Index of Industrial Production shows sectoral and use-based monthly shifts with revised estimates affecting recent months' industrial measurement.
Quick monthly estimates of the Index of Industrial Production for February 2014 report an overall year-on-year decline and marginal negative cumulative growth for April-February 2013-14. The release sets out sectoral indices for Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity with monthly and cumulative growth figures; identifies thirteen of twenty-two 2 digit manufacturing groups as contracting; provides use-based growth for Basic, Capital, Intermediate and Consumer goods; lists major items with large movements; and notes revisions to January and November indices with supporting sectoral and use-based statements.

Combination filing requirements clarified: substance over form and expanded informal pre-filing consultation to guide notices.
Amendments emphasize substance over form for the notification requirement, disregard structures meant to avoid filing, delete an ambiguous Schedule I entry on local nexus, remove an additional appellate condition, relax page-by-page verification for Form II, revise filing charges, and expand informal, nonbinding pre-filing consultation to include substantive guidance on notice preparation.

Residence-based taxation reform: scope of total income and chargeability under the proposed Direct Taxes Code reform.
The Direct Taxes Code, 2013 establishes a consolidated charge of income tax on every person's total income of a financial year, prescribes residence rules determining inclusion of foreign and India sourced income, and defines when income is deemed to accrue in India. It classifies income into heads-employment, house property, business, capital gains and residuary sources-and prescribes detailed computation rules (gross receipts, deductions, depreciation, capital allowances and rollover relief). The Code also introduces specific anti avoidance measures including transfer pricing rules, advance pricing agreements and a General Anti Avoidance Rule, together with detailed administrative, assessment, collection and dispute resolution procedures.

Advance Pricing Agreements secure multi year certainty by specifying arm's length price for covered cross border transactions.
The CBDT executed five unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements specifying the arm's length price for covered international transactions across several sectors, providing taxpayers multi year pricing certainty. The APA process includes pre filing consultations, detailed economic analysis, site visits and a functions, assets and risk (FAR) report prepared by the APA team and examined by the CBDT before submission for Central Government approval.

Failure to cooperate with investigation: regulator penalises a dominant online search provider and orders further compliance.
The Commission imposed a monetary penalty for failure to cooperate with an antitrust investigation after the Director General reported non-compliance with directions to furnish information and documents in probes concerning alleged abuse of market power in online search and search advertising, and directed the respondent to provide any further information or documents as required during ongoing investigations.

Repayment of Government Stock payable at par on maturity; payment via bank credit or pay order, tender securities early.
Repayment of outstanding 7.37% Government Stock, 2014 is at par on maturity; interest stops thereafter. If a local holiday prevents payment, paying offices in that State will repay on the previous working day. Maturity proceeds to registered holders shall be paid by pay order with bank particulars or by electronic credit to an account able to receive electronic funds; holders must submit bank account particulars in advance. If no bank particulars are available, holders may tender duly discharged securities at Public Debt Offices, Treasuries/Sub Treasuries or designated bank branches twenty days before maturity to obtain payment.

Advance tax deadline extended, permitting taxpayers to pay the final installment without interest for deferment.
Administrative extension permits payment of the final installment of advance tax for Financial Year 2013-14 from 15th March 2014 to 18th March 2014; payments may be made at designated authorized bank branches or electronically, and payments by the extended date will not attract consequential interest for deferment.

Wholesale Price Inflation shows moderation; monthly index unchanged and commodity groups register mixed upward and downward movements.
The Wholesale Price Index for All Commodities for February 2014 remained unchanged at the provisional month level while the provisional annual inflation rate moderated from the prior month. The release details group-wise movements: Primary Articles slightly declined, Fuel & Power edged down, and Manufactured Products rose marginally with divergent subgroup trends. It records provisional index levels and inflation rates, references annexes for commodity-specific changes, and notes a finalized prior-month index and the date for the next monthly release.

Anti-competitive pricing restraints: penalty and cease and desist directions imposed on association and responsible office bearers for fixing retail drug prices
The regulator found that the association issued circulars directing sale at MRP and prohibiting discounts, constituting anti-competitive practices that restrained trade and harmed consumers; the Director General's investigation supported findings that the association and its committees concertedly fixed sale prices and limited supply. The association, its office bearers and executive committee members were directed to cease these practices, to file a compliance undertaking within 30 days, and were subjected to penalties calculated as percentages of their respective turnover/income/receipts, with the penalty to be deposited within the prescribed period.

Consumer Price Index inflation shows a moderated annual rise across combined, rural and urban indices compared with the prior month.
Consumer Price Index provisional numbers on base 2010=100 were released for February 2014 and finalised for January 2014 for rural, urban and combined all India series, reporting general indices and point to point annual inflation rates; annexes provide group, sub group and State/UT provisional indices and specified category inflation, and group level indices are available on the Ministry website. The release notes price data are collected from selected towns and villages and transmitted via web portals.

