Inclusive growth: emphasis on financial inclusion and affordable formal finance to reduce rural poverty and hunger.
Election of India's representative as Chairperson of IFAD's Governing Council underscores leadership in prioritising investments to eradicate rural poverty and hunger. The Council emphasised inclusive growth and the critical role of affordable, transparent formal finance in achieving financial inclusion. The Indian delegation cited national measures-Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer-as practical mechanisms to expand access to finance and support rural development aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Per capita net national income rises at current and constant prices, CSO estimates continue recent upward trend.
Per capita net national income at current and constant (2011-12) prices for 2015-16 is estimated by the Central Statistics Office to have increased, continuing an upward trend observed in CSO time-series data from 2012-13 through 2014-15; these estimates were reported by the Minister of State for Finance in a written parliamentary reply.

Foreign direct investment liberalisation expands automatic entry and removes approval barriers to ease cross-border investment.
The Government liberalised FDI by launching a secured FIPB portal for processing and transparency, removing approval requirements for certain investments (including into Limited Liability Partnerships and share swaps), granting special non-repatriation treatment for NRI investments, extending automatic route entry for sectors such as defence, broadcasting and airline services, increasing foreign shareholding limits, and relaxing conditionalities in sectors including e-commerce and construction development; press notes are available on the DIPP website.

Demand-driven scheme: PMMY classifies microloans into Shishu, Kishore, Tarun and assesses proposals on commercial merits.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana organises microcredit into three categories-Shishu, Kishore and Tarun-administered by banks and Micro Finance Institutions. The scheme is demand driven and loan proposals are assessed on commercial merits. Reported figures include borrower counts by category and aggregate disbursement totals, with the Tarun category identified as a notable share of the overall portfolio, as disclosed in a ministerial written reply to a parliamentary question.

Allocation of Local Grants to Panchayats follows finance commission formula, prioritising population and area weights and SFC formulas.
Allocation of funds to rural local bodies follows the Fourteenth Finance Commission's recommended distribution: an aggregate grant envelope with a per capita reference and allocation to panchayats. Distribution to individual gram panchayats should use the most recently approved State Finance Commission formula; if no SFC formula exists, allocation must use 2011 population weighted 90% and area weighted 10%.

Corporate tax reform reduces statutory rates and phases out exemptions in proposed budget framework to lower taxpayer burden.
India's statutory direct tax rates exceed the Asian average, but exemptions and deductions under the Income Tax Act, 1961 lower the effective corporate tax to about twenty three percent. A proposed reform would phase down the corporate tax rate over several years while phasing out exemptions and deductions to broaden the tax base and reduce taxpayer burden, as stated in the budget speech and in a parliamentary written reply.

Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate guidance improves transmission of policy rates and transparency in bank lending.
Implementation of a Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) framework requires banks to compute and set interest rates on advances using marginal cost principles, with the methodology prescribed by the central banking authority. The framework aims to strengthen the transmission of policy rates into bank lending rates by linking loan pricing more directly to banks' marginal funding costs and by standardising calculation methods across institutions.

Conversion to bank status: MUDRA Ltd approved as a wholly owned subsidiary to carry out refinance and support functions.
Conversion of MUDRA Ltd into a bank subsidiary was approved to make it a wholly owned subsidiary of the designated development finance institution to undertake refinance operations, support services including portal management and data analysis, and activities entrusted by the Government of India. The company, functional since 8 April 2015, has applied to the banking regulator for concurrence for the conversion; the approval and regulatory application were reported in a ministerial parliamentary reply and press release.

Customs duty exemption restored for select life-saving drugs after review to protect availability and domestic manufacturing.
Withdrawal of exemption/concessional customs duties on 76 specified imported drugs was undertaken to eliminate disadvantage to domestic manufacturers; a subsequent interagency assessment of price and availability impacts led to restoration of the customs duty exemption/concession for three life saving drugs - Octreotide, Somatropin, and Anti Haemophilic Factor Concentrate VIII & IX - by a follow up government notification.

Confidentiality of taxpayer information limits disclosure except as permitted under law while enforcement actions continue.
Appropriate action under direct tax laws is an ongoing enforcement regime comprising searches, surveys, enquiries, assessment, levy of tax, interest and penalties, and prosecution where applicable; disclosure of information regarding specific taxpayers is restricted except as permitted under section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

White Label ATM guidelines enable non-bank operators to run ATMs with incentives for deployment in smaller centres.
Guidelines permit non-bank entities to set up, own and operate ATMs as White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) and their machines as White Label ATMs (WLAs). The framework provides three incentive schemes to promote WLA deployment, especially in Tier III to Tier VI centres, and reports complementary rural outreach through Bank Mitras using kiosks and micro ATMs to extend banking services.

