Small savings interest rates revised, updating instrument-specific returns for the quarter and effective for the stated rate period.
Revision of interest rates on Small Savings Schemes effective 01.01.2018-31.03.2018, listing instrument-specific rates for Savings Deposit, various Time Deposits, Five-Year Recurring Deposit, Five-Year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, Five-Year Monthly Income Account, Five-Year National Savings Certificate, Public Provident Fund, Kisan Vikas Patra (with maturity tenor), and Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme.

WTO deliberations seek reinvigoration through informal ministerial meeting; Chair to present a concluding summary for participants.
Deliberations address institutional and policy dimensions of WTO functioning through an informal ministerial gathering to explore options for reinvigorating the multilateral trade framework. Delegations including senior ministers engage in candid exchange to identify political guidance and potential avenues to strengthen multilateral engagement. The meeting foresees a Chair's Summary issued by the hosting Commerce Minister to capture views expressed and provide political steer for subsequent WTO work.

Multilateral trading system needs political guidance; ministers to discuss reinvigoration and dispute settlement reforms and cooperation.
Safeguarding and strengthening the multilateral trading system is the primary operative focus, with ministers convening in an informal dialogue to provide political guidance on options to reinvigorate trade governance. The meeting concentrates on systemic challenges, notably the functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism, using free and frank exchanges to surface reform options and to shape subsequent formal negotiations and institutional responses.

Repayment of government stock at par requires bank mandate for electronic credit or physical surrender for discharge.
Repayment of outstanding Government Stock is payable at par on maturity with no further interest thereafter; if a State holiday affects the date, payment is made on the preceding working day. Maturity proceeds to registered holders in SGL/CSGL accounts or via Stock Certificate will be paid by pay order with bank particulars or by electronic credit to a bank account able to receive funds, and holders must submit relevant bank particulars or mandate in advance. In absence of such particulars, holders may tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices in advance to facilitate repayment.

Inclusive growth strategy expands employment, social protection and credit access to strengthen livelihoods and healthcare coverage.
Government policy prioritizes inclusive growth through employment and social infrastructure programmes such as MGNREGA, PMEGP, DDU GKY and DAY NULM, supported by budgetary measures to promote labour intensive sectors, MSMEs and expanded agriculture credit, together with a nationwide health protection initiative under Ayushman Bharat to extend secondary and tertiary hospitalization coverage to poor and vulnerable families.

Investor education used to expand awareness programmes and engage local e governance centres for rural outreach.
The government reported utilisation of a substantial portion of budgeted funds for Investor Awareness Programmes in 2017-18 to promote awareness of fraudulent schemes, informed investment decisions and remedial and grievance redressal options. Common Service Centre e governance Ltd was engaged to conduct rural outreach through Village Level Entrepreneurs, and CSCs are selected at panchayat level based on the experience and activities of the VLEs.

Atal Pension Yojana expansion: service providers mobilise accounts and extend pension coverage with guaranteed monthly benefits and nominee protection.
PFRDA recognised Atal Pension Yojana service providers after an outreach campaign that mobilised substantial new accounts, engaging public, private, regional rural, cooperative banks and the Department of Post to expand APY coverage. The scheme provides a guaranteed pension to subscribers and their surviving spouse, with accumulated pension wealth payable to nominees, follows the National Pension System investment pattern for central government contributions, reports realised returns, and contemplates administrative adjustments to eligibility and early superannuation to broaden coverage.

Economic growth strategy: government to facilitate private-sector-led manufacturing and services expansion leveraging technology and champion sectors.
A governmental economic strategy emphasizes the State's facilitative role to accelerate growth across manufacturing, services and agriculture by enabling private sector innovation and technology adoption. Operative mechanisms include promotion of twelve designated Champion Sectors, integration of manufacturing into global value chains, and support for small and medium enterprises, while policy planning will address technological disruption, climate change and demographic factors through interdepartmental and industry consultation.

Offshore structures exposure prompts a law firm to cease public operations amid reputational and regulatory fallout.
The firm ceased public operations citing reputational deterioration, adverse media coverage, financial consequences and irregular actions by authorities, while maintaining a smaller team to address requests from authorities and stakeholders. The closure is presented as a response to prolonged investigatory and public scrutiny following a large-scale unauthorized disclosure of internal records revealing client use of offshore businesses to manage assets, with continuing disclosures and significant political and professional consequences for persons named in the archive.

Gratuity amendment treats maternity leave as continuous service and lets government fix ceiling; passed amid parliamentary disruptions.
The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, passed by voice vote amid protests, treats maternity leave as part of continuous service for gratuity purposes and empowers the central government to notify the gratuity ceiling without amending the law. The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, also passed by voice vote during the disrupted sitting, proposes to grant a party the right to seek damages for breach of business contracts and to reduce judicial discretion in such matters.

