Continued multilateral engagement secures development financing and private sector leverage to support infrastructure and poverty reduction.
The Finance Minister and the World Bank President affirmed the strategic value of sustained Bank India partnership to support infrastructure investment, poverty reduction, and long term development financing, with the Bank offering additional financing and innovative mechanisms including private sector leverage and knowledge transfer to enhance resource flows and support regional integration.

Administrative direction under income tax law to keep income-tax offices open to facilitate filing of returns.
A administrative direction directs income-tax offices to remain open on the financial year closing date, with receipts counters operating during normal hours, and requires special operational arrangements, including additional receipt counters where necessary, to facilitate convenient filing of tax returns by taxpayers under the exercise of delegated administrative powers.

Unclaimed deposit disclosure: Banks must publish long term inactive accounts and provide claim procedures online with safeguards
RBI directed banks to perform annual reviews of accounts inactive for over one year, launch drives to locate account holders or legal heirs for accounts in the "Inoperative Accounts" ledger, permit operations after due diligence without charging for reactivation, and publish on bank websites the names and addresses of long term inactive account holders along with claim procedures, forms, documentary requirements and safeguards to verify genuine claimants, with a timeline to complete and regularly update disclosures.

Account portability in savings accounts: recommendation for account number continuity constrained by statutory record retention requirements.
Portability of savings bank account numbers is recommended to allow customers to retain the same account number when shifting branches or cities. The Damodaran Committee proposed account number continuity and RBI advised banks to implement it. However, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and rules require the bank establishing the customer relationship to retain identity and transaction records for ten years after cessation, which precludes interbank account portability under the current statutory record keeping regime.

Insurance product approval requires regulator clearance and approved sales literature, with enforcement against unapproved promotional materials.
IRDA requires prior approval of all life insurance products and the sales literature at the product-approval stage; insurers and agents must use only approved promotional materials, including specified benefit illustrations, and IRDA may order withdrawal and commence action where unapproved or non-compliant literature is used.

Disaster relief funding: central and state SDRF/NDRF cover immediate flood relief, with additional national aid when state funds fall short.
Immediate post-disaster assistance is provided from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) maintained by each state, with supplementary financial aid from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) when state expenditure exceeds the SDRF balance. The Centre released its share of SDRF to Bihar during the relevant fiscal years and additionally released NDRF funds for immediate relief; rehabilitation works are undertaken by the State from its own resources or sector-specific plan funds.

Credit rating regulation mandates due diligence, transparency and periodic audits to ensure objectivity and manage conflicts of interest.
SEBI requires CRAs to follow a comprehensive Code of Conduct mandating due diligence, independent professional judgment and objectivity; standardises rating symbols and definitions; prescribes disclosure requirements for rating procedures, default studies, income sources, conflict of interest measures, structured products and unsolicited ratings; and mandates half yearly internal audits with board consideration and Action Taken Reports to SEBI addressing investor grievance redressal and compliance.

Import of gold free for non monetary purposes remains subject to Reserve Bank regulations; policy unchanged.
Import of gold is permitted free for non monetary purposes under the Exim Code classification, but remains subject to Reserve Bank of India regulations; there is no proposal to change this policy. Imports reported for the two most recent financial years are presented as aggregate quantities and values, and operational compliance requires following the Exim classification and applicable RBI controls.

Return of securities: banks must release mortgage documents on repayment and face complaint remedies for delay.
Banks must release all securities and title documents on loan repayment and return mortgage documents within fifteen days, with compensation payable for delays. Non compliance with these regulatory guidelines and the banking consumer code is a ground for complaint under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, and supervisory inspections review delays and issuance of no due certificates while industry bodies are notified for follow up.

Cash Reserve Ratio reduction to inject liquidity and support credit flow while anchoring expectations to low inflation.
Cash Reserve Ratio reductions were made to expand primary liquidity in the banking system, enabling banks to increase lending to productive sectors and support credit growth; the adjustments aim to mitigate downside risks to growth and anchor medium term expectations toward low and stable inflation.

