Ease of Doing Business indicators questioned; government prioritizes regulatory simplification and e governance to improve business conditions.
Government questioned the representativeness and methodology of the Doing Business rankings, observing they focus on small and medium enterprise regulation and may misrepresent the wider business environment; concerns included indicator selection, sample size, use of rankings, and neglect of qualitative, country specific conditions. In response, the Government prioritized administrative reforms-simplifying and rationalizing rules, implementing e governance, reducing fees, and expediting departmental clearances-to improve regulatory efficiency without setting explicit ranking targets.

Amendment to Companies Act: implementation aided by removal-of-difficulties orders, rule amendments, circulars and exemptions.
The Ministry addressed implementation difficulties from commencement of the Companies Act through stakeholder consultation and announced measures including orders under Section 470 for removal of difficulties, amendments to rules, clarificatory circulars, targeted exemptions, and draft notifications placed before Parliament under Section 462 to facilitate transitional implementation.

Corporate fraud investigations prompting prosecutions and enhanced forensic and market surveillance measures to detect malfeasance early.
Investigations into alleged corporate frauds have produced reports recommending prosecutions for companies, directors and defaulting officers under company and other statutes. The Ministry has expanded investigatory capacity within the Serious Fraud Investigation Office by creating a Market Research and Analysis Unit, establishing a forensic laboratory with skilled technical personnel, and developing an Early Warning System to generate alerts for early detection of potential frauds.

Power to levy penalty limited by mechanism for lesser penalties under regulations, guiding enforcement for abuse of dominance.
Power to levy penalty is vested in the Commission for abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive agreements, linked to average turnover of the preceding three years, while a statutory provision authorises imposition of a lesser penalty and the Competition Commission of India (Lesser Penalty) Regulations, 2009 provide the guidelines for applying reduced sanctions.

Relaxation under Companies Act requires draft notifications to be laid before the legislature before class based exemptions apply.
Relaxation under the Companies Act enables specified provisions to be disapplied or applied with exceptions for particular classes of companies, conditional on draft notifications that must be laid before each House of the legislature; preparation of such notifications is under active consideration, as stated in a ministerial written response.

Corporate governance reforms: updated rules reflect best practices and administrative measures ease compliance burdens and hardships.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs administers the Companies Act 2013 and its Rules, which embody essential corporate governance elements and reflect contemporary best practices as provisions come into force; where implementation causes hardships, the Ministry issues Circulars, statutory orders and Rules to provide ease and facilitate company compliance.

Mandatory woman director requirement applies to listed companies and large public companies; registry data shows adoption levels.
Section 149 and Rule 3 require a mandatory woman director for listed companies and public companies meeting statutory capital or turnover thresholds; ministry registry data reports the count of public limited companies and the number of companies with women directors.

Market surveillance enhanced through MRAU inputs and forensic lab strengthening to support company investigations and inter-agency sharing.
The Market Research and Analysis Unit in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office conducts media analysis and market surveillance of companies, shares analytical inputs with other investigating agencies, and has been strengthened by establishment of a Forensic Laboratory plus deployment of technology and skilled technical personnel to enhance forensic and technical support for investigations.

Corporate Social Responsibility mandate requires qualifying companies to fund Schedule VII activities and prompts phased monitoring measures.
A statutory Corporate Social Responsibility obligation under the Companies Act, 2013 requires companies meeting prescribed economic thresholds to spend on activities enumerated in Schedule VII; implementation began with the Act and systematic monitoring of CSR compliance is expected to be developed after the first year of operation.

Partial commencement of company law prompts use of circulars, orders and Rule amendments before legislative changes are considered.
Partial commencement of the Companies Act 2013 has left only some provisions in force, producing operational difficulties that the Government proposes to address through circulars, statutory orders and amendments to Rules; formal amendments to the Act will be considered only if these measures prove insufficient.

Tax treatment of business trusts: listed units taxed like equity with pass-through interest and specified withholding on distributions.
A bespoke tax regime for REITs and Invits treats listed units as equity for STT and capital gains purposes; sponsor exchanges of SPV shares for units defer capital gains to unit disposal with cost and holding period carry-over, but without preferential STT-linked capital gains for sponsors. Interest from SPVs to trusts is pass-through with no SPV withholding, while trusts must withhold tax on distributed interest components to unit holders at prescribed rates. Dividends are taxed at the SPV level and exempt in trust and unit holders; trust-level capital gains are taxable but distributed capital-gain components are exempt to unit holders. Trusts must file returns and meet reporting requirements.

