External debt rose by year-end, led by long-term borrowing and valuation effects, shifting debt composition and currency exposure.
India's external debt stock increased by US$ 36.3 billion to US$ 297.5 billion at end-December 2010, driven by a US$ 26.0 billion rise in long-term debt and a US$ 10.3 billion rise in short-term debt; valuation effects from currency movements contributed US$ 5.3 billion. Short-term debt was 21.0% of total; commercial borrowings, NRI deposits and multilateral debt were principal components. The debt-to-GDP ratio was 16.9%, the debt service ratio 3.9%, and short-term debt equalled 21.1% of foreign exchange reserves.

Central Registry operationalised to register and make searchable security interests, reducing fraud and enhancing secured lending.
The Central Registry of Securitisation, Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India has been operationalised as a Government Company to operate a central registration system under the SARFAESI Act 2002 for securitisation, asset reconstruction and mortgage-by-deposit-of-title-deeds registrations; rules prescribing forms and fees have been notified, an interim Central Registrar appointed, and the Registry will maintain a searchable database of security interests and assignments accessible to lenders and persons dealing with property.

Income tax payment through ATMs expands taxpayer convenience and electronic remittance with validated PAN/TAN and challan issuance.
Implementation of Income Tax payment through ATMs enables taxpayers, after one time registration and PAN/TAN validation via NSDL, to enter tax and cess amounts at ATMs, have their accounts debited on confirmation, receive a CIN receipt, and subsequently print a challan from the bank's web portal; funds are pooled at a focal point branch and remitted to the nodal treasury and central bank with electronic data sent to NSDL and the tax administration on a T+1 basis.

FII investment liberalisation allows broader corporate bond participation including unlisted infrastructure bonds subject to a minimum lock-in and trading window.
FIIs are authorised to invest an expanded allocation in corporate bonds of infrastructure companies with residual maturity over five years and to invest in unlisted SPV bonds; such investments carry a mandatory three year lock in (with permitted inter FII trading during the lock in). SEBI has issued a circular implementing the revised allocation and exchanges will provide a special trading window to facilitate trading when overall FII limits are reached.

Dispute Resolution Panel jurisdiction allocated by headquarters, region and assessee name initials determining which DRP hears eligible disputes.
The Board designates DRPs at Delhi and Mumbai to exercise powers under the statutory dispute resolution mechanism for eligible assessees, allocating territorial coverage and case-classes by headquarters and by assessee name initials (A-M and N-Z) to distribute workload and ensure efficient functioning; Delhi DRPs also cover specified neighbouring regions and Mumbai DRPs cover Mumbai, rest of Maharashtra except Pune, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Foreign direct investment approval enables wholly owned subsidiary to acquire entire equity in target company.
Approval authorised formation of a wholly owned subsidiary with 100% foreign equity subscribed by Reckitt Benckiser (Singapore) Pte. Limited and a nominee (ten shares) to make a downstream investment by acquiring 100% equity in M/s. Paras Pharmaceuticals Limited, effectuating foreign direct investment into the subsidiary via the downstream acquisition route.

Foreign direct investment approval permits foreign investors to inject capital into an Indian holding company to acquire a minority stake.
Approval was granted for inbound foreign direct investment into M/s Hero Investments Private Limited from specified foreign investors to capitalise the investing company and enable its acquisition of a minority equity stake in a domestic operating company previously held by a foreign parent; the transaction followed an earlier governmental recommendation and constitutes regulatory clearance for the capital injection and share purchase.

Bilateral investment protection and tax agreements bolster trade and investment ties and encourage market diversification.
Bilateral trade and investment between India and Mozambique expanded substantially with Indian exports driving year-on-year growth and Indian investments focused in energy, minerals, agro-industries, transport, communication and processing sectors. A target was set to further diversify and raise trade within a specified timeframe. Existing agreements on Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection and Double Taxation Avoidance are cited as central legal mechanisms to promote additional investment and reduce fiscal and regulatory obstacles.

Confidentiality of tax information: DTAA bars public disclosure, limited to tax use; prosecutions may later reveal names.
The DTAA confidentiality provision mandates that information exchanged be treated as secret and disclosed only to persons or authorities involved in tax assessment, enforcement, prosecution or appeals and used solely for tax purposes; disclosure in public court proceedings or judicial decisions is limited to matters arising from assessment or prosecution of the taxpayer. The foreign supplier conditioned transfer on these restrictions, and prosecutions have been initiated via show-cause notices, which may render names public through judicial proceedings.

Financial legislative reform established to rewrite and harmonise financial sector laws and review regulatory architecture and protections.
Constitution of a Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission to restate and harmonise financial sector laws, remove ambiguity and overlaps, and align legislation with the contemporary financial landscape. The Commission is charged to review the legislative and regulatory architecture, examine principles for subordinate legislation and mandatory public consultation, set parameters for emergency regulatory powers, assess regulator oversight and autonomy, address data privacy and consumer protection, evaluate IT's role in service delivery, review prior expert recommendations, and consider the role of state governments in inter-state financial services infrastructure.

