Independent advisory mechanism established to provide the Prime Minister with expert economic analysis and stakeholder informed advice.
An independent institutional mechanism has been constituted to provide the Prime Minister with expert economic analysis and formal advice on referred matters and macro economic issues; it comprises a chair, a member secretary and part time expert members and will convene meetings and consult stakeholders to formulate its advice.

Insolvency resolution for individuals and firms: draft procedural rules open for public comment to inform implementation approach.
IBBI released draft rules and regulations to govern insolvency resolution of personal guarantors and individuals carrying on business, prepared following a Working Group report, and invited public comments via its website with options for general or specific remarks tied to particular draft provisions and categories addressing consistency, implementation difficulties, and omissions.

Foreign Direct Investment approvals: Department cleared four proposals and recorded one withdrawal and one non-DEA matter.
Department of Economic Affairs disposed six FDI proposals totaling Rs. 85.45 crore: four approvals (including commencement of a micro housing finance company, acquisition of majority stake in India Ports & Logistics, and post-facto approvals for indirect investments in MF Utilities), one withdrawal of a CRISIL peer-to-peer lending proposal, and one proposal (HSBC corporate/structural changes) found not to lie before the Department.

VAT reduction on fuel lowers retail petrol and diesel prices in state after central guidance.
The state reduced the value added tax on petrol and diesel by four percentage points effective at midnight, producing immediate reductions in retail petrol and diesel prices; the cut follows central guidance and a recent central excise duty reduction and is projected to produce a measurable annual loss to state revenues.

Bid rigging findings prompt cease-and-desist orders and proportional penalties for collusive tendering in public procurement.
The Commission found Grasim Industries, Aditya Birla Chemicals and Gujarat Alkalies guilty of bid rigging under Section 3(1) read with Section 3(3)(d) for Delhi Jal Board PAC tenders, rejected the single economic entity plea for Grasim and Aditya Birla, described coordinated bidding through common channels as a fac ade of competition, issued cease-and-desist directions and imposed penalties based on percentages of average relevant turnover; a separate Liquid Chlorine reference found no contravention due to insufficient Director General analysis.

Resolution plan disclosure: plans must state how they address interests of all stakeholders, including creditors.
Amendment requires that a Resolution Plan include a statement explaining how it addresses the interests of all stakeholders of the Corporate Debtor, expressly including financial creditors and operational creditors; the change amends both the standard and fast-track insolvency resolution regulations and is published on the official corporate affairs and IBBI websites.

Ownership limits in information utilities allow temporary concentrated shareholding under amended regulations with residency and governance conditions.
Amendments revise permissible shareholding and governance for information utilities: for up to three years from registration a person, alone or with persons acting in concert, may hold an increased proportion of paid up equity share capital or voting power; an Indian company that is listed or has no individual holding more than ten percent may hold the entirety of paid up equity or voting power during the same transitional period. The amendment also requires that more than half of the directors be Indian nationals and residents in India.

Excise duty reduction on petrol and diesel to moderate retail fuel prices amid rising international crude costs.
Reduction of Basic Excise Duty on petrol and diesel lowers per litre excise levies on both branded and unbranded fuels effective 4 October 2017 to moderate retail price increases from rising international crude and product prices, and is described as a fiscal measure to protect consumers from price shocks while producing an estimated revenue shortfall for the year.

Women entrepreneurship spotlighted at global summit in Hyderabad, promoting networking, investment and mentorship for innovators.
A high-level India-US partnership is organising a global entrepreneurship summit in Hyderabad to empower innovators, with a policy emphasis on women entrepreneurs, using curated investor engagement, master classes, workshops, breakout sessions and networking to catalyse partnerships, funding and sectoral innovation across energy and infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences, financial technology and the digital economy, and media and entertainment.

Foreign borrowings fall as external commercial borrowings dominate and rupee bonds see limited issuance.
Indian corporates' foreign borrowing fell to USD 1.64 billion in August, composed of External Commercial Borrowings and Rupee Denominated Bonds. ECBs made up the majority, with most raised via the automatic route and a smaller portion via the approval route. RDB issuance was limited, temporarily halted earlier, and used by a single company during the month.

