Multilateral trading system protections urged to support trade recovery and cooperation among SCO members post pandemic.
India hosted the 19th SCO meeting of ministers for foreign economy and trade stressing enhanced intra regional trade and investment for post pandemic recovery. Four instruments were adopted: a Covid 19 response Statement on cooperation for access to medicines and trade facilitation; a Statement supporting a rules based Multilateral Trading System; a Statement on Intellectual Property Rights cooperation including legislative and enforcement information sharing; and an Action Plan to implement an MOU to stimulate MSME cooperation via information exchange, events, research and capacity building.

Depository receipts listing permitted in GIFT IFSC, allowing issuance and secondary trading subject to prescribed disclosure and home-jurisdiction compliance
IFSCA permits listing of Depository Receipts on GIFT IFSC exchanges by companies listed in FATF compliant jurisdictions, enabling capital raising through issuance and allowing DRs already listed elsewhere to be traded in GIFT IFSC without fresh public offerings. The framework prescribes essential disclosure requirements-financial statements, material or price-sensitive information, shareholding pattern, change of depository and corporate actions-while requiring continued compliance with home-jurisdiction corporate governance and disclosure obligations and mandating publication of home-jurisdiction disclosures to GIFT IFSC exchanges.

Form 27 compliance eased: single or joint filings, agent submissions, extended filing period, and streamlined priority translations.
Amendments permit a single Form 27 for one or multiple related patents, joint Form 27 filings by co owners, authorized agents to file on behalf of patentees, disclosure of approximate revenue/value accrued, extended filing time after the financial year, and no requirement for filings covering partial financial years; the Controller retains information seeking powers. Rule 21 amendments waive submission of priority documents available in the WIPO digital library but require verified English translations when priority validity is material to patentability.

Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines urged through a TRIPS waiver to improve global medical supply availability.
India urges multilateral action to secure timely and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines, supporting the TRIPS waiver proposed by India and South Africa to assist countries with limited manufacturing capacity and seeking a decision by MC12. The intervention prioritises a permanent solution on Public Stockholding for food security at MC12, a multilateral initiative for easier cross-border movement of health care professionals under mode 4, and fisheries subsidy negotiations that address industrial overfishing, apply the Polluter Pays principle, and preserve Special and Differential Treatment for developing countries.

Bullion exchange regulation creates a single regulated framework for bullion spot and derivative trading, enabling an integrated trading ecosystem.
The Authority approved regulations establishing a regulated Bullion Exchange ecosystem-covering functions, obligations, ownership and governance of the exchange and clearing corporation, rights and obligations of depositories, participants and beneficial owners, and registration of vault managers-to enable transparency, traceability and standardisation of bullion contracts and market intermediaries.

Startup ecosystem resilience and international collaboration driving innovation, scaling, and inclusive entrepreneurship during pandemic.
India's startup ecosystem has responded to the pandemic with agile digital solutions and expanded EdTech access; government measures - national awards, incubators, investor engagement, capital mobilisation and corporate partnerships - are framed as supporting innovation, scaling and monetisation. The SCO Startup Forum is presented as an international platform to share best practices, deepen cross border collaboration and broaden market exposure, with explicit emphasis on promoting women entrepreneurs.

Circular economy hackathon invites students and startups to develop cross border technology solutions and post event development support.
Launch of India-Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) by AIM and CSIRO to develop technology solutions across four themes-packaging waste, food supply chain waste, plastic waste reduction, and recycling energy metals and e waste-inviting shortlisted students, startups and MSMEs from both countries, selecting two winners per theme (one student and one startup/MSME) from each country, providing post hackathon development opportunities and awards, and emphasizing cross border research and scalable frugal innovation.

Income tax ITR AY 2020 21 instructions: eligibility, e filing/verification, schedules, deductions and validation rules.
Instructions for AY 2020 21 ITR forms define user eligibility and exclusions, mandate e filing and specified verification modes, require annexure less submission, and set precise, schedule level reporting rules for salary, house property, other sources, capital gains, exemptions and Chapter VI A deductions. They itemise deduction ceilings and special windows for certain investments, require completion of detailed schedules (80G, 80D, CG, VIA, DI, TDS/TCS/IT, AMT, PTI, CFL etc.), and impose exhaustive cross check and Category A validation rules to ensure internal consistency and statutory compliance.

Memorandum of Understanding for capacity building in accounting between ICAI and CPA PNG to strengthen professional standards.
Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Certified Practising Accountants Papua New Guinea to strengthen accounting, financial and audit capacity in PNG by holding technical events, cooperating on corporate governance, quality assurance, forensic accounting and CPD, sharing professional information and examination modules, instituting student and faculty exchanges, and offering short-term professional courses.

