Investor outreach: Finance Minister to engage FIIs, NYSE and US CEOs to promote reforms and infrastructure investment.
Finance Minister will visit the United States for nine days to conduct investor outreach with FIIs, NYSE management and US financial CEOs, present India's economic reform agenda and infrastructure investment opportunities, and deliver policy talks on reform progress and digital growth; the Finance Secretary will accompany him.

Bilateral trade target to boost investment and sectoral cooperation, promoting FDI liberalisation and technology transfer.
A bilateral economic cooperation framework was adopted to expand trade and investment, emphasising investor facilitation and FDI liberalisation while inviting investors to national initiatives such as Make in India and Smart Cities. Implementation occurs via Joint Working Groups on Coal, IT and Food Processing, with coal cooperation focused on deep-mining and clean-coal technology transfer, food processing on market access, machinery exports and R&D collaboration, and IT on entrepreneurship, cloud computing, big-data, cyber-security, data protection and smart-city project cooperation.

Gold monetisation scheme: industry urges expanded collection network and balanced interest policy to boost participation.
Proposals for the Gold Monetisation Scheme call for a substantial increase in authorised collection centres to broaden access, an interest-rate mechanism calibrated to avoid excessively high or low returns, and formal consideration of these measures with stakeholders. The delegation also proposed nationwide seminars to raise awareness and address market challenges and opportunities related to scheme implementation.

Wholesale Price Index shows modest monthly rise while annual inflation remains negative, signaling disinflationary pressures.
The May 2015 Wholesale Price Index (base 2004 05=100) rose month on month to a provisional level above April while the annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI remained negative; build up inflation for the financial year to date was marginally lower than the corresponding period of the previous year. Primary Articles, Fuel & Power and Manufactured Products each showed distinct month on month movements: primary articles rose with mixed food and non food item changes, fuel & power posted a notable increase driven by petroleum products and electricity, and manufactured products recorded a small overall rise with divergent subgroup performance.

Jurisdiction for cheque dishonour prosecutions clarified: forum fixed at the payee's bank branch location, consolidating related complaints.
Clarification of territorial jurisdiction for prosecution under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is proposed through the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, defining the competent forum as the court within whose local limits the payee's bank branch, where the payee delivered the cheque for payment, is situated, and requiring subsequent complaints against the same drawer under section 138 to be filed before that same court irrespective of where those cheques were presented.

Service tax on air-conditioned restaurants: higher rate increases effective tax on total charges after majority deduction.
Restaurants with air conditioning or central air heating in any part of the establishment are taxable; establishments without such facilities are exempt. Taxable restaurants must deduct sixty percent of the total amount charged and apply service tax to the remaining forty percent, producing an effective tax on the total amount when multiplied by the statutory rate.

Auditor appointment cap narrowed by excluding certain company types from the count, easing reappointment constraints for auditors.
The amendment to Clause (g) of sub section (3) of section 141 excludes one person companies, dormant companies, small companies, and private companies with paid up share capital below the prescribed threshold from the aggregation used to determine whether a person or partner holds appointments in excess of the statutory ceiling, thereby changing the calculation for auditor appointment or reappointment.

Repayable at par: holders must provide bank mandates for electronic credit or tender securities at paying offices.
Government floating rate bonds are repayable at par on maturity with no further interest; repayments shall be made by pay order with bank account particulars or by electronic credit under the Government Securities Regulations, 2007, and holders must submit bank mandates in advance or, if absent, tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices within the prescribed advance period to obtain the discharge value.

Income tax return simplification: new ITR 2A and shortened ITRs with limited passport and bank disclosures and relaxed foreign-asset reporting.
A new ITR-2A is proposed for individuals and HUFs without capital gains, business/professional income, or foreign assets/income, enabling a main form limited to three pages with supplementary schedules filled only if applicable; passport number alone will replace detailed foreign travel disclosure; bank reporting limited to IFS code and account number for current/savings accounts held during the previous year while dormant accounts inactive for three years and account balances need not be reported; expatriates on business, employment or student visas need not report foreign assets acquired while non-resident if no income arose from them.

Bilateral cooperation enhanced through joint commission focusing on trade, knowledge exchange and investment exploration between two countries.
The 11th India-Saudi Arabia Joint Commission met to advance bilateral cooperation and economic ties, addressing trade and commerce, higher education, health, communications, culture and IT, and identifying opportunities for reciprocal investment. Co-chaired by senior ministers and attended by multiple Indian ministries, the meeting concluded with agreed conclusions and a plan to hold the next session in the partner country the following year to maintain structured dialogue and implementation.

