Merger control clearance for acquisition of majority stake in insurer by property developer via share subscription and simultaneous transfer
Approval by the Competition Commission of India for Sanoti Properties LLP to acquire a majority stake in Magma HDI General Insurance Company Limited through a proposed subscription of equity combined with a simultaneous acquisition of shares from existing shareholders, effecting a change in control of the non life insurer under the statutory merger control framework; a detailed regulatory order will follow.

Last mile procurement inclusion: GeM, CSC and India Post partnership expands logistics, training, market access for rural sellers, service providers
A tripartite MoU links GeM, CSC SPV and the Department of Posts to enable last mile buyers, sellers and service providers to access GeM through CSCs and India Post offices, providing free GeM services via assisted registration, catalogue management, order fulfilment and invoicing, together with value added logistics such as photography, packaging and postal shipment; India Post will supply approved packaging, facilitate pick up and priority processing of GeM labelled consignments under its Shipment Packaging Policy.

Economic partnership drives enhanced India UAE commercial engagement and cooperation under the India UAE CEPA summit framework.
Discussion of sustained bilateral economic and commercial engagement centred on the India UAE Economic Partnership Summit and the operationalisation of the India UAE CEPA, with high level ministerial exchanges aimed at deepening trade ties, exploring new cooperation areas, and optimising existing institutional arrangements to facilitate cross border economic activity.

Social security schemes expand affordable insurance and guaranteed pension coverage to extend financial protection to vulnerable citizens.
Pradhan Mantri schemes create an operative framework for low cost life and accidental insurance and a contributory guaranteed pension: PMJJBY and PMSBY are renewable one year covers for eligible bank or post office account holders with premium collection via annual auto debit and streamlined claim settlement; APY is a PFRDA administered contributory pension under the NPS architecture offering subscriber chosen guaranteed minimum monthly pensions from age sixty, with spousal continuation provisions, regulated exit conditions, and a Central Government guarantee to fund any shortfall in providing the guaranteed pension.

Retail investor participation framed as market stabiliser, paired with investor education and blockchain debenture monitoring.
The document emphasises domestic retail investors as a stabilising market force with rapid demat account growth, announces 'Market ka Eklavya'-an online, regional-language investor education programme for students-and details NSDL's deployment of a Distributed Ledger Technology blockchain to record asset charges and monitor debenture covenants via cryptographically signed, time-stamped entries to create a verifiable audit trail and enhance transparency in bond markets.

Strategic disinvestment: highest bidder selected for transfer of government shareholding and management control, proceeding to transaction closing.
Government approval was given for the strategic disinvestment of 51% of Pawan Hans Limited and transfer of management control to M/s Star9 Mobility Private Ltd, selected as the highest valid bidder in an open competitive process after due diligence. A reserve price set on expert valuation was met; three financial bids were validated and the successful bidder exceeded the reserve. The transaction moves to issuance of the Letter of Award, signing of the Share Purchase Agreement and closing, with ONGC offering its shareholding on the same terms and the buyer expected to invest in fleet renewal.

Digital public-health platform sharing offered as international public good, enabling scalable replication and technical assistance.
The note emphasizes India's advocacy for scalable digital solutions by offering the CoWIN platform to other countries and expressing readiness to provide technical assistance for replication of proven public goods platforms, framed alongside India's economic recovery and vaccination progress and observations on global development and macroeconomic stability.

Multilateralism urged to prioritise assistance for debt stressed countries and support infrastructure financing for recovery.
The Finance Minister urged the World Bank to prioritise multilateral assistance for pandemic recovery and sovereign debt stress, highlighting Sri Lanka as requiring special attention, and sought World Bank support for India's infrastructure financing through mechanisms addressing the Single Borrower Limit, third party guarantees, and leadership continuity to advance the National Infrastructure Pipeline and Gati Shakti programme.

Declaration as a Nidhi now required before accepting deposits; deemed government approval if no decision within prescribed period.
Amendments require a public company incorporated after the Nidhi (Amendment) Rules, 2022 to obtain a declaration as a Nidhi from the Central Government by applying in Form NDH-4 within 120 days of incorporation, meeting minimum membership and Net Owned Fund thresholds at application, and ensuring promoters and directors satisfy fit and proper criteria; if no decision is conveyed by the Central Government within the prescribed disposal period, approval is deemed granted.

Official visit: Finance Minister to attend IMF World Bank spring meetings and join G20 finance minister gatherings.
The Union Finance Minister will make an official visit to the United States to participate in the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings, engage in a high-level IMF panel, hold bilateral consultations with several countries, meet World Bank leadership, and conduct sectoral and academic outreach including meetings with industry CEOs and engagements at a think tank and Stanford University.

