Appreciable adverse effect on competition prompts invitation for public comments and objections on proposed merger.
The Commission formed a prima facie view that the proposed Bayer Monsanto combination is likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition and directed publication of transaction details under Section 29(2). Details were published in national newspapers and are on the parties' and Commission's websites. Under Section 29(3) the Commission invites written comments, suggestions or objections from persons adversely affected or likely to be affected, to be filed with the Secretary within fifteen working days of publication; unsubstantiated objections are unlikely to be considered.

Budget session scheduled to start Jan 29; Union Budget to be presented and Economic Survey tabled shortly thereafter.
The Budget session of Parliament will commence on January 29 with the President addressing a joint sitting and the Economic Survey tabled that day; the Union Budget will be presented on February 1. The session is arranged in two phases, January 29-February 9 and March 5-April 6, as recommended by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs after the Winter session ended.

Point of Sales product standards require simple, predefined life insurance offerings and specified product categories.
Guidance defines Point of Sales (POS) Products as plain vanilla life insurance offerings with every benefit predefined and disclosed at sale, prioritising simplicity and transparency. Permitted POS categories include pure term insurance (with or without return of premium), non linked non participating endowment (money back feature allowed), immediate annuity, and other product types only if expressly authorised by the regulator.

Accidental insurance coverage under PMSBY expands access and converges government accidental policies, boosting enrolments through bank-linked mechanisms.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) provides government administered accidental death and disability coverage for eligible bank account holders through public and private insurers in tie up with scheduled commercial, regional rural and cooperative banks, using bank account auto debit for enrolment and a fixed annual premium; the scheme relies on publicity, outreach camps and a multilingual portal to improve awareness and access, and consolidates central departmental accidental policies into the unified PMSBY framework.

Infrastructure finance reforms expand instruments and liberalise investment norms to attract long term capital for projects.
Government measures to mobilize long term capital for infrastructure emphasize innovative financing instruments (Infrastructure Debt Funds, Investment Trusts/REITs), an enabling municipal bond framework, relaxed External Commercial Borrowing norms, mainstreamed PPPs with take out finance and flexible loan structuring, relaxed institutional investor participation, liberalised Foreign Direct Investment under the automatic route for construction and development activities, and creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to attract domestic and international investment into commercially viable projects.

Anti-competitive supply restrictions: associations barred from mandating NOCs and PIS charges, penalties imposed under competition law.
The Commission found chemists and druggists associations required No Objection Certificates for appointing new stockists and conditioned product introductions on payment of Product Information Service charges, practices that limit and control supply of drugs and medicines and thus contravene competition law. The Director General's probe implicated both the local association and the state federation; associations and specified office bearers were directed to cease such practices and were held individually liable. Monetary penalties were imposed on the associations and on named office bearers, calculated as a percentage of average income under the statute, and the Commission warned of continued enforcement to protect market access and public interest in medicine distribution.

Make in India initiative drives large-scale skill development and placements in the leather sector, with concurrent livestock market rule notifications.
The Make in India Action Plan, via the HRD sub-scheme of the Indian Leather Development Programme, provided large-scale skill development and placement in the leather and footwear industry, with year-wise training, employment and FDI inflows summarized; separately, the draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules were notified for comment without specific consultation of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Ex post facto approval of MoU confirms bilateral responsibility allocation for co hosting and coordinating the entrepreneurship summit.
The Union Cabinet granted ex post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding between India and the United States for co hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017, which delineated bilateral responsibilities and areas of cooperation including logistics and venue requirements to ensure the Summit's smooth conduct and operational coordination.

Anti-dumping duty recommended on Chinese sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde to address dumping and material injury by domestic investigators
DGAD concluded that Chinese exports of Sulphonated Naphthalene Formaldehyde were exported below normal value and caused material injury to the domestic industry; following an application by a domestic producer, DGAD recommended imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty for five years and identified a duty level, with the Finance Ministry responsible for any final imposition as a WTO-consistent remedial measure.

Cryptocurrency not legal tender: trading remains at users' risk while a government committee reviews regulatory options.
Crypto-assets are treated as not legal tender, and private trading in cryptocurrencies is at users' own risk. The government maintains this consistent position and has established a committee, chaired by the economic affairs secretary, to examine cryptocurrency-related issues and propose specific actions; further measures will follow after the committee's report. The government also stated it is acting in accordance with existing law regarding related inquiries tied to international leak documents.

Confidentiality of liquidation value: disclosure limited to creditors under undertaking; plans must identify funding for dissenting creditors.
Amendments require a Resolution Plan to identify funding sources for payment of liquidation value to dissenting creditors and define Dissenting Financial Creditor as one who voted against or abstained. Resolution applicants must submit plans within the invited time. Liquidation value need not be included in the Information Memorandum; instead it is to be provided to committee members only after a confidentiality undertaking, and the interim or resolution professional must maintain confidentiality.

Index of core industries shows mixed sectoral growth, with strong gains in steel and cement and provisional recent-month data.
The release reports the Index of Eight Core Industries (base 2011-12=100), which account for 40.27% of IIP weight, presenting monthly, cumulative and annual indices and growth rates for November 2017 and April-November 2017-18. It shows sectoral divergences with notable monthly increases in Refinery Products, Steel and Cement, a marginal decline in Coal, and a small rise in Crude Oil. Industry weights are derived from IIP and scaled so the combined weight equals 100, and provisional status is noted for recent months with renewable electricity included since April 2014.

Asset sales and swaps to strengthen bank balance sheets and expand MSME-focused branches and cluster lending.
The finance ministry instructed public sector banks to consider selling, buying or swapping loan assets with other lenders to strengthen balance sheets and concentrate on core competencies, recommending portfolio reallocation by institutional expertise. It also urged opening MSME-focused branches and strengthening cluster-based lending, identifying clusters for enhanced financing and noting a revamped SIDBI portal to facilitate bank competition for MSME projects, set against broader capital infusion and reform measures addressing high non-performing assets.