Regional development forum convenes to prioritise connectivity, hydropower, agriculture, water management and tourism for northeastern growth.
The NITI Forum for North East convenes an inaugural meeting to coordinate sustainable economic growth in the North Eastern Region, prioritizing multi modal connectivity, hydro power development, agricultural and allied measures (organic farming, horticulture, soil health cards, reduced post harvest losses, expanded crop insurance, milk production), expedited irrigation and water management, and tourism promotion through eco , rural and adventure tourism and regional tourism council strengthening; the Forum operates as a periodic review and coordination mechanism with a DoNER secretariat and multi stakeholder membership.

Contributory Provident Fund ex-gratia: pre-1986 retirees receive fixed monthly ex-gratia plus dearness allowance.
CPF beneficiaries who retired between 18 November 1960 and 31 December 1985 receive a basic monthly ex-gratia by service group, plus a dearness ex-gratia equal to fifty percent and applicable Dearness Relief; CPF-covered employees retiring on or after 1 January 1986 are not entitled to monthly pension or ex-gratia, and there is no proposal to increase the rates.

Startup recognition and support streamlined processes, procurement preferences and IP incentives to boost entrepreneurship ecosystem
A national startup framework streamlines recognition to accelerate certifications and access to tax exemptions; integrates startup listings with the government e marketplace to grant relaxations in procurement criteria; and offers intellectual property incentives including fee rebates, free facilitation and expedited examinations. A Fund of Funds intermediates capital to venture funds for investments in startups, while the Startup India Hub provides a single point of contact for mentorship, fundraising, business plan support and an online learning program to strengthen ecosystem linkages.

Standard deduction applies to pension from a former employer, permitting a salaried deduction under Section 16.
Pension from a former employer is taxable under the Salaries head and is eligible for the standard deduction under the amended provision, allowing the taxpayer to reduce taxable income by the prescribed deduction or by the amount of pension, whichever is less, when computing income chargeable under Salaries.

Logistics infrastructure expansion to enhance trade connectivity and multimodal transport integration across supply chains and nationwide policy coordination.
Logistics infrastructure expansion and coordinated policy action are central to enhancing trade connectivity and supply chain integration. The government announced a major airport development programme and emphasised the need for a consistent, multi modal approach to logistics across infrastructure, services and transport modes to meet growing demand, using stakeholder engagement and public private dialogue as the primary mechanisms for improvement.

Trade remedy cooperation: expert group with Iran for information exchange, investigation support and capacity building.
An MoU establishes an expert group on trade remedy measures between India and Iran to enable information exchange, capacity building, and cooperative assistance in anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, and the Union Cabinet granted ex post facto approval.

Restructuring of the Competition Commission narrows membership to streamline merger review and improve administrative efficiency.
Rightsizing reduces the Commission to one Chairperson and three Members by not filling vacancies, aligning sanctioned membership with current practice and statutory limits; the change is presented as promoting administrative efficiency and supporting prior de minimis and computation methodology revisions that reduced merger filing burdens and are expected to speed hearings and approvals.

Employment generation package expands incentives for training, investment, cluster infrastructure, environmental upgrades and employer EPF support.
The special package implements the Indian Footwear, Leather & Accessories Development Programme (IFLADP) through seven sub schemes: placement linked and up skilling training with per trainee support; backend grants for plant and machinery to incentivize new units and modernization with preferential rates for MSMEs; institutional upgrades and new skill centres; graded infrastructure support for Mega Leather Clusters with capped government funding; funding for Common Effluent Treatment Plants; per brand marketing assistance; and an employer contribution subsidy for new employees during their initial employment period.

Regulatory reform for port and coastal infrastructure to mobilise private capital and modernize maritime support systems.
Regulatory reform for port and coastal infrastructure is essential: revise regimes via dialogue with private investors, experts and regulators to mobilise private capital, enable public-private cooperation, and align rules with environmental safeguards. Priority measures include port modernization, promotion of inland waterways through modal shift, and strengthening maritime support infrastructure-ship repair, dry docks, containerisation, bunkering and dredging-supported by technology, innovation and multilateral financing under frameworks such as SAGARMALA to advance the Blue Economy and reduce logistics costs.

Finance Commission consultation leads to state-level review of finances and stakeholder consultations in Arunachal Pradesh.
15th Finance Commission will undertake a state-level consultation in Arunachal Pradesh, conducting detailed presentations and a review of the State Government's finances and meeting the Chief Minister, state ministers and senior officials. The Commission will engage political leaders, tribal associations, women representatives, chambers of commerce, business leaders, progressive farmers and other stakeholders, and hold interactive sessions with Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, including a meeting with the Governor to inform its assessment.

Startup recognition and state ranking framework to assess and promote state-level startup ecosystems through benchmarked intervention areas.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion issued detailed norms establishing the State Startup Ranking Framework with seven intervention areas, thirty eight action points and a total score of one hundred marks to assess state performance across policy, incubation, seed and venture funding, regulatory simplification, public procurement and outreach and to encourage competitiveness and replication of good practices.

