Human Resource Audit modernizes railway workforce, introduces ERP-based HR management and a dedicated HRD accounting head.
A systematic Human Resource Audit will be undertaken to prepare the railway workforce for future demands and enhance organizational performance, including creation of a separate accounting head for HRD and development of an ERP-based Human Resource Management System to modernize personnel administration.

E catering integration broadens passenger meal choice via platform ordering, with centralised base kitchens to improve food quality.
The policy integrates private food chains into the e catering framework to broaden passenger meal choice and enable pre booking via the rail catering platform, with plans to extend the service based on customer response and to establish centralised Base Kitchens run by credible agencies to improve food quality. It also proposes widespread deployment of water vending machines to ensure affordable clean drinking water and reduce environmental impact.

Operating ratio proposal drives operational efficiency, accelerating decision-making and delegating tender approval authority to General Managers.
Proposed operating ratio for 2015-16 is reduced relative to prior years and is presented as a benchmark for improved financial performance; achieving and sustaining these efficiency gains requires faster decision making, tightened accountability, improved management information systems, workforce training, and increased transparency. To expedite procurement and reinforce decentralised accountability, tender approving powers have been delegated to General Managers.

Railway capacity expansion announced to boost passenger services, expand track network and increase freight carrying capability.
Railway policy announces expansion of national rail capacity: increasing daily passenger carrying capacity, expanding total track length by approximately twenty percent, and raising annual freight carrying capacity, as set out in the Railway Budget to scale infrastructure and meet growing transport demand.

Systems audit to review railway processes, paired with accountability, EPC contracting and improved project appraisal for timely delivery.
Proposal to conduct a systems audit of Zonal Railway processes, align delegation with defined accountability and apex monitoring, identify global benchmarks for key operating and maintenance activities, adopt EPC contracting across railways for timely project completion, strengthen project appraisal, and introduce simulation tools for planning and decision making.

Mobile phone charging facilities in general class coaches to be provided, with expanded charging in sleeper coaches under railway policy.
Mobile phone charging facilities are to be provided in general class coaches and charging points increased in sleeper class coaches as an operational railway policy to expand passenger amenities. Select premium trains may offer on-board entertainment on a license fee basis, with potential extension depending on response.

Delegation of powers to railway general managers to speed decision making and simplify freight and siding procedures.
Delegation of powers to General Managers is being expanded to speed decision making for stores and works tenders, with further decentralisation and de regulation planned. Freight rules will be simplified and made more customer friendly; Rail Transport Clearance from the Ministry has been abolished; and the process for private siding construction will be streamlined. These measures are accompanied by proposals for new governance structures, updated delivery mechanisms, management reforms and greater transparency to support the operational and regulatory changes.

Periodic Labour Force Survey to measure quarterly urban labour indicators and produce annual rural and urban labour estimates.
Periodic Labour Force Survey will provide quarterly urban estimates of Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio and Unemployment Rate, and annual rural and urban estimates including distribution of workers by industry and occupation and average earnings for self-employed, regular wage/salaried and casual workers.

FDI policy liberalisation expands sectoral access and regulatory easing, supporting industrial investment and facilitation measures.
Regulatory reforms relax industrial licensing by pruning covered industries, extending license validity, removing annual capacity requirements and deregulating defence capacity; tariff and procedural adjustments address inverted duty impacts. Parallel FDI policy liberalisation increases permissible foreign participation in key sectors and eases norms for construction and medical devices, while governance measures advance Ease of Doing Business through digital service integration, investor facilitation and promotional initiatives under the Make in India programme.

Price stabilisation in tea industry lacks current subsidy; support limited to marketing and replantation subsidies under development scheme.
Absence of a central price-support subsidy after termination of the Price Stabilisation and Plantation Crop Insurance Schemes leaves no current subsidy for price stabilisation; the Tea Board instead provides marketing, export transport and brand support. Under the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme (XII Plan) replantation unit costs and gestation-period crop loss are included in subsidy provisions covering replantation, replacement planting, rejuvenation pruning, extension planting, irrigation and mechanisation to raise production, productivity and quality.

Union Budget process establishes legislative presentation, appropriation, and fiscal controls over government receipts and expenditures.
The Union Budget is an annual financial statement requiring legislative presentation and presidential approval, prepared through a combined top-down and bottom-up process by the Ministry of Finance and spending ministries. Presentation requires presidential recommendation, laying before both Houses, general and detailed parliamentary discussion, scrutiny by departmental committees, voting on Demands for Grants, and passage of the Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill; a vote on account permits interim funding. The framework includes the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund and Public Account, cash-based accounting, audit and reporting by the Comptroller and Auditor General, and fiscal controls including FRBM obligations, MEP/QEA cash management, re-appropriation rules and procedures for supplementary demands.

