons to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals at Allahabad and Chennai was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, designating two judicial officers to serve as Chairpersons for a specified tenure subject to an upper age limit and applicable statutory tenure and eligibility conditions.

MoU for smart city consortium drives technology-led pilots and replication to implement a nationwide smart city program.
A MoU between Hitachi India Limited, Siemens Limited and CII establishes a technology-led consortium to design, pilot and replicate smart city projects nationwide, focusing on urban management areas such as water, public resources and public spaces, and relying on global best practices and private-sector technical capacity for implementation.