Corporate Social Responsibility allocation urged toward Swachh Bharat Mission during cleanliness campaign, companies mobilising employees and sponsoring awareness.
Companies are urged to direct a portion of their Corporate Social Responsibility expenditure to the Swachh Bharat Mission during the 'Swachhta Hi Seva' campaign; the Minister requested that firms allocate CSR funds to the mission, mobilise employees for cleanliness drives in identified localities, and sponsor local billboards to promote the cleanliness message, with the Swachh Bharat Kosh identified as a mechanism to receive CSR and philanthropic contributions.

Secretarial standards adoption guides MACS to benchmark ICSI norms for board and general meeting procedures.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs approved MACS's request to adopt ICSI Secretarial Standards as the benchmark for developing MACS standards; specifically the Secretarial Standard on Meetings of the Board of Directors and the Secretarial Standard on General Meetings, which were earlier approved under the statutory approval mechanism and effective from 1 July 2015.

Restriction on bank accounts for struck off companies: directors lose account authority until legal restoration restores company status.
Removal from the Register under the strike off process renders companies ceased to exist and converts incumbent directors and authorized signatories into ex directors and ex signatories, who cannot operate company bank accounts until the company is legally restored to active status; banks are instructed to restrict accounts of struck off companies and to consult the Registrar wise published list, while applying enhanced diligence to companies with statutory filing defaults.

Escalating airport levies and taxation hinder airline industry growth despite regional connectivity initiatives.
Escalating airport levies, surcharges and high taxation are identified as principal constraints on the domestic airline industry, impeding commercial viability and constraining capacity expansion. The report emphasises that existing airport infrastructure has not kept pace with rapid growth in passenger volumes and aircraft movements, creating urgent operational and investment challenges that must be addressed to realise sector potential.

IndAS alignment: draft amendment requires cost records and audit to reflect IndAS recognition and measurement, affecting spares, grants and depreciation.
The draft amendments align cost record recognition, measurement and disclosure with Indian Accounting Standards and Companies Act provisions by: treating qualifying spare parts and standby equipment as property, plant and equipment for recognition and depreciation under IndAS; requiring that subsidies, grants or incentives related to specific cost elements be reduced from those costs and, where recognised as deferred income under IndAS, be reduced in the financial year when the deferred income is recognised; clarifying employee cost to include employer cost of retirement benefits while excluding re-measurements in other comprehensive income for IndAS entities; and aligning depreciation/amortisation measurement to statutory and IndAS principles.

Base year revision of wholesale price index aligns WPI with other macroeconomic series and updates methodology.
Revision of the Wholesale Price Index base year aligns the index with other macroeconomic series and updates its methodology: the basket and weighting structure were revised, the item count and price quotations increased, indirect taxes were removed to approximate a Producer Price Index, a new Food Index was introduced, seasonality for fruits and vegetables was extended, item-level aggregation now uses Geometric Mean, and data collection was modernized with online submission and computer-assisted interviewing.

Confidentiality of internal advice may be needed as RTI can deter candid bureaucratic opinions during policymaking.
Bureaucrats are free to render candid advice during policymaking, but information disclosure mechanisms can inhibit frank internal communication by creating apprehension that opinions provided in the course of decision making will become public; this chill may exclude valuable suggestions, calling for a balance between transparency obligations and protections for internal deliberative communications.

Corporate governance reforms strengthen investor protection and compliance, tightening penalties and easing procedural burdens in corporate law
Amendments to the companies statute strengthen corporate governance standards, enhance investor protection, impose stricter consequences for defaulting companies, and simplify compliance procedures to improve transparency and ease of doing business while providing relief for small investors.

Sunset dates for centrally sponsored schemes aligned with Finance Commission cycles; ministries must undertake outcome reviews and resubmit schemes.
All centrally sponsored schemes must have a sunset date and undergo an outcome review; sunset dates and medium term frameworks are to be aligned with Finance Commission Cycles. By Department of Expenditure memorandum, at the end of the Twelfth Plan Ministries must undertake outcome reviews and re submit schemes for appraisal and approval unless already coterminous with the Finance Commission Cycle. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is excluded as it is statutorily governed, and the alignment process applies mutatis mutandis to subsequent Finance Commission Cycles.

Voluntary contributions to UN funds confirm government pledges covering a full annual cycle to multiple UN agencies.
Government of India made voluntary financial pledges to multiple United Nations funds and programmes, each itemised by recipient UN agency, the administering Indian ministry or department, and the pledged amount for the contribution period, covering development, humanitarian, environmental, health, policing, housing, revenue, external affairs and youth-related UN bodies.