Audit of banks: updated ICAI guidance aligns audit planning, KYC, fraud reporting, LFARs and IT/IPE controls with RBI directives.
Guidance Note consolidates updated audit and reporting obligations for bank statutory audits, aligning audit planning, risk assessment and evidence procedures with RBI circulars, Companies Act requirements and Standards on Auditing. It emphasises the specialised audit approach for banks (branch networks, product complexity, IT systems), mandates attention to KYC/AML, fraud reporting to RBI per engagement terms, preparation of Long Form Audit Reports, reconciliation of branch and head-office records, evaluation of IPE and IT controls, and appropriate disclosure of unaudited branch amounts and capital adequacy components in financial statements.

Tax devolution increase shifts resource transfers to states, reducing central fiscal space and altering grant-scheme roles.
The 14th Finance Commission recommended that States receive 42% of the net proceeds of Union taxes, shifting transfers from grants to tax devolution, thereby enlarging State transfers and reducing Centre fiscal space. It prescribed horizontal allocation parameters, structured five-year grants to local bodies with basic and performance components, and Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants for selected States. The Commission advised limited delinking of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, proposed flexibility in disaster fund use, and called for assured funding for national disaster relief if cess-based financing is subsumed under GST.

National Pension System Trust website launched to improve information dissemination and ease of access for NPS beneficiaries.
The National Pension System Trust, constituted by the regulatory authority to oversee assets under the National Pension System for subscribers, has launched a new official website to centralise information dissemination and provide ease of access to various beneficiaries, enhancing transparency, stakeholder communication, and digital access to pension-related guidance and resources.

Bipartite negotiations urged as the sole settlement mechanism; bank employees and unions asked to refrain from strike action.
The Finance Minister appeals to Public Sector Bank employees and unions to refrain from strike action and to call off proposed industrial action, stressing that bipartite negotiations between banks and unions are the sole appropriate mechanism for settling wage and related disputes and urging continued cordial, institutional bargaining.

Freight revenue growth signals increased commodity traffic and tonnage, led by coal and container volumes.
Commodity-wise freight revenue increased 12.43% and tonnage carried rose 4.64% during April 2014-January 2015, indicating higher yield per tonne. January 2015 freight receipts rose 13.96% year-on-year, led by coal and container traffic, with detailed commodity-wise tonnage and revenue contributions for cement, iron ore, food grains, POL, steel products, fertilisers and other goods.

Financial sector review to address bank performance and advance reforms through performance-linked capital infusion.
The Finance Minister will review credit off-take, Priority Sector Lending achievement and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana progress with CEOs of Public Sector Banks and financial institutions, and will pursue performance-improvement measures for PSBs/FIs, including continued capital infusion calibrated by performance metrics such as returns on assets and equity.

Climate finance grant enables SLACC project to strengthen rural livelihoods and adaptation, scaling practices into national livelihoods mission.
A grant agreement between the Government of India and the World Bank, financed from the Special Climate Change Fund, supports the SLACC project to strengthen resilience of rural production systems by building community institutions (with emphasis on women farmers) and aligning interventions with central schemes such as MKSP and MGNREGS. The project focuses on enhancing adaptive capacity of farm-based rural poor in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and scaling demonstrated practices into the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, designated as the implementing agency.

Bilateral trade cooperation strengthened with commitments to deepen sectoral collaboration and more frequent Joint Trade Committee meetings.
The Joint Trade Committee reaffirmed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade and to intensify cooperation in bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, health, energy, skill development, pharmaceuticals and tourism, and agreed to increase the frequency of meetings with the next session to be held in Nairobi to monitor progress and coordinate initiatives.

Delhi legislative assembly election 2015: Aam Aadmi Party 67 seats, BJP 3, AAP 54.3% vote share.
Status Known for 70 out of 70 Constituencies with party seat distribution: Aam Aadmi Party 67 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party 3 seats, totaling 70; party vote shares recorded as Aam Aadmi Party 54.3% (4,879,127 votes), Bharatiya Janata Party 32.2% (2,891,510 votes), Indian National Congress 9.7% (867,027 votes), and smaller shares for other parties.