Government security repayment: maturity proceeds payable by electronic credit or pay order; holders must provide bank particulars promptly.
Repayment of a Government security will be made on the effective date of repayment which may be advanced due to intervening holidays; if a State holiday falls on that effective date, repayment in that State will be made on the previous working day. Maturity proceeds to registered holders in ledger or stock certificate form must be paid by electronic credit to the holder's bank account or by pay order with bank particulars; holders must submit bank account particulars or mandates in advance, or may tender discharged securities at designated paying offices up to twenty days before the due date.

Insolvency reform: treat home buyers as financial creditors, tighten 29A eligibility, and lower CoC voting thresholds.
The Committee recommends explicit recognition of home buyers as financial creditors, clarification and tightening of eligibility under section 29A (limiting disqualification to the resolution applicant and immediate connected persons while providing carve outs for specified financial entities and temporary relief for acquisition related NPAs), procedural reforms to the CoC (authorised representatives for large creditor classes, electronic voting, and reduced voting thresholds to 66% for critical decisions and 51% for routine matters), optional alternatives to bank certification for operational creditors, extension of IRP tenure until RP appointment, RP responsibility for statutory compliance, and allowances for up to one year to obtain regulatory clearances post plan approval.

Atal Pension Yojana enrollment expanded with digital eNPS access, guaranteed monthly pension and spouse/nominee protections.
Atal Pension Yojana reached 97.05 lakh cumulative subscribers by end of 2017-18, with significant year-on-year incremental growth; the scheme offers guaranteed tiered monthly pensions payable from pension commencement age, equal spouse pension rights, and return of accumulated pension wealth to nominees. Operationally, APY expanded digital access via ePRAN and statements online, mobile applications, eNPS online registration without physical documents, and an online grievance portal, measures credited with driving subscriber additions through banks and postal providers.

Pendency reduction in patent examination improved by procedural reforms, IT enablement, and limits on adjournments.
Reduction of patent application pendency was achieved by expanding examination capacity, recruiting 495 examiners and sanctioning additional posts, and establishing physical and IT infrastructure across patent offices. Computerized workflow, automation and IT enablement were implemented to improve examination speed and quality. Procedural reforms under the amended Patent Rules imposed timelines, limited adjournments, enabled electronic transfer of applications between branches, and permitted expedited examination and hearings via video conferencing to accelerate disposal.

Regulation of insolvency professional fees: consultation seeks disclosure, best practices and possible limits to ensure reasonable IRPC.
The discussion paper frames insolvency resolution process costs (IRPC) to include fees payable to resolution professionals, requires the Committee of Creditors to fix and ratify such expenses, mandates item wise disclosure by IRP/RP, and calls for publication of remuneration data to improve transparency. Noting instances of both excessive and token fee quotations and the difficulty of standardising services, it proposes a staged approach-identify cost elements (Annexure 1), publish data, promote best practices, and consider targeted regulatory interventions (ceilings, floors, bands, percentage links or time based estimates) if market failures persist-and invites stakeholder comments.

Regulation of insolvency professional fees: consultation seeks views on disclosure, best practices and potential fee caps.
The consultation seeks views on whether and how the fee payable to insolvency professionals, insolvency professional entities and other professionals and related insolvency resolution process costs under CIRP should be regulated, including completeness of cost elements, mandatory fee disclosure, promotion of industry best practices, and potential prescriptive measures such as ceilings, floors, percentage linkage or time based estimation, together with means to ascertain and minimise costs.

Real-time monitoring of aspirational districts via public dashboard to enable delta ranking based on incremental progress.
NITI Aayog released a baseline ranking of Aspirational Districts based on 49 indicators across five areas and circulated a Best Practices document. A public "Champions of Change" Real-Time Monitoring Dashboard will accept district data after training, produce MIS reports, and enable a Delta Ranking from May that ranks districts by incremental progress. The programme emphasises Convergence of schemes, Collaboration among officials, and Competition among districts to drive cooperative and competitive federalism.

Education loan interest subsidy continuation expands access with revised loan ceiling, moratorium adjustment and accreditation conditions, plus monitoring dashboard.
Continuation and modification of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans and the Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme were approved for 2017-18 to 2019-20 with a specified financial outlay; operative changes include a Rs. 7.5 lakhs loan ceiling, moratorium of course period plus one year, prospective accreditation requirements limiting subsidised loans to accredited professional/technical programmes or designated institutions, and establishment of a monitoring dashboard to increase collateral-free loan coverage and target economically weaker students.

Employer contribution subsidy under PMRPY expanded to cover initial employment period, incentivising formal hiring and social security access.
The Government expanded the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana to provide full admissible employer contribution support for the initial three-year period after a new employee's registration, extending coverage to all sectors and to existing beneficiaries for their remaining entitlement period to incentivize formal hiring and broaden social security access.