Finance Commission interaction advances consultative TOR review and state consultations to address SDGs, disaster management and fiscal compensation.
The Finance Commission presented its Terms of Reference and workplan, sought stakeholder suggestions, endorsed inclusion of SDGs, disaster management, climate change and sanitation priorities, recommended re examining methods to assess State backwardness with focus on Aspirational Districts, and was urged to provide a fiscal roadmap including compensation mechanisms for GST revenue losses; it announced state consultations beginning with Arunachal Pradesh and invited written submissions.

Wholesale Price Index unchanged; monthly inflation eased with mixed sectoral movements across primary, fuel, and manufacturing.
Wholesale Price Index for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) for February 2018 remained unchanged, with annual WPI inflation at 2.48% and a year to date build up of 2.30%. Primary Articles declined-led by Food Articles-while Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas rose. Fuel & Power increased modestly due to higher mineral oils and coal prices. Manufactured Products recorded a slight monthly rise, with mixed movements across food manufacturing, basic metals, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment. The WPI Food Index inflation fell sharply in February. Detailed annexures show item level month, build up and year on year rates.

Stand Up India Scheme: collateral-free loans and streamlined access for eligible entrepreneurs, with bank-wise disbursal reporting.
The Stand Up India Scheme directs banks to provide collateral-free loans backed by a credit guarantee mechanism, with convergence with government schemes, a simplified online application portal, handholding support, a designated nodal officer, and lending limited to commercially viable proposals per each bank's Board approved policy; implementation metrics report cumulative loan disbursals across Public Sector, Private and Regional Banks and Scheduled Caste borrower sanctions by Regional Rural Banks.

Intellectual Property Rights: India reaffirms commitment, implementing National IPR Policy and strengthening enforcement and application processes.
India affirms a firm commitment to Intellectual Property Rights under the National IPR Policy 2016 and emphasizes measures to promote innovation, including awareness initiatives, strengthening enforcement agencies, judicial sensitization, and simplifying patent and trademark application processes.

Aadhaar biometric privacy restricted to authentication, unauthorized sharing criminalized and entities must follow encryption and safeguards.
Linking of Aadhaar with PAN and bank accounts uses a multi entity authentication model with PKI encryption, secured private connectivity, and UIDAI security guidelines; only authentication success/failure is transmitted. Core biometric information is prohibited from sharing or use beyond Aadhaar number generation and authentication, biometric data is deemed sensitive personal information under the IT framework, and unauthorized disclosure is subject to penalties and criminal sanctions under the Aadhaar Act.

Institutional oversight for aspirational districts to enforce inter-ministerial coordination and time-bound programme implementation.
A central review directed designated officers to act as catalysts for multi-sectoral development in aspirational districts by establishing an institutional mechanism for oversight and faster, time-bound implementation; operational measures include inter-ministerial coordination, HMIS data-sharing for health and nutrition monitoring, convergence of frontline workers, expansion of self-help groups and close collaboration with state governments.

Impact of Chinese goods on Indian industry: call for memoranda and oral evidence to inform parliamentary review.
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has invited memoranda and offered oral evidence to examine the impact of Chinese goods on Indian industry, directing stakeholders to submit inputs within a short timeframe and to consult the Rajya Sabha Committees web portal for procedural details; written communications are to be sent to the designated official at the Rajya Sabha Secretariat using the provided contact points.

IBBI draft mechanism for issuing regulations mandates public consultation, economic analysis, and urgent regulation procedures.
The draft requires the Board to obtain Governing Board approval and, before notification, to publish a draft regulation with the enabling Code provision, statement of the problem, economic analysis, international norms, implementation plan and timelines; allow at least 21 days for comments; consider and publish comments with a response; re-consult if the approved regulation is substantially different; notify regulations promptly with enforcement ordinarily after 30 days; and permits urgent regulations by Chairperson approval that expire after six months unless later approved.

Dearness Allowance increase announced, raising central employees' pay and pension rates under the revised pay commission formula.
Approval was granted for an additional installment of Dearness Allowance for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners, increasing the rate by two percentage points effective 01.01.2018 to offset price rise, applied to Basic Pay/Pension under the accepted computation formula.

Anti-competitive agreements: airlines penalised for concerted fuel surcharge fixing; penalties based on cargo turnover and cease-and-desist order.
The Commission found concerted fixing and revision of fuel surcharge by certain airlines to be anti-competitive under Section 3, issued cease and desist directions and imposed penalties. Penalties were calculated using the relevant turnover principle confined to air cargo transport revenue, applying a percentage of the average relevant turnover over the prior three financial years, and the Commission rejected use of FSC as a routine pricing tool rather than a volatility mitigation measure.