Limits on non banking expansion: proposed constraints for banking groups converting to financial holding company structure.
A Working Group constituted in 2010 to examine a Financial Holding Company structure recommended limits on the expansion of non banking activities by groups that migrate into Banking Financial Holding Companies; its report has been published on the central bank's website.

Computerization of Commercial Tax Departments modernizes tax administration through a centrally supported mission mode project and rollout.
A centrally supported Mission Mode Project under the National e Governance Plan will computerize Commercial Tax Departments of States and UTs, with Cabinet-approved funding, specified central assistance, a portion of funds already released to states, and an expected completion of state projects by March 2013.

White Label ATMs: non-bank entities permitted to set up and operate ATMs with issuing bank grievance responsibility.
Reserve Bank of India proposes permitting White Label ATMs allowing non-bank entities to set up, own and operate ATMs to improve ATM penetration and financial inclusion. Draft guidelines assign primary responsibility for redress of failed ATM transaction complaints to the issuing bank, with the sponsor bank required to support the issuing bank by providing records, information and operational arrangements with the White Label ATM operator.

Banknote security strengthened: government adopting advanced security features through a structured multi stage acquisition process to curb counterfeiting.
The Government has initiated a procurement process to introduce advanced security features in Indian banknotes of all denominations, adopting a structured multi stage acquisition framework recommended by a committee and accepted by the Government to promote transparency and accountability in procurement, with the objective of checking fake currency, as communicated by the Minister of State for Finance in a written parliamentary reply.

External debt composition shifted toward commercial borrowings and short-term exposure, reducing foreign exchange reserves cover.
India's external debt stock at end-December 2011 rose versus end-March 2011, led by higher commercial borrowings and increased short-term trade credit. Short-term debt grew faster and accounted for nearly one-quarter of total external debt, while long-term debt remained the majority. The currency mix was dominated by US dollar liabilities, and key indicators-external debt-to-GDP, short-term debt-to-reserves, and reserves cover of external debt-deteriorated compared with end-March 2011.

Monetary policy shift: repo rate pause with targeted CRR cuts to ease liquidity while anchoring inflation expectations.
After a prolonged tightening cycle to contain inflation, the central bank paused further repo rate increases due to slowing growth and investment, and implemented staged reductions in the Cash Reserve Ratio to mitigate tight liquidity, balancing inflation-anchoring with liquidity support.

Inspection power over bank associates expanded: RBI authorised to inspect associate enterprises and their accounts under amendment.
The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 authorises the Reserve Bank of India to cause inspection of any associate enterprise of a banking company and its books of accounts by one or more of its officers, employees or other persons appointed for that purpose, thereby extending supervisory reach to entities linked to banks.

New Pension System replaces defined benefit pension for new central government entrants; some public enterprises adopted it voluntarily.
The New Pension System replaced the defined benefit pension system for new entrants to Central Government service, making membership mandatory for such entrants except for the Armed Forces. NPS has been extended to autonomous bodies, State Governments and the unorganised sector, while Central Public Sector Enterprises are not mandatorily covered but may adopt NPS voluntarily.

Inclusive innovation fund to finance essential services for marginalized groups, combining public seed capital with private funding under an investment cap.
The India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) is a venture capital fund to finance innovations that expand access to basic services for low-income populations across sectors like education, health, energy, agriculture, water, and sanitation. It will be seeded by the Government of India, raise remaining capital from public and private organizations and development agencies, and operate under a government investment cap limiting government contribution to 20 per cent of the fund; the IIIF aims for an initial first close with subsequent scale-up dependent on institutional support.

Sovereign and non-sovereign loan packaging enables transition of a public utility to foreign commercial borrowing and strengthens corporate credit.
A bundled financing package combining sovereign government-guaranteed loans and a non-sovereign corporate loan was arranged to finance interregional power transmission expansion. The sovereign loans feature extended tenors, a grace period and LIBOR-based interest; the non-sovereign tranche is a long-term foreign commercial borrowing without sovereign support and is intended to enhance the utility's corporate credit profile and benchmark future commercial lending.