Acquisition approval: clearance for purchase of compulsorily convertible preference shares converting into equity in Nxtra Data.
Approval was granted for the acquisition of compulsorily convertible preference shares and certain equity of Nxtra Data Limited by Comfort Investments II, with the CCPS to convert into equity upon completion of a valuation; Comfort Investments II is a Mauritius SPV owned by funds advised by affiliates of a global alternative asset manager, and Nxtra Data is an unlisted Indian subsidiary providing colocation, cloud and managed services across multiple data centres in India.

Strategic partnership between India and ASEAN to expand trade and deepen cooperation in critical supplies.
Strategic partnership emphasizes Cooperation, Collaboration and Commitment to deepen India-ASEAN economic and supply-chain ties, with Aatmanirbhar Bharat positioned as calibrated self-reliance enabling engagement on equal and fair terms. The statement prioritises expanding bilateral trade, addressing commercial concerns via business forums, and leveraging India's pandemic-era exports and scaled-up medical and testing capacity to support collaboration on health security, supply-chain resilience, and joint economic recovery measures.

Decarbonising transport: national programme to build dialogue, modelling, and policy support to advance electric mobility and emissions reductions.
The India component of NDC TIA is a four year programme implemented by NITI Aayog with a six member consortium to establish a multi stakeholder dialogue platform for decarbonizing transport, strengthen GHG and transport modelling, provide technical support on emission reduction measures, advise on financing and EV demand supply policies, evaluate EV business models, and support policies to advance EV charging infrastructure and widescale EV adoption.

Merger control approval: Competition nod granted for acquisition of a controlling stake in an Indian pharmaceutical company.
The Competition Commission of India granted approval for Tau Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of KKR Asian Fund III L.P. and affiliate of KKR-managed funds, to acquire up to 64.90% of the share capital of J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited, an Indian listed pharmaceutical company; the CCI's detailed order will follow.

Merger control approval: private equity fund cleared to acquire equity stakes in multiple Indian healthcare and pharmacy firms.
The Competition Commission of India approved an acquisition by Lightstone Fund S.A., for and on behalf of Lightstone Global Fund, of equity stakes in 91Streets, Ascent, API, Aahaan and Lokprakash under Section 31(1). Lightstone is a reserved alternative investment fund managed by LGT Capital Partners (Ireland) Limited. 91Streets operates an e commerce and telemedicine platform and B2B pharmaceutical distribution; Ascent is engaged in pan India B2B pharmaceutical and nutraceutical wholesale and an order management application; API is presently non operational but its subsidiary develops healthcare software; Aahaan and Lokprakash carry out no business.

Innovation partnership expands startup support and scale up through shared programs, incubation, mentorship, and funding access.
AIM and the India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre signed a Statement of Intent to coordinate AIM programmes-including innovation challenges, incubation, community innovation centers, tinkering labs and mentorship-with the Centre's open innovation platform, ecosystem partners and networks to provide seamless onboarding, access to funding, showcases and scale up support for startups.

Merger approval: CCI clears acquisition of C&S Electric by Siemens, defining retained and transferred business scopes.
CCI approved the proposed acquisition of 100% of C&S Electric Limited by Siemens India as a notified combination; the transferred scope at closing will include low-voltage switchgear components and panels, low- and medium-voltage power busbars, and protection and metering devices, while certain businesses (MV switchgear and package sub-station, lighting, diesel generating sets, EPC, and the "Etacom" busbars business) will be retained by C&S's existing promoters.

Guidance on Section 92E reporting: accountant reports, documentation (Local/Master/CbC), ALP methods, safe harbour and APA options.
Every person entering into an international transaction or a specified domestic transaction must obtain and furnish an accountant's report under Section 92E by the prescribed specified date and retain prescribed Local File and Master File documentation to enable determination of the arm's length price. The Guidance Note explains statutory definitions, methods for computing arm's length price (CUP, RPM, CPM, TNMM, PSM), documentation requirements (Local File/Master File/CbC), safe harbour and APA mechanisms, use of multiple year data and range concept, and accountant obligations on verification, disclosures and maintenance of working papers.

Healthcare self-reliance to boost domestic manufacturing, digital data use, and global medical services leadership through technology.
The release emphasizes healthcare self-reliance through strengthening pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors, leveraging technology and patient data to improve diagnosis and curated care, and promoting preventive care via wellness centres while positioning India to supply medicines and medical services internationally.

