Business responsibility guidelines updated to NGs; public consultation open to inform reporting and principles framework.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued draft National Guidelines (NGs), updating the 2011 National Voluntary Guidelines in light of the Companies Act, 2013 and global changes, and invited public comments until August 10, 2018. The draft, prepared with an Expert Committee and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, contains five chapters and four annexures and requests focused input on Chapter 2 (Principles and Core Elements) and Chapter 5 (Business Responsibility Reporting Framework). Respondents must use the provided response form and submit comments by the deadline for Review Committee consideration.

Registered Valuers urged to maintain professional conduct and adopt regulated self-regulation under valuation rules for trusted valuations.
Registration certificates were awarded to the first Registered Valuers under the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, establishing an institutional framework that endorses regulated self-regulation via Registered Valuers Organisations. Valuers are required to maintain professional behaviour, competence and accountability in determining intrinsic value-notably in insolvency contexts-while remaining able to undertake other lawful valuation work within applicable legal limits.

Decriminalisation of company law offences: propose reclassification to civil penalties with in house adjudication and adjudicating officers
A ten member Committee will review penal provisions under the Companies Act, 2013 to consider de criminalisation by reclassifying certain compoundable offences as civil defaults subject to penalties by an adjudicating officer, and to assess whether some non compoundable offences can be made compoundable; it will also propose an MCA21 driven in house adjudicatory mechanism, improvements to penalty levy, draft law changes, and report recommendations to the Central Government.

Notifiability of mergers: CCI launches online DIY guidance to determine when combinations require notification.
CCI has launched an online "Do It Yourself (DIY)" guidance toolkit to assess notifiability of mergers and acquisitions under the Competition Act, 2002. The interactive application uses a staged assessment based on the Act, CCI regulations and exemption notifications from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to guide stakeholders in determining whether a proposed combination requires notification, as part of CCI's outreach and compliance simplification measures.

Tax reform One Nation One Tax strengthens investor confidence and supports infrastructure financing expansion ambition to scale AIIB financing.
The statement calls for scaling up multilateral infrastructure finance through AIIB and outlines policy measures to attract institutional and foreign capital: simplification of business rules, enhanced transparency and predictability, the Goods and Services Tax as a unifying tax reform, and deployment of funding mechanisms such as Public Private Partnerships, Infrastructure Debt Funds, Infrastructure Investment Trusts and development of brownfield assets to mobilise pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds.

Rule of law drives multilateral infrastructure investment; India seeks further AIIB project commitments to expand sector lending.
India seeks additional AIIB commitments for nine further infrastructure projects, focusing on rural infrastructure, energy and power, environmental protection, transportation and telecommunications, water supply and sanitation, urban development and logistics. The statement attributes project flows to a robust procedural framework and the prevalence of the rule of law, and links enhanced multilateral engagement to national goals of universal access to housing, continuous electricity, sanitation, clean water, road connectivity and internet access.

Business Responsibility Reporting: draft guidelines require structured disclosures across governance, social, environmental and consumer indicators.
The document solicits public comments on revised National Guidelines, focusing on Principles and Core Elements and the Business Responsibility Reporting Framework. It requires use of a prescribed response form and requests stakeholder inputs on nine business principles, proposed edits, and a detailed set of quantitative and qualitative indicators across governance, sustainable products, labour and human rights, stakeholder engagement, environmental management, public policy advocacy, community impact, and consumer responsibility for integration into final Guidelines.

Cross-border insolvency framework proposed: Model Law-based recognition, COMI rules, moratoriums and cooperation with foreign representatives.
The draft introduces a Model Law-based cross-border insolvency chapter for corporate debtors, defining COMI presumptions, recognition procedures for foreign proceedings and representatives, documentary requirements and a time-bound recognition decision. Recognised foreign main proceedings may attract moratoria and specified reliefs to protect assets and creditor interests, while foreign representatives and creditors have prescribed access and participation rights subject to safeguards, exclusions for certain foreign tax and social security claims, public policy exceptions, cooperation mechanisms between authorities, and Central Government notification powers.

Base year revision updates statistical methods and data sources, aligning systems to improve reliability of national economic indicators.
Periodic base year revision integrates new and higher frequency data sources, revises item baskets and methodologies, and links old and new national account series by re estimating recent years and splicing earlier years so growth rates remain comparable while detailed additivity may change; parallel methodological upgrades to price and production indices and expanded employment measurement through household, establishment and administrative data aim to improve coverage, timeliness and reliability of macroeconomic indicators.