Corporate social responsibility innovation promoted to drive effective, collaborative CSR programmes and sustainable development outcomes.
Promotion of corporate social responsibility innovation and stakeholder coordination to advance social development and nation building through CSR projects. The Compendium of CSR: Best Practices in India is presented as a tool to motivate effective CSR engagement, promote holistic implementation, and foster cooperation among corporations, NGOs and other stakeholders. Institutional support from the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs is highlighted to facilitate stakeholder synergy and guide sustainable development-oriented CSR programming.

Corporate Social Responsibility: publication of best practices to guide effective CSR project design and fund utilisation.
The publication documents exemplary Corporate Social Responsibility projects to raise visibility of company and PSU CSR activities, guide effective utilization of CSR funds, and provide replicable practices for sustainable development; it is coupled with an MoU between a CSR forum and a corporate affairs institute to advance joint CSR initiatives and capacity building.

Public consultation on insolvency regulations invites stakeholder input to shape and amend regulatory provisions.
The IBBI invites public comments on regulations under the Code, describing a consultative rule making process where drafts are published, stakeholder inputs and Advisory Committee advice are sought, and the Governing Board finalises notifications. Commenters must register on the IBBI website, select stakeholder category and specific regulations, choose General or Specific comments with prescribed classifications, and may submit multiple comments; the IBBI will process submissions together and consider modifications following due process.

Fast track insolvency resolution: 90-day streamlined process for eligible small companies, startups and limited-asset unlisted corporates.
The regulations create a time bound fast track insolvency process for eligible corporate debtors, requiring completion within 90 days (extendable once up to 45 days) and governing initiation, IRP appointment, and conclusion by Adjudicating Authority approval of a resolution plan. Eligible entities include small companies, startups and certain unlisted companies with limited assets; creditors or corporate debtors may apply with proof of default. The IRP may, within 21 days of appointment, apply to convert a fast track case into the normal corporate insolvency resolution process if the fast track is deemed inapplicable.

India Korea bilateral engagement: Finance Minister met President and business leaders to strengthen strategic economic partnerships.
Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley met President Moon Jae in to reaffirm bilateral engagement, urged early reconvening of the bilateral Joint Commission and the 2+2 Dialogue, and identified defence industry, infrastructure investment and manufacturing as priority areas for partnership; he also met senior leadership of major Korean companies and financial institutions and delivered the keynote at an India Korea Business Meeting attended by over one hundred Korean business representatives.

India-Korea financial cooperation expands with concessional credit lines and ODA to fund infrastructure and smart cities.
The Governments established a financing framework providing US$9 billion in concessional credit and US$1 billion in official development assistance to finance Indian infrastructure projects, with a senior-official mechanism to identify eligible projects and the option to deploy funds to Smart City projects; they also committed to promote investment flows and diversify bilateral economic ties.

Corporate Social Responsibility mandate rewards companies integrating sustainability and innovation into core business and CSR programs.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has instituted National CSR Awards under the statutory CSR mandate of Section 135, to recognise companies that adopt strategic, collaborative CSR approaches, integrate sustainability into core business models, conserve biodiversity in value chains, and employ innovative technologies to advance inclusive and sustainable development; eligibility aligns with the Companies Act CSR requirements and applications are accepted by application or nomination.

EDCF Agreement and EXIM-KEXIM MOU to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and infrastructure finance links.
An official visit to the Republic of Korea will advance bilateral economic and financial cooperation through the India-Korea Strategic Economic Dialogue, signing of an EDCF Agreement and an EXIM-KEXIM MOU to frame official development and export-import financing, delegation-level meetings with Korean finance and industry leaders, and participation in the AIIB Annual Meeting including seminars on Sustainable Infrastructure and Energy Strategy.

National Pension System changes expand corporate uptake and ease compliance for employers and employees widely.
PFRDA promoted the National Pension System to corporates, detailing implementation, tax treatment, onboarding, POP roles, annuity and transfer procedures, and reported strong subscription and AUM figures. Regulatory measures introduced include transferability of superannuation and recognised provident funds to NPS; two permitted changes to investment choice per year; acceptance of online account opening with e signing in place of physical forms; a new Alternative Investment Fund asset class "A"; two lifecycle funds (LC 75 and LC 25); and a reduced Tier I minimum annual contribution requirement.

Mutual regulatory cooperation fosters information sharing and coordinated supervision to develop and regulate cross border securities markets.
A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding establishes formal mutual regulatory cooperation between the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran to promote securities market development through technical cooperation, capacity building and a strengthened information sharing framework to support oversight, supervisory coordination and cross-border regulatory activities.