PAN mandatory for high-value transactions; non-holders may undertake them only by furnishing a Form 60 declaration.
Quoting of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) is mandatory for transactions exceeding the prescribed monetary threshold and for specified other transactions, irrespective of payment mode; persons without PAN may undertake such transactions only by submitting a declaration in Form No. 60, creating a compliance obligation to furnish PAN or file the prescribed declaration to complete covered transactions.

Double taxation relief for international air transport assigns exclusive taxing rights to the enterprise's residence country.
Agreement establishes avoidance of double taxation for international air transport income by exempting an enterprise's income from operation of aircraft in international traffic from taxation in the other Contracting State, allocating taxing rights exclusively to the State of residence, and providing a Mutual Agreement Procedure to resolve interpretive or application disputes.

Currency evolution showcased in national exhibition highlights historical progression from barter to e-money and institutional collaboration.
An exhibition on the evolution of currency in India charts the transition from barter to coins, banknotes and e-money, highlights monetary nomenclature and the role of coinage in documenting political and economic change, and serves as an educational numismatic initiative organised by the Department of Expenditure with coordinated input from central fiscal, security, public works agencies and subject-matter experts.

Document distribution limits restrict media to a limited number of printed budget and survey sets collectible only by accredited correspondents.
Printed copies of the General Budget and Economic Survey are limited and supplied only to PIB accredited correspondents via authority slips issued at the National Media Centre against individual accreditation cards; one slip per card and a restricted number of sets per media organisation apply. One copy is obtainable in Parliament House on presentation of the slip, with remaining copies collectable later at the National Media Centre. The documents will also be made available online and through official social media immediately after tabling and the Budget speech.

Tax devolution increase shifted transfers toward statutory, untied funding and strengthened cooperative federalism outcomes.
The Fourteenth Finance Commission's increase of States' share in the divisible pool to 42% led to a significant rise in tax devolution implemented in the 2015 16 Union Budget, shifting transfer composition toward statutory, untied transfers and reducing discretionary central transfers; concurrently the Centre continued targeted FFC grants-revenue deficit grants, local body grants, and State Disaster Response Fund allocations-supplemented by National Disaster Response Fund releases and supplementary grants to meet calamity-related expenditures.

Cooperative federalism expands fiscal devolution and untied grants, increasing State and local fiscal autonomy and predictability.
The Government affirms commitment to cooperative federalism by expanding State fiscal space through the Fourteenth Finance Commission's higher tax devolution and a compositional shift toward more untied grants. Centrally Sponsored Schemes have been restructured to grant States greater flexibility while preserving core scheme and special category sharing patterns. Transfers to elected local bodies, revenue deficit grants and disaster relief funding have been increased, producing greater predictability, improved quality of Central expenditure and stronger capital formation, with consensus driven implementation guided by a NITI Aayog committee.

FATCA and CRS guidance clarifies reporting and due diligence obligations for financial institutions, with published administrative clarifications.
Implementation guidance for FATCA and CRS directs Indian financial institutions on due diligence, reporting and compliance obligations; the Government executed an IGA for FATCA and joined the MCAA for CRS, issued a consolidated Guidance Note which was updated, and published a subsequent clarification addressing stakeholder implementation queries on the tax authority website as the operative reference for reporting procedures and administrative compliance.

Due diligence obligations: local custodians must verify accounts and may rely on global custodian documentation for reporting compliance.
Reporting must be submitted in Indian rupee for the immediate reporting cycles and Form 61B will be modified to capture currency type. Fixed deposits opened without additional documentation may be treated as pre-existing accounts if linked to a savings account meeting specified cut-offs, due diligence on the savings account is complete or underway, and the accounts are treated as linked. Local sub-custodians must perform due diligence on global custodian end-clients but may rely on global custodian KYC/FATCA/CRS documentation; the local custodian retains reporting obligations. HUF accounts are treated as entity accounts; NBFCs are classified by activity for reporting. Registration and reporting procedures are being revised.

Exchange Rate Determination for foreign currencies: specified import and export conversion rates now apply to customs valuation.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under section 14 of the Customs Act, prescribes specific conversion rates for listed foreign currencies into Indian rupees (and vice versa) for valuation of imported and export goods, superseding the prior CBEC notification, with the operative rates set out in two annexed schedules that distinguish rates for imported goods and for export goods.