Concessional credit for farmers expanded through Kisan Credit Card special saturation drive, extending relief under Aatma Nirbhar measures.
A special saturation drive provided concessional credit to farmers via Kisan Credit Cards, sanctioning 1.22 crore KCCs with an aggregate credit limit of 1,02,065 crore to enable immediate working capital access and support rural economic revival; this measure forms part of the Aatma Nirbhar package's concessional agricultural credit allocation intended to benefit 2.5 crore producers including fishermen and dairy farmers.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme expands guaranteed credit to businesses, with banks sanctioning and disbursing significant loans under the program.
The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) provides government backed guaranteed credit to mitigate COVID 19 distress, targeting MSMEs; banks in the public and private sectors have sanctioned and disbursed substantial loans under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package, with separate reporting of sanctioned amounts and disbursements by bank group, identification of top lenders, and compiled state wise and bank wise implementation data for monitoring outreach.

Fair and Remunerative Price linked to sugar recovery rate; mills below threshold receive a lower fixed rate.
Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane for 2020-21 is fixed with a base rate at a specified recovery benchmark; a premium is payable for each incremental increase in recovery above that benchmark, a reduction applies for recoveries below the benchmark but above a lower threshold, and mills at or below the lower threshold receive a fixed reduced price; the scheme implements growers' entitlement under the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966.

Working capital cap relaxation allows additional lending to DISCOMs to provide urgent liquidity amid COVID-19 revenue shortfalls.
One-time relaxation authorises designated financial lenders to exceed the working capital cap of 25% of prior-year revenues under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana to permit additional lending to power distribution companies, providing immediate liquidity to address COVID-19 induced revenue shortfalls and to facilitate state payments to DISCOMs.

Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme modification increases permissible AA-rated share and extends portfolio build-up period for banks.
Modification of the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 extends the portfolio build up period by three months and requires portfolio crystallisation based on actual disbursements for the guarantee to take effect. At the portfolio level, the permitted share of AA and AA rated instruments is raised to 50% of the total portfolio, increasing headroom for Public Sector Banks to purchase bonds and commercial papers issued by NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs under the Scheme.

Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report updates BRR formats to align with NGRBCs, introduces comprehensive and Lite formats, phased implementation.
The Committee replaces BRR with the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) comprising two electronic formats (comprehensive and Lite) structured into General Disclosures, Management and Process, and Principle wise Performance with Essential and Leadership indicators. It recommends phased applicability-initially to large listed companies and to unlisted firms above thresholds-integration with MCA21 (preferably XBRL), guidance notes, pre fill from statutory filings, capacity building, and future development of a Business Responsibility Sustainability Index.

Merger approval under competition law for a joint venture combining automotive component businesses across braking, chassis and powertrain.
The Competition Commission of India approved a proposed combination among Keihin Corporation, Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd., Showa Corporation and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. by way of a joint venture between Honda Motor Co. Limited and Hitachi Limited, consolidating entities active in the development, manufacture, sale and supply of automotive components in India, including braking systems, shock absorbers, powertrain and chassis systems; a detailed CCI order will follow.

Student entrepreneurship support enables ATL innovators with mentorship, prototyping, IP assistance and market launch pathways.
Atal Innovation Mission and Dell Technologies launched Student Entrepreneurship Programme 2.0 to advance commercialization of Atal Tinkering Lab student innovations by providing mentorship, prototyping and testing support, end-user feedback, intellectual property registration and patenting assistance, manufacturing facilitation, and market launch support, building on SEP 1.0's selection and incubation pathway through ATL Marathon, Atal Incubation Centres, and prior cohort outcomes.

Technology-enabled government procurement boosts transparency, mandates country-of-origin disclosure, and enforces supplier sanctions for noncompliance.
GeM expands technology-enabled procurement using Direct Procurement, e-Bidding and Reverse Auction to enhance transparency, competition and inclusiveness; mandates listing Country of Origin for sellers; applies interest for delayed payments; and provides for identification and exclusion of sellers supplying poor quality or charging excessive prices, with planned upgrades (GeM 4.0) and integration of major buyers to increase savings and efficiency.

Regulatory reform for traders urging customer awareness and licensing simplification to boost domestic manufacturing and market access.
Traders are urged to promote Make In India goods through customer awareness and whistleblowing against low quality imports, to include employees in the Traders Pension Scheme, and to join the Government e Marketplace. The Government seeks trade specific recommendations for reforms-including online licence issuance and payments, longer licence tenures, decriminalization of laws, ending discretionary enforcement powers, and simplification of rules-and announces that a National Traders Welfare Board will be constituted to consider these proposals alongside support measures in the Aatmanirbhar package and railways facilitation.

Authorised representative selection refined; voting instructions streamlined and simultaneous plan voting with required approval threshold established.
The interim resolution professional must offer three Insolvency Professionals from the State or Union Territory with the most creditors in the class to act as authorised representative; the authorised representative shall seek voting instructions only after circulation of meeting minutes, may circulate the agenda and seek preliminary views before the meeting, and the committee of creditors shall evaluate all compliant resolution plans per the evaluation matrix and vote on them simultaneously, with the plan receiving the highest votes and meeting the prescribed approval threshold considered approved.