Cross-border listing of REITs and InvITs permitted, enabling listing and private placements on GIFT IFSC subject to home-law compliance.
IFSCA permits REITs and InvITs incorporated in FATF compliant jurisdictions to list on GIFT IFSC stock exchanges, allows InvITs to raise funds via private placements, and authorises IFSC registered trusts to invest in assets within IFSC, India and other foreign jurisdictions. Entities already listed in permissible jurisdictions or India may also list and trade on IFSC exchanges, subject to compliance with their home jurisdiction laws and IFSC exchange listing requirements.

Productivity linked bonus approval for non gazetted central employees enables immediate disbursement tied to prior-year performance.
Cabinet approval authorises payment of the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) and an ad-hoc (non-PLB) bonus for 2019-2020 to specified categories of non-gazetted central government employees, identifies beneficiary pools across departments, specifies aggregate beneficiary counts and overall budgetary implications, links payments to preceding-year performance, and directs immediate disbursement timed before major festival seasons.

Foreign Direct Investment liberalization increases inflows by simplifying entry conditions and enhancing investor facilitation measures.
Government policy measures prioritize Foreign Direct Investment liberalization, investor facilitation, and simplification of sectoral entry conditions to encourage non debt capital inflows. The summary links these reforms and ease of doing business initiatives to reported increases in aggregate and equity FDI volumes over recent comparative periods, treating monetary trends as indicators of the regulatory effect without creating new statutory obligations.

Kisan Credit Card expansion boosts concessional farm credit access and extends interest subvention to allied agricultural sectors.
Expansion of the Kisan Credit Card scheme via a saturation drive broadens access to concessional short-term agricultural credit for farmers, including fisheries and dairy, by increasing sanctioned credit limits and extending eligibility to animal husbandry and fisheries. The scheme's financial mechanism combines an interest subvention with a prompt repayment incentive to lower the effective cost of working capital, and raises the ceiling for collateral-free agricultural lending, thereby modifying borrower qualification parameters and credit delivery norms.

Pension regulator AUM milestone: NPS and APY assets cross landmark, driven by subscriber growth recently during pandemic
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority reports that AUM through the National Pension System and Atal Pension Yojana has exceeded the five trillion threshold, driven by substantial subscriber and corporate enrolments and growth in government and non government employee participation, while the regulator has implemented multiple digital and KYC based onboarding and lifecycle service measures including OTP/eSign, Offline Aadhaar onboarding, third party onboarding after KYC, e nomination and e exit to streamline access and administration.

Demerger and strategic disinvestment approved to separate operations and enable sale of government stake to a strategic buyer.
Cabinet granted in-principle approval for the demerger of Nagarnar Steel Plant from NMDC and for strategic disinvestment of the demerged company by selling the Government's entire stake to a strategic buyer. The demerger precedes and runs in parallel with the disinvestment, aiming to allow NMDC to focus on mining, create separate management accountability and clearer financial visibility, and enable existing NMDC shareholders to hold proportional shares in the demerged entity; the transaction is described as tax neutral for capital gains.

Acquisition of control: approval for majority share purchase in CG Power by Tube Investments enabling change in corporate control.
Approval concerns Tube Investments acquiring more than fifty percent of CG Power's equity, effecting a change of control that combines TIIL's engineering and industrial business verticals with CG Power's power systems and industrial systems operations, and the Commission's detailed order will follow.

Merger control clearance: acquisition of multiple solar generation subsidiaries approved, consolidating ownership under a joint venture.
The Competition Commission of India granted clearance for Adani Green Energy Twenty-Three Ltd, a joint venture controlled by Total Solar Singapore Pte. Ltd. and Adani Green Energy Limited, to acquire ten solar power generation subsidiaries from Adani Green Energy Ten Limited; the targets and the acquirer operate in solar power generation in India and a detailed order will follow.

Tax challenges arising from digitalisation: Pillar One reallocates residual profits to market jurisdictions; Pillar Two sets a global minimum tax.
The Secretariat models Pillar One (Amount A) reallocating a portion of residual profit from large, profitable MNEs in ADS and CFB to market jurisdictions based on destination based sales or users and nexus revenue thresholds, and Pillar Two (GloBE rules: IIR and UTPR) imposing a top up to an agreed minimum effective tax rate with options for jurisdictional blending and a formulaic substance carve out; under illustrative parameters these reforms could increase global CIT revenues by roughly USD 50-80 billion annually while producing modest direct negative effects on global investment and GDP.

Importers must possess specified origin information and respond to customs queries before claiming preferential FTA tariff treatment.
CAROTAR, 2020 requires importers claiming preferential tariff treatment to possess specified origin-related information (as set out in Form I) and to enter certain origin details in the bill of entry; customs must first seek this information from the importer before initiating verification with the exporting country, and may suspend preferential treatment, provisionally assess imports with bond and security, and subject subsequent filings to verification where due diligence is not demonstrated.

Investment promotion: keynote to showcase India as a destination and engage Canadian financial and sectoral investors.
Prime Minister to deliver keynote at an Invest India Conference in Canada to promote India as an investment destination and present investment opportunities to the Canadian business community, with participation from banks, insurance companies, investment funds and firms across aviation, electronics and manufacturing sectors.