Taxation of horseracing and betting affirmed; authorities may seize accounts and regulatory reform urged to stop revenue leakage.
Power of the Commercial Tax Department to enforce taxation on horseracing and associated betting operations includes authority to take necessary actions such as seizure of books of accounts. The Hyderabad Horse Racing and Betting Tax Regulation of 1358 F governs taxation of horseracing and connected betting, but the Court emphasised gaps in the Regulation and urged legislative or regulatory reform to prevent revenue leakage.

Manual on international exchange of tax information: procedures, scope of requests, confidentiality and automatic reporting standards.
The Manual prescribes procedures and legal basis for exchange of tax-related information under DTAAs, TIEAs, the Multilateral Convention and SAARC Agreement, obliging Competent Authorities to exchange information that is foreseeably relevant for treaty implementation or the administration and enforcement of domestic tax laws. It specifies categories of obtainable information, mandates use of a standardized request form (Form A), requires exhaustion of domestic means, sets processing, acknowledgment and feedback steps, and emphasizes confidentiality, permitted uses and limitations on disclosure.

Minimum Alternate Tax on FIIs: committee invites stakeholder submissions and may hold interactions to review the pre change period.
A committee on direct tax matters will examine Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) as applied to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) for the period prior to the operative change; stakeholders and industry associations are invited to submit written suggestions by the prescribed deadline via email or hard copy to the designated official, after which the committee will review submissions and may call representatives for interaction within a specified consultation window.

Purchase tax under Section 4(4) applies to VAT dealers buying agricultural produce, not farmers, ensuring declared-goods limits.
Section 4(4) taxes a VAT dealer who purchases taxable goods when the seller is not liable to VAT, not the farmer selling agricultural produce. The scope excludes goods expressly exempt under the VAT Act. The term input is broad and the first proviso apportions tax where a common input yields multiple outputs by taxing the proportionate input value attributable to outputs within clauses (i)-(iii). Declared-goods limits constrain aggregate state imposts so purchase tax and subsequent VAT cannot together exceed the prescribed ceiling.

Repayment at par of maturing government stock: holders must provide bank details for electronic payment or tender certificates early.
Repayment of the outstanding Government Stock shall be made at par on the respective maturity dates with no interest accruing thereafter; if a maturity date is a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, payment will be made on the preceding working day. Payment to registered holders in SGL/CSGL accounts or by stock certificate will be by pay order including bank particulars or by electronic credit, and holders must furnish bank account details in advance; absent such particulars, securities may be tendered discharged at designated paying offices twenty days prior to maturity.

Gold monetization scheme invites public consultation to replace existing deposit and metal loan regimes, enabling interest and loans.
Invitation for comment on a draft Gold Monetization Scheme to replace existing Gold Deposit and Gold Metal Loan Schemes, proposing metal accounts where depositors earn interest, jewellers obtain loans in metal accounts, and banks/authorized dealers may monetize deposited gold; the outline is consultative and does not constitute government commitment, with comments invited via the designated portal.

Minimum Alternate Tax on Foreign Institutional Investors: committee to review pre-amendment levy and recommend measures promptly.
A High Level Committee has been constituted to examine the levy of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on Foreign Institutional Investors for the period prior to 01.04.2015, to review relevant legal provisions and pronouncements, and to provide expeditious recommendations; the Committee may set its own procedures, consult stakeholders and revenue officers, and has a one-year term or as notified by the Government.

Service tax rate increase notified, with education cesses subsumed and effective date specified; Swachh Bharat cess timing pending.
Increase in the service tax rate to 14% is notified to take effect from 1 June 2015, implementing the Finance Bill, 2015 proposal and setting the operative date for the revised rate. Concurrently, the Education Cess and Secondary and Higher Education Cess cease to have effect from the same date as they are subsumed within the revised service tax rate, while the date for imposition of a Swachh Bharat cess will be notified later.

Advisory board on railway financing mobilizes guidance to attract and structure investment for infrastructure development.
An Advisory Board on Railway Finances was constituted to advise on attracting and structuring domestic and international investment for railway infrastructure, matching projects with appropriate financing sources, designing investor comfort measures, and ensuring sustainability of funding models; a Financial Services Cell was created within the Ministry to focus on financing strategy and project finance matching.

Job creation in industry and services enables shared prosperity; labor reform and skills training facilitate migration.
Creation of remunerative employment in industry and services is essential to broad based prosperity because agricultural productivity growth alone is insufficient for sustained long term growth or to absorb the agricultural workforce. Policy instruments to facilitate this transition include public investment in productivity enhancing agriculture, promotion of manufacturing and services under "Make in India", state led labor law reforms supported by cooperative federalism, proposed consolidation of central labor laws, an administrative portal enabling self certification for labor compliance, and accelerated skill development for rural workers to access urban jobs.