Foreign borrowings fall as external commercial borrowings dominate and rupee bonds see limited issuance.
Indian corporates' foreign borrowing fell to USD 1.64 billion in August, composed of External Commercial Borrowings and Rupee Denominated Bonds. ECBs made up the majority, with most raised via the automatic route and a smaller portion via the approval route. RDB issuance was limited, temporarily halted earlier, and used by a single company during the month.

Bilateral Investment Treaty strengthens investor protections and aims to boost cross-border investment flows and economic cooperation.
Signing and ratification of a Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and Belarus will establish a bilateral legal framework to promote and protect cross-border investments, enhance investor confidence through legal protections and predictable treatment, and facilitate increased foreign direct investment and Overseas Direct Investment opportunities; the Treaty is positioned as a strategic initiative linked to Belarus's membership of the Eurasian Economic Union and forms part of India's wider BIT negotiation strategy.

Trade facilitation: early working groups to address market access and regulatory barriers between partner countries.
Agreement to convene early meetings of the Working Group on Trade & Investment and the Working Group on Trade Facilitation & Remedies to identify and address market access constraints, regulatory barriers and procedural obstacles affecting goods and services, with emphasis on inspections and registration for food and pharmaceutical facilities and facilitation of services and investment cooperation.

CEPA upgrading seeks expedited conclusion and enhanced cooperation on standards, conformity assessment, technology and investment facilitation.
Review of the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement focused on accelerated CEPA upgrading negotiations with a near-term completion goal. Ministers prioritized cooperation on standards and conformity assessment through mutual recognition arrangements, agreed to form a joint future strategy group to identify high-end technological collaboration, and endorsed cooperation on renewable energy expansion and bilateral investment facilitation, including continued support for KOREA PLUS.

Cooperative federalism drives a state-centre health partnership to prioritise systemic reforms and build state leadership for implementation.
The SATH initiative establishes a cooperative state-centre partnership led by state health leaders with NITI Aayog as enabler, supported by technical consultants to prioritize and implement reforms focused on strengthening human resources, infrastructure, governance and performance management, reducing maternal and child mortality in underserved areas, and integrating health technology; workshop generated action plans will be detailed and implemented under this framework.

Fuel taxation remains critical revenue source for states with liquor prohibition; Gujarat will mirror central policy on rates.
Fuel taxation is a principal revenue mechanism for Gujarat because liquor prohibition eliminates alcohol excise receipts; the deputy chief minister stated the state will follow the Union Government on any adjustments to VAT and cess on petrol, diesel and gas, reflecting reliance on central policy and recent increases in those levies which shape the state's revenue composition.

Portability of retirement savings to NPS: facilitating corporate transfers through process, product and distribution reforms.
Conference promoted regulatory and operational facilitation of portability from corporate superannuation and recognized provident funds into the National Pension System (NPS), focusing on process simplification, product modifications (lifecycle funds, alternative assets, online entry/exit), PoP capacity-building, and guidance for employers and intermediaries to support transfers while preserving subscriber choice.

Bid rigging finding: cease and desist directives and monetary penalties imposed on transport firms and responsible officials.
The Commission found that several coal and sand transport firms submitted identical high bids, constituting an agreement to fix prices in breach of the Competition Law's prohibition on price fixing and harming competition in public procurement. The Commission directed the parties to cease such anti competitive conduct, imposed aggregated monetary penalties on the ten firms calculated from their average turnover, and held eight officials personally liable with penalties for their participation.

Commemorative coin issuance announced for two birth centenaries, to be minted by the national mint under government authorisation.
Government notification authorises issuance of commemorative coins to mark the birth centenaries of Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi and Dr. M.G. Ramachandran, to be minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL). The announcement records that proposals for issuance were received from an arts Sabha for Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi and from the Government of Tamil Nadu for Dr. M.G. Ramachandran, and that the coins will be produced by SPMCIL under central minting authority.

State role in startup facilitation urged to expand incubation, funding and regulatory ease for broader entrepreneurial reach.
States are urged to play a central role in expanding the startup ecosystem by creating and scaling incubation facilities, operationalizing Fund of Funds routes via AIFs and VCs, and simplifying regulatory frameworks for disruptive technologies; outreach measures such as portals, helplines and learning programs are recommended to ensure startup benefits reach entrepreneurs in tier 2 and tier 3 locations.

Dearness Allowance increase approved, adjusting central employee pay and pension indexing to offset inflation from July onward.
Approval of an additional 1% increase in Dearness Allowance for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners, effective 01.07.2017, raises the existing DA/DR rate by one percentage point under the established indexation formula derived from pay commission recommendations and adjusts pay and pensions to reflect inflation.

Startup governance reforms to strengthen state-level policy, incubation, funding and regulatory ease for business formation.
The conference addresses policy measures to strengthen the startup ecosystem by focusing on State-level governance reforms, development of incubation facilities, State-supported startup funds, and simplification of regulatory regimes; it also considers a framework to benchmark and rank States/Union Territories on their startup promotion initiatives to catalyse coordinated State action and promote systemic reforms.

Government commitment to promote startups: active facilitation and removal of obstacles to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Minister affirms a sustained government commitment to promote startups by actively removing obstacles and employing the power of the State to strengthen the startup ecosystem, characterising startups as drivers of economic and social change and endorsing risk-taking and facilitative executive action without specifying particular regulatory measures.

Viability Gap Funding conversion to interest-free loan; settlement mandates VAT/GST deposit and waiver of interest and penalty.
A cabinet-approved settlement converts the project's Viability Gap Funding into an interest-free loan payable quarterly from 2016 17 with repayment deferred to the sixteenth year after each instalment; IOCL must deposit applicable VAT/GST and immediately remit withheld VAT for specified past periods, while the State waives interest up to a stated date and waives penalties for those withheld payments.

National Nutrition Strategy prioritizes decentralised planning and community mobilisation to reduce under nutrition nationwide, with state led action plans and accountability.
NITI Aayog's National Nutrition Strategy sets a roadmap to reduce under nutrition by addressing four proximate determinants-health service uptake, food, water and sanitation, and income-and by improving real time measurement to target vulnerable mothers and children. It prioritises demand generation and community mobilisation, links a Kuposhan Mukt Bharat vision with sanitation and health initiatives, and enables States to adopt customised State and District Action Plans through decentralised planning, local innovation, greater panchayat and urban local body roles, and strengthened accountability for nutrition outcomes.

Geographical Indications promoted through social media campaign to raise awareness and support rural artisans and traditional products.
CIPAM has launched a #LetsTalkIP social media campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indications, defined as signs denoting products with a specific geographic origin and attendant qualities or reputation. The campaign aims to raise awareness of GIs' role in protecting handcrafted and locally manufactured products, supporting artisan livelihoods and rural economies, and aligning GI promotion with broader policy objectives; CIPAM will share GI stories on its social platforms and pursue further initiatives to promote registered GIs.

Cooperative and competitive federalism to guide policy priorities, strengthening state capacity and tailored state blueprints for development.
Rajiv Kumar's appointment prioritizes strengthening state government capacity under a framework of cooperative and competitive federalism, promoting participative, ground rooted policy making, and integrating cross cutting issues like agriculture, environment, water, finance and investment. NITI Aayog's operational focus will be on employment generation, investment enhancement, ease of doing business, agricultural transformation, and education and health reform, acting as consultant and catalyst while developing state specific blueprints and outreach to reduce regional inequalities.