Reassessment provisions expanded to treat re assessed liabilities like final assessments, extending recovery and transitional refund rules.
The amendments expand assessment and recovery provisions to expressly include "re assessment" alongside "final assessment," extend recovery and limitation rules and interest recovery to re assessed liabilities, introduce transitional declarations preserving pre assent treatment of non levy, short levy and erroneous refunds, and add a customs anti circumvention power to extend anti dumping duty where description, composition, assembly state or origin has been altered to evade duty.

Foreign direct investment approvals and regulatory dispositions issued; approvals, deferrals, rejections, and withdrawals set compliance priorities.
Foreign direct investment regulatory dispositions announced 23 March 2011 record approval of fourteen FDI proposals across multiple sectors for actions including ex post facto approvals, induction or increase of foreign equity, share transfers, IPO related foreign investment, downstream investment and JV formation; twenty seven proposals were deferred due to sectoral sensitivities or policy exceptions; five proposals were rejected for retrospective capitalisation or non compliance with minimum capitalization norms; one proposal was withdrawn by the applicant and four were withdrawn from the agenda.

Market intervention limited to cases where small production shortfalls cause disproportionate food price rises; structural supply reforms urged.
Government market intervention should be limited to cases where small production shortfalls cause disproportionate food price increases, signalling marketing system flaws. Structural reforms, including revising the APMC Act to foster competition and improve price discovery, enhancing retail efficiency, improving post harvest management (sorting, grading, crating, packing), developing grading and standards, instantaneous market information, and expanding early warning systems for horticulture, are prioritised to strengthen the food production and delivery system and reduce value erosion along supply chains.

TDS threshold reporting: use threshold flag and zero rate until cumulative payments exceed threshold, then report tax on total paid.
Report transactions where payments to a deductee did not exceed the threshold in earlier periods using the 'Y' Threshold flag, a deduction rate of '0.0000' and tax deducted/deposited as '0.00'. The flag applies only to specified TDS section codes. When cumulative payments in a later period exceed the threshold, report the prescribed rate and the tax deducted/deposited on the total amount paid to date and do not apply the threshold flag for that period.

International development financing sustains a watershed project in Uttarakhand to boost rural incomes and agribusiness opportunities.
An additional IDA credit was provided to the Uttarakhand Decentralized Watershed Development Project to sustain watershed activities and agribusiness support addressing cost increases and to advance the project's rural income objectives; mid-term survey results show household real income and agricultural indicators have improved, and the credit carries long-term maturity and a grace period.

Multitranche financing advances urban infrastructure upgrades and sanitation improvements under an ongoing state development program.
A third tranche Loan Agreement under an existing Multitranche Financing Facility advances urban infrastructure upgrades in multiple designated towns. The tranche finances water supply augmentation and treatment, distribution network rehabilitation, new connections in low income areas, sewer pipeline laying and a sewage treatment plant, plus drainage, transport, solid waste and firefighting works, intended to benefit over one million residents and complete implementation by December 2014.

Infrastructure financing mobilization through tranche lending to prioritise PPP subprojects and expand road and power project funding.
A multilateral tranche was provided to a state infrastructure finance company to prioritise public-private-partnership (PPP) subprojects, funding road network expansions and supplementary support for a power project. The tranche forms part of a larger multi-tranche facility designed to finance multiple subprojects across states, with multilateral support aimed at leveraging borrower resources and attracting additional commercial and private financing.

Urban infrastructure financing enables phased regional projects and institutional strengthening to mobilize additional investment and private participation.
A multilateral financing agreement established a regional urban infrastructure financing facility providing long term credit to the National Capital Region Planning Board to finance selected Regional Plan 2021 projects including water supply, regional road upgrades, a bypass and multimodal transit centres. The facility conditions emphasise institutional strengthening of the regional board, mobilisation of additional finance and private sector participation, and technical assistance to sub borrowers, with further tranches planned to support phased implementation and create a replicable model for regional urban infrastructure delivery.

Memorandum of Understanding sets sales target and revised performance parameters for a government manufacturing enterprise.
The Memorandum of Understanding sets an annual sales target for SPMCIL and establishes a revised performance-evaluation framework based on Task Force recommendations, linking targets to profitability, market and product diversification, resource optimisation, and commitments on new product development, international tender participation, environment, safety and project implementation; it incorporates DPE-prescribed parameters for Research and Development, Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance and Human Resources Management.

Scrutiny of tax returns now limited for senior citizens and small taxpayers to cases with credible information.
Scrutiny of income-tax returns for the specified financial year is restricted so that returns filed in ITR-1 and ITR-2 by senior citizens (age sixty or more) and by small taxpayers (gross total income below the prescribed ceiling before Chapter VI-A deductions) will be selected for scrutiny only when the Income Tax department possesses credible information justifying such selection.