Legacy tax dispute resolution: scheme offers dispute settlement and amnesty while raising appeal thresholds and expediting cases.
Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 provides a time bound mechanism combining dispute resolution and amnesty to settle legacy Central Excise and Service Tax disputes subsumed by GST from 1 September 2019 to 31 December 2019; reported application volumes and case pendency illustrate the Scheme's scope, while the Government has increased monetary limits for departmental appeals and constituted specialised judicial benches to expedite disposal.

Timely payments to MSMEs: enhanced dispute resolution, digital registration, receivables financing and mandatory reporting to enforce payment accountability.
Addressing delayed payments to MSMEs, the Government established MSE Facilitation Councils under the MSMED Act for conciliation and arbitration, launched the SAMADHAAN portal for online registration of delayed-payment cases, mandated onboarding of larger companies and CPSEs onto TReDS, and required companies that delay payments beyond the Act's deemed acceptance period to file half-yearly returns to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs stating amounts due and reasons for delay; MSME-Development Institutes assist bank committees in restructuring debts to avoid NPAs.

Portfolio manager regulation overhaul strengthens eligibility, governance, investment limits and custody requirements across the sector.
SEBI issued the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2019 strengthening personnel eligibility, clarifying the Principal Officer role, mandating additional qualified staff and custodians (except for pure advisers), raising net worth and minimum client investment thresholds, limiting discretionary investments to listed and specified instruments, and capping unlisted exposure for non discretionary/advisory managers. The Board also approved shorter rights issue timelines with dematerialized, tradable rights entitlements and mandatory ASBA, extended Business Responsibility Reporting to the top one thousand listed entities, and required prompt disclosure of loan repayment defaults continuing beyond thirty days.

Personal guarantor insolvency rules enable structured resolution and bankruptcy procedures for guarantor liabilities under the IBC framework.
Notification establishes a two-track regulatory framework for insolvency resolution and bankruptcy proceedings of personal guarantors to corporate debtors under the IBC, prescribing eligibility and duties of resolution professionals and bankruptcy trustees, procedures for verification and collation of creditor claims, creditor meetings and voting, contents of repayment plans, asset realisation and distribution, and Rules for applications to the adjudicating authority including initiation, withdrawal and public notice for claims.

Investor protection strengthened by new helpline for tracking claims and reporting suspicious investor claims via call centre support.
A dedicated Investor Protection helpline and call-centre solution, developed with CSC e-Gov SPV, enables claimants to track refund claim status, report suspicious claims, and provides hosting, support, maintenance and training; the application records and maintains calls and claim information. These operational measures support the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority's statutory mandate under the Companies Act to promote investor education and protection and to administer refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends and matured deposits/debentures.

Strategic disinvestment approved for multiple CPSEs enabling majority stake sales and transfer of management control.
Strategic disinvestment has been given in principle approval for 28 CPSEs permitting sale of the Government's majority stake and transfer of management control, while other CPSEs will follow minority stake sales without transfer of control through SEBI approved methods; final approvals for strategic disinvestment rest with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and no CCEA approval had been given for certain large CPSEs at the time of the statement.

Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process initiated against state paper company, liquidation ordered and liquidator to maintain going concern.
Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited's Assam mills underwent the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, leading to suspension of the Board, appointment of a Resolution Professional and Committee of Creditors, dismissal of an appellate challenge, and a Tribunal-ordered liquidation with an Official Liquidator instructed to maintain the company as a going concern while proceeding under the Code.

Homebuyers as financial creditors could change insolvency filing scope, reducing builder insolvency petitions for small payment defaults.
A substantial number of insolvency petitions by homebuyers against developers remain pending; the Ministry is considering adjustments to classify homebuyers as financial creditors and to redefine default to limit filings for minor or short duration payment defaults. Administrative measures to expand tribunal capacity include additional benches, appointment of members, member training, and implementation of an e court system to improve case management.

Company law decriminalisation: shift many compoundable offences to civil adjudication and rationalise penalties.
The Committee proposes decriminalising a substantial set of compoundable offences under the Companies Act by shifting 23 offences to the In House Adjudication Mechanism (IAM), omitting seven offences better handled by other laws or contempt/insolvency mechanisms, limiting imprisonment to fine only for eleven offences, and addressing five offences through alternate frameworks; it also recommends rationalising six IAM penalty amounts and retaining criminal treatment for serious non compoundable offences and fraud related defaults.

Financial service provider insolvency framework creates regulator-led initiation, administrator appointment and protections for third-party assets.
The Rules apply a modified insolvency and liquidation framework to systemically important Financial Service Providers (excluding banks), permitting CIRP initiation only by the appropriate regulator and mandating appointment of the regulator proposed Administrator who assumes insolvency professional powers. An interim moratorium starts on filing but excludes third party assets, which the Administrator takes control of and will manage as prescribed; licences remain in force during moratorium and CIRP. Resolution plans require the regulator's 'no objection' on fit-and-proper grounds; voluntary liquidation needs prior regulator permission and the regulator must be heard before liquidation orders.

Merger approval under the Competition Act enables amalgamation of BNPP and BOB mutual fund managers and trustees.
Approval under Section 31(1) authorises consolidation of BNP Paribas Mutual Fund and Baroda Mutual Fund by amalgamating BOB AMC into BNPP AMC and BNPP Trustee Company into BOB Trustee Company, with BNPP AMC and BOB TC as the surviving entities; BNPP AMC is also registered as a Portfolio Manager providing portfolio management and advisory services, while both entities' trustee and AMC roles are preserved in the restructured arrangement.

Rural development priority: government directs agricultural finance focus and NABARD support to enhance farmer income and energy participation.
The Union finance minister prioritised rural development and farmer welfare, directing NABARD to support timely procurement and renewable energy participation by farmers in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, emphasised water management and soil-health measures, encouraged NABARD collaboration with FPOs and SHGs to strengthen coastal and inland nutritional markets, and called for digitalisation-leveraging the JAM Trinity, fintech, analytics and AI-to deepen financial inclusion and modernise the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme.

Special Window for housing funding to provide priority debt financing and last mile support for stalled residential projects.
A Special Window is established to provide priority debt financing as last mile funding for completion of stalled Affordable and Middle Income Housing projects. The Central Government will act as Sponsor and commit funding up to the stated ceiling; the vehicle will be a professionally managed debt fund structured as a Category II AIF registered with the securities regulator, with a designated Investment Manager to extend structured debt to developers to enable project completion and delivery to home buyers.

MSME facilitation ordinance eases project approvals, paired with single-window digital investment services to promote Himachal Pradesh investment.
Himachal Pradesh promoted investment across eight focus sectors via a Global Investors' Meet, leveraging Invest India's India Investment Grid for digital facilitation and on-site investor registration. The State has enacted facilitation measures: an online Single Window System for approvals and renewals, online land purchase permission under section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reform Act, 1972, curtailed NoCs for construction permits, the HP MSME (Facilitation of Establishment and Operation) Ordinance, 2019 permitting project commencement without awaiting approvals, and sectoral policies including a tourism policy with capital investment subsidy.