Cross-border securities cooperation enables Manitoba entities to seek Foreign Portfolio Investor registration with SEBI under a bilateral MoU.
The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding creates a formal framework for cross-border cooperation in securities regulation between SEBI and the Manitoba Securities Commission, enabling mutual assistance in supervision, technical knowledge exchange and coordinated enforcement, and making Manitoba-domiciled entities eligible for Foreign Portfolio Investor registration with SEBI under the bilateral channel.

Regulatory cooperation: SEBI and Mongolia's FRC to sign MoU enabling information sharing and technical assistance.
A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding will be signed to reinforce cross-border regulatory cooperation by enabling information sharing for securities enforcement and creating a technical assistance programme providing consultations, capacity building and staff training. The arrangement is founded on the regulator's statutory authority to exchange information with foreign counterparts, conditional on applicable laws and prior central government approval.

Stand-Up India Scheme expands loan access and handholding support for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs establishing greenfield enterprises.
The Stand-Up India Scheme facilitates bank credit and support for women and Scheduled Caste/Tribe entrepreneurs to establish greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services, trading and allied-agriculture activities. It requires at least one woman and one SC/ST loan per branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks, sets borrower eligibility and minimum own contribution rules while allowing margin support via convergence with Central/State schemes, provides handholding through an online portal and agencies, and is backed by a Credit Guarantee Fund to enable collateral-free lending.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme expansion extends coverage and raises credit limits for hospitality, travel, tourism and civil aviation sectors.
Extension of ECLGS 3.0 to 31.3.2023 expands eligibility to borrowers who borrowed after 31.3.2021 up to 31.1.2022 and to individuals and proprietary concerns, clarifies covered businesses, and revises reference dates. The permissible emergency credit has been increased to 50% of relevant outstanding credit for eligible borrowers with prescribed per borrower caps; civil aviation borrowers may access non fund based facilities and higher caps. Non fund facilities under the scheme will be issued without cash margin and subject to a fee/commission cap of 0.5% per annum.

Corporate insolvency resolution process saw significant admissions over two years, with outcomes including resolution and liquidation.
Admissions under the corporate insolvency resolution process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 totaled 1,060 cases across the two reported years. Reported outcomes for admitted matters include appeals/reviews/settlements, withdrawals under section 12A, resolution plans, liquidations, and ongoing proceedings; a substantial portion of matters remained ongoing as of 31 December 2021. Further details are available on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India website.

Corporate fraud investigation strengthened: SFIO oversight alongside mandatory fraud reporting and enhanced governance measures.
SFIO is statutorily recognised under the Companies Act, 2013 and receives Central Government orders to investigate alleged corporate frauds involving misappropriation of funds and cheating of lenders. The Government has introduced measures including fraud as a substantive offence, mandatory Director Identification Numbers, professional verification on incorporation, auditor and audit professional reporting obligations with penalties for non compliance, a Central Scrutiny Cell for form scrutiny, and enhanced surveillance of listed company disclosures to detect financial reporting irregularities.

Corporate insolvency resolution process shows sustained admissions and multiple resolutions delivering realisable value for creditors.
Corporate insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 recorded more than 4,000 admitted cases since FY 2016, with annual admissions rising through 2019-20 and moderating in 2020-21. Separate data show 359 resolved cases producing substantial realisable value for creditors; the release provides year wise counts of resolved cases with total admitted claims and corresponding realisable value for each reported year.

Corporate insolvency resolution process restores significant recoveries for financial creditors, exceeding liquidation value and improving claim realisation.
Banks initiated CIRP in twelve large accounts under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, with eight accounts resolved, two ongoing, and two liquidated. For the eight resolved debtors, the collective liquidation value was substantially lower than recoveries under approved resolution plans; approved plans yielded recoveries equal to 221% of liquidation value and 51% of admitted financial claims.

Abuse of dominant position scrutiny expands to e commerce, with most cases disposed and platform transparency measures urged.
The document reports regulatory attention on abuse of dominant position and anti competitive practices by enterprises, including e commerce platforms, under Sections 3 and 4, noting that the Commission has disposed of most filed cases. It also summarises Commission initiatives to enhance competition-market studies (including on e commerce), competition assessment of concession agreements, advocacy outreach, IT and regional office upgrades, a green channel for combination filings, international cooperation-and recommends platform self regulation on ranking transparency, data use, review mechanisms, contract revision notices, and discount policies.

Privatization and Disinvestment consultation to shape a time-bound implementation strategy and asset monetization framework post-budget.
Apex-level consultative webinar by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management with NITI Aayog will gather 22 ministries, PSE senior management, global and domestic investors, and experts to elicit views for a time-bound implementation strategy focused on Privatization and Disinvestment and Asset Monetization of Core and Non-Core Assets, with participant inputs to shape policy formulation and execution.