Index of Industrial Production shows marginal annual growth, mixed sectoral performance and differential use based trends for January.
Release of Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production (base 2004-05) for January 2014 shows a marginal year on year rise in the General Index with flat cumulative growth for April-January; Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity indices display mixed year on year and cumulative trends. Manufacturing is reported at 2 digit NIC level with eleven of twenty two groups positive year on year and specified items cited for high positive and negative growth. Methodological notes explain data sources, differences with the Index of Eight Core Industries, and scheduled revisions to recent months' indices.

Trade balance narrows as exports rise cumulatively while imports, led by non-oil declines, contract in recent reporting period.
February 2014 foreign trade statistics show monthly exports fell in dollar terms while cumulative exports for April-February rose; imports contracted in February and cumulative dollar imports declined, led by lower non-oil imports and relatively stable oil imports, resulting in a reduced cumulative trade deficit for April-February. The release provides provisional US dollar and rupee figures with percent growth comparisons and tabulated export, import and trade balance data.

Interest rate revision for small savings schemes announced; scheme-specific rates take effect at the start of the financial year.
Revision of interest rates for central Government small savings schemes for the financial year 2014-15 is announced pursuant to the Government's decision implementing the Shyamala Gopinath Committee recommendation to undertake an annual revision. The Finance Minister approved scheme-specific rates effective from 01.04.2014, with modest adjustments to several time-deposit and recurring-deposit products and unchanged rates maintained for certain long-term instruments; formal notifications will be issued separately.

Bilateral investment protection strengthens India-UAE investment roadmap and accelerates sectoral cooperation and legacy issue resolution.
The India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments agreed to create a working group for cooperation on a strategic petroleum reserve, adopted an action plan to expedite joint working groups across Infrastructure, Investment & Trade, Energy, Manufacturing & Technology, Aviation, ICT and Legacy Issues, and established a plan to resolve outstanding legacy investor issues. The meeting highlighted a recent private-sector energy acquisition and invited Indian renewable energy firms to engage with an Abu Dhabi investor, while emphasising ratification and use of the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement to promote and protect reciprocal investments.

Virtual Clusters portal enables dispersed small businesses to network with stakeholders and access institutional support online.
A dedicated Virtual Clusters web-portal has been launched to supplement physical clusters by enabling dispersed small businesses to network online with banks, financial institutions, government bodies, NGOs, experts, consultants, trainers, academia and research institutions to share expertise and access services. The portal will be administered by the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development under the Ministry of MSME to provide governance, stakeholder engagement and support for MSME sector growth.

Infrastructure-led industrial development spurs job creation and integrated industrial cities under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project.
The DMIC expansion into Uttar Pradesh establishes Infrastructure led integrated industrial cities and investment regions-notably the Dadri Noida Ghaziabad Investment Region and an Integrated Industrial Township at Greater Noida-supported by transit oriented development, reliable utilities, recycling and smart technologies, sectoral industry clustering, an Integrated Transport Hub at Boraki, and a Multi Modal Logistics Hub at Dadri to improve connectivity, expedite freight and link agricultural cold chains to port corridors.

Dearness Allowance increase to Central Government employees and pensioners approved, raising entitlement and affecting pay calculations.
Release of an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) to Central Government employees and pensioners with effect from 01.01.2014, increasing entitlements under the Sixth Central Pay Commission formula; payments to be made in cash but not before the March 2014 salary disbursement, with stated annual and financial-year fiscal impacts.

Financial support for new design institutes approved, enabling undergraduate and postgraduate design programs to meet regional needs.
The Union Cabinet approved financial support to establish four National Institutes of Design at Jorhat, Bhopal, Vijayawada and Kurukshetra to create institutional capacity and infrastructure for delivering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in design disciplines tailored to regional needs and to expand geographic access to specialised design education.

Financial assistance to public sector company approved, enabling loans and DPE guideline relaxations to support operational turnaround.
Cabinet approved a revival package for HMT Machine Tools Limited including a non plan working capital loan of Rs.75 crore, an additional non plan loan of Rs.61.04 crore to cover the cost of implementing the 1997 pay revision, a waiver of interest on a Government loan, one time relaxation to implement the 1997 pay revision, Board empowerment to increase retirement age for up to 10% of retirees in any year, and extensions for utilisation of sanctioned technology and training funds, aimed at motivating staff and supporting turnaround.

Host Country Agreement enables establishment of IFAD Country Office in India to enhance coordination and project supervision.
Approval was granted for signing a Host Country Agreement between India and IFAD to establish an IFAD Country Office in India to expedite coordination, facilitation, supervision and dissemination of development best practices.