Homebuyer as financial creditor enables initiating corporate insolvency and participating in creditor committees to influence resolutions.
The ordinance designates an allottee of a real estate project as a financial creditor, granting the homebuyer the right to initiate corporate insolvency resolution proceedings, to join and vote on the committee of creditors, and to stand on parity with other financial creditors in liquidation, thereby allowing direct participation in and influence over the resolution process aimed at completion or transfer of projects.

Recognition of home buyers as financial creditors expands their rights and access to insolvency proceedings and creditor representation.
The Ordinance recognises home buyers as financial creditors with representation in the Committee of Creditors and the ability to initiate insolvency proceedings. It establishes stricter withdrawal rules requiring creditor approval before publication of expressions of interest, reduces voting thresholds to promote resolution, refines bidder disqualification and eligibility procedures including affidavits and a limited grace period for certain distressed-asset holders, and provides special dispensation and exemptions for the MSME sector along with measures to facilitate interim finance and regulatory development roles.

Academic encouragement: Felicitation of Olympiad winners promotes imagination and balanced life through extracurricular engagement and yoga.
Felicitation of Olympiad winners emphasised cultivating imagination, observation and daydreaming as productive habits for innovation, paired with active life practices like Yoga to ensure wellbeing; the Minister praised academic preparation over personality as the measure in exams and commended teacher and institutional roles in wide participation and award distribution across the Science Olympiad Foundation's international examinations.

Institution of Insolvency Professionals must be robust to inspire stakeholder confidence and ensure value oriented insolvency resolution.
The institution of Insolvency Professionals must be robust, efficient and collectively reputable to inspire stakeholder confidence; IPs act as the bridge between adjudicating authorities and stakeholders and must guide Committees of Creditors to comply with the Code, avoid avoidable practices that add time and cost, and focus on resolving corporate insolvency with liquidation as a last resort while preserving assets for value creation.

Market regulator: propose statutory fixes and protocols to tackle market failure and regulator overlap in competition governance.
A call for a dedicated market regulator to address market failure and new-economy competition challenges such as first-mover advantages, common shareholding, vertical integration and financing cartels; and a recommendation to resolve jurisdictional overlap between the Competition Commission of India and sectoral regulators through statutory amendments and formal engagement protocols, noting CCI's cross-sector expertise and the importance of enforcement tools and advocacy including leniency provisions.

Administration of law and justice cooperation pledged, including prison reforms, cyber security and capacity building with Barbados.
Meetings with Barbados' Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs focused on administration of law and justice, prison reforms, constitutional law, cyber security, international terrorism, and technical and economic cooperation, with India offering assistance in skill development, capacity building, and training in legal and parliamentary studies.

Bilateral engagement expanded through ministerial visit, agreement to deepen government cooperation and broaden people-to-people ties.
A ministerial visit under the Bruhad Sampark Yojana focused on strengthening bilateral engagement by meeting the Prime Minister and senior officials, offering Indian support for progress and development, and engaging the Indian diaspora through visits to historic settlements to expand people-to-people ties.

Diplomatic outreach to strengthen ties and engage diaspora through ministerial visits and cultural programmes abroad.
The "Brihad Sampark Yojna," coordinated by the Ministry of External Affairs, uses ministerial visits to strengthen international cooperation and renew connections with the Indian diaspora through bilateral talks with senior representatives and participation in community and cultural programmes.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code collaboration to boost research, capacity building and awareness under a formal MoU framework.
A Memorandum of Understanding creates a collaboration between the insolvency regulator and a corporate affairs think tank to undertake joint research and publication, capacity building, awareness and advocacy for stakeholders and professionals implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The agreement emphasises reciprocity, mutual benefit, best efforts and frequent interactions to strengthen institutional infrastructure, regulatory oversight and practical application of corporate and individual insolvency processes through enhanced professional competence and dissemination of evolving knowledge.

Registration as registered valuer requires RVO membership, recognised education, passing the IBBI valuation exam and RVO recommendation.
Registration as a registered valuer requires meeting eligibility, qualification and experience criteria, RVO membership, completion of an IBBI recognised educational course, passing the IBBI valuation examination, and obtaining the RVO's recommendation; individuals submit Form A through the RVO and entities submit Form B through their RVO with supporting documents and payment for IBBI processing under the Rules.

Valuation registration transition allows existing valuers to continue without registration while applications and exams proceed.
A transitional arrangement under the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017 permits persons rendering valuation services under the Companies Act, 2013 to continue performing such services without a certificate of registration for an extended transitional period, while valuation examinations have been made available and eligible persons may apply for registration in accordance with the Rules.