Bilateral Investment Treaty strengthens investor protections and aims to boost cross-border investment flows and economic cooperation.
Signing and ratification of a Bilateral Investment Treaty between India and Belarus will establish a bilateral legal framework to promote and protect cross-border investments, enhance investor confidence through legal protections and predictable treatment, and facilitate increased foreign direct investment and Overseas Direct Investment opportunities; the Treaty is positioned as a strategic initiative linked to Belarus's membership of the Eurasian Economic Union and forms part of India's wider BIT negotiation strategy.

Trade facilitation: early working groups to address market access and regulatory barriers between partner countries.
Agreement to convene early meetings of the Working Group on Trade & Investment and the Working Group on Trade Facilitation & Remedies to identify and address market access constraints, regulatory barriers and procedural obstacles affecting goods and services, with emphasis on inspections and registration for food and pharmaceutical facilities and facilitation of services and investment cooperation.

CEPA upgrading seeks expedited conclusion and enhanced cooperation on standards, conformity assessment, technology and investment facilitation.
Review of the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement focused on accelerated CEPA upgrading negotiations with a near-term completion goal. Ministers prioritized cooperation on standards and conformity assessment through mutual recognition arrangements, agreed to form a joint future strategy group to identify high-end technological collaboration, and endorsed cooperation on renewable energy expansion and bilateral investment facilitation, including continued support for KOREA PLUS.

Cooperative federalism drives a state-centre health partnership to prioritise systemic reforms and build state leadership for implementation.
The SATH initiative establishes a cooperative state-centre partnership led by state health leaders with NITI Aayog as enabler, supported by technical consultants to prioritize and implement reforms focused on strengthening human resources, infrastructure, governance and performance management, reducing maternal and child mortality in underserved areas, and integrating health technology; workshop generated action plans will be detailed and implemented under this framework.

Fuel taxation remains critical revenue source for states with liquor prohibition; Gujarat will mirror central policy on rates.
Fuel taxation is a principal revenue mechanism for Gujarat because liquor prohibition eliminates alcohol excise receipts; the deputy chief minister stated the state will follow the Union Government on any adjustments to VAT and cess on petrol, diesel and gas, reflecting reliance on central policy and recent increases in those levies which shape the state's revenue composition.

Portability of retirement savings to NPS: facilitating corporate transfers through process, product and distribution reforms.
Conference promoted regulatory and operational facilitation of portability from corporate superannuation and recognized provident funds into the National Pension System (NPS), focusing on process simplification, product modifications (lifecycle funds, alternative assets, online entry/exit), PoP capacity-building, and guidance for employers and intermediaries to support transfers while preserving subscriber choice.

Bid rigging finding: cease and desist directives and monetary penalties imposed on transport firms and responsible officials.
The Commission found that several coal and sand transport firms submitted identical high bids, constituting an agreement to fix prices in breach of the Competition Law's prohibition on price fixing and harming competition in public procurement. The Commission directed the parties to cease such anti competitive conduct, imposed aggregated monetary penalties on the ten firms calculated from their average turnover, and held eight officials personally liable with penalties for their participation.

Commemorative coin issuance announced for two birth centenaries, to be minted by the national mint under government authorisation.
Government notification authorises issuance of commemorative coins to mark the birth centenaries of Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi and Dr. M.G. Ramachandran, to be minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL). The announcement records that proposals for issuance were received from an arts Sabha for Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi and from the Government of Tamil Nadu for Dr. M.G. Ramachandran, and that the coins will be produced by SPMCIL under central minting authority.

State role in startup facilitation urged to expand incubation, funding and regulatory ease for broader entrepreneurial reach.
States are urged to play a central role in expanding the startup ecosystem by creating and scaling incubation facilities, operationalizing Fund of Funds routes via AIFs and VCs, and simplifying regulatory frameworks for disruptive technologies; outreach measures such as portals, helplines and learning programs are recommended to ensure startup benefits reach entrepreneurs in tier 2 and tier 3 locations.

Dearness Allowance increase approved, adjusting central employee pay and pension indexing to offset inflation from July onward.
Approval of an additional 1% increase in Dearness Allowance for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners, effective 01.07.2017, raises the existing DA/DR rate by one percentage point under the established indexation formula derived from pay commission recommendations and adjusts pay and pensions to reflect inflation.