Competition law reform urging systemic changes, advocacy, and capacity building to strengthen enforcement and compliance.
Systemic changes are required to strengthen the Competition Act through sustained advocacy, orienting public sector undertakings to competition principles, and framing rules suited to Indian needs while using global practices as guidance. Addressing jurisdictional and technological challenges from globalised markets and balancing market forces with innovation are essential. Capacity building-via training, sensitisation of young professionals, and fostering a competition culture-and focused familiarity with substantive and procedural law, international cooperation, and investigations are proposed to energise enforcement.

Cost records and audit rules notified: four classes of companies designated for mandatory cost records and cost audit, e Forms to follow.
Notification under section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 notifies the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, superseding eight prior rule sets and establishing a statutory framework requiring four classes of companies to maintain cost records and be subject to cost audit, with prescribed e Forms to be provided on the Ministry's portal.

Government assistance commitment: authorities to provide immediate urgent help to families affected by pipeline explosion.
An explosion at a GAIL gas pipeline in East Godavari resulted in deaths and injuries; the minister conveyed condolences and emphasized a government commitment to provide all necessary help, stating she will liaise with authorities to ensure urgent relief and recovery measures for affected families and medical care for the injured.

Deposit insurance transitional relief permits temporary acceptance of deposits; repayment provisions enable extensions for deposit repayment.
A transitional waiver allows companies to accept deposits without deposit insurance for a limited period to enable compliance with insurance requirements. Simultaneously, provisions concerning repayment have been brought into force so that the statutory repayment regime can permit extensions; section 74(2) & (3) enable the competent authority to grant additional time to companies struggling to repay deposits or interest.

CSR rules capacity-building partnership advances implementation and moves corporate social responsibility beyond mere compliance through institutional collaboration.
A memorandum of understanding between the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and Grant Thornton India LLP aims to develop corporate capacity for effective implementation of CSR Rules under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, focusing on knowledge and awareness building, dissemination of information, and shifting CSR from mere compliance to structured value-creation through institutional collaboration and advisory support.

Allocation of portfolios assigns ministerial responsibilities and independent charges across cabinet ministers and ministers of state.
The President, on the Prime Minister's advice, allocated portfolios across the Union Council of Ministers: the Prime Minister retains specified central departments and residual portfolios; Cabinet Ministers receive primary departmental jurisdictions across core governance areas; and Ministers of State are appointed to assist or exercise Independent Charge of specified ministries, with distinct assignments delineated between cabinet responsibility and delegated ministerial charge.

Corporate social responsibility rules require boards and CSR committees to adopt policies and list specified eligible activities.
The notification implements Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 by prescribing CSR institutional roles and procedures: constitution and functions of the CSR Committee, the Board's responsibility to formulate and monitor a CSR policy, the manner of undertaking CSR activities, and a standard disclosure format for CSR activities in the Board's report. It also enumerates specified eligible activities under Schedule VII, including health and sanitation, social welfare facilities, environmental conservation, livelihood projects, cultural preservation, veterans' welfare, sports promotion, technology incubator support, and rural development.

Voluntary open offer approval enables acquisition of significant equity in Indian pharmaceutical subsidiary with foreign investment implications.
Approval was granted for a voluntary open offer under SEBI (SAST) Regulations by M/s GlaxoSmithKline Pte Limited, Singapore to acquire 24.33% of the equity of its existing Indian subsidiary in the pharmaceutical sector, with executive clearance authorising the foreign acquisition and consequent inward foreign investment.

Legislative reforms enacted bolster land, food, pension and corporate frameworks while major economic policy changes were announced.
The Government combined market-oriented policy measures-sugar decontrol, phased diesel price correction, railway fare rationalisation, new bank licences and DISCOM restructuring-with significant legislation: distribution of forest-dweller land titles and enactment/notification of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, the National Food Security Act, the new Companies Act and the PFRDA Act.