Interest-free long-term loans for state capital expenditure continue, with allocations and monetization incentives for funding projects.
The Union Government continued a scheme providing interest-free 50-year loans to States for 2021-22 to finance new and ongoing capital projects and to settle pending bills. The scheme is divided into three parts: targeted allocations for North East and Hill States, proportionate allocations for other States based on tax-share, and incentives for asset monetization and disinvestment that supply additional loan support tied to proceeds realized.

Time limit extensions for tax assessments and Vivad se Vishwas payments extended to relieve taxpayers amid the pandemic.
The central government extended statutory time limits previously prolonged to the end of April, further postponing specified procedural deadlines to the end of June. Covered extensions include time for passing assessment or reassessment orders, complying with Dispute Resolution Panel directions, issuing notices to reopen assessments for escaped income, and issuing intimations for Equalisation Levy processing. The period for payment under the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas scheme without additional amounts is also extended. Notifications under the relevant Taxation and Other Laws relaxation framework will be issued to implement these measures.

Direct tax collections exceed revised estimates, with growth in advance tax and higher refunds in provisional figures.
Provisional net Direct Tax collections for 2020-21 exceeded the Revised Estimates, driven by Corporation Tax and Personal Income Tax receipts; gross collections include Advance Tax, TDS, Self Assessment, Regular Assessment, Dividend Distribution Tax and minor heads. Advance Tax showed year on year growth and refunds increased substantially over the prior year. The figures remain provisional pending final collation.

Appeal jurisdiction for non-Income-tax Direct Tax Acts assigned to specified Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) regionally.
Approval designates specified Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) to exercise jurisdiction over appeals under Direct Tax Acts other than the Income-tax Act, 1961; the Faceless Appeal Scheme notifications apply only to the Income-tax Act and the Board has not directed faceless finalisation for other Direct Tax Acts. Principal Chief Commissioners must notify the designated appellate Commissioners for their regions and forward copies to the Board; the approval is effective from the later of the Scheme's commencement or creation of the relevant post.

Collateral-free microenterprise lending expands access through tiered loans and broad outreach to women and disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana extends collateral-free loans up to Rs. 10 Lakh to non corporate, non farm micro and small enterprises through Member Lending Institutions, using three tiered categories-Shishu, Kishore and Tarun-targeted at income generating activities in manufacturing, trade, services and allied agriculture, with emphasis on Shishu loans to foster new entrepreneurship.

Grant conditionality: tied local body grants subject to environmental and service-level targets and prompt state transfer with interest liability.
The Department of Expenditure released grant-in-aid under the 15th Finance Commission for Rural and Urban Local Bodies. RLBs receive basic (untied) grants for local needs and tied grants for sanitation and drinking-water measures. ULB grants distinguish Million-Plus cities-whose entire grant is tied to ambient air quality, water conservation, and solid waste management with monitoring by designated Ministries-and Non-Million-Plus cities, which receive a mix of basic and tied grants focused on drinking water and solid waste. States must transfer grants to local bodies within ten working days or face interest liability.

Income tax return form notification confirms minimal amendments and retains existing filing categories to ease taxpayer compliance.
Notification of updated Income Tax Return forms implements a regulatory update with minimal substantive change: ITR Form 1 (Sahaj) and ITR Form 4 (Sugam) remain simplified options for small and medium taxpayers, while other ITRs continue to align by taxpayer type and income source; there is no change in the filing procedure and only necessary adjustments were made due to statutory amendments and pandemic facilitation.

Ease of Doing Business: integrated SPICe+ and regulatory reforms drove increased company and LLP incorporations.
MCA recorded significant year on year increases in company and LLP incorporations in FY 2020-21 and maintained CRC operations during lockdowns. The SPICe+ form (launched Feb 2020) integrated ten registration services-name reservation, company incorporation, DIN, EPFO, ESIC, PAN, TAN, selected state profession tax, bank account facilitation and optional GSTN-to streamline startups. The MCA also revised the Small Company definition, waived incorporation fees up to certain authorised capital, incentivised One Person Companies and de criminalised technical procedural violations to advance Ease of Doing Business.

Tax refunds expedited: Government increased income and corporate tax refund disbursements to support taxpayers during the pandemic.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes expedited disbursement of refunds in Financial Year 2020-21, issuing aggregate refunds exceeding Rs. 2.62 lakh crore to over 2.38 crore taxpayers between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, including approximately Rs. 87,749 crore in income tax cases and about Rs. 1,74,576 crore in corporate tax cases as part of pandemic related administrative measures.

Special assistance to states for capital expenditure supports state capital projects after pandemic revenue shortfalls and reform compliance.
Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure funds state capital projects across sectors to address pandemic-related revenue shortfalls, premised on capital expenditure's higher multiplier effect. The scheme comprises three parts: targeted allocations for north-eastern and hill States; proportional distribution among other States based on central tax share; and a reform-linked tranche available to States implementing at least three of four specified citizen-centric reforms, with certified compliance leading to enhanced allocations.

Devolution to States increased to reflect revenue buoyancy, additional transfers issued in two instalments strengthening fiscal federalism.
Ministry of Finance authorised an additional devolution of forty five thousand crore to States in FY 2020 21, an 8.2% increase over the Revised Estimates; total devolutions were raised based on initial estimates of the shareable pool to reflect revenue buoyancy. The additional allocation was disbursed in two instalments-one with the fourteenth regular instalment and a second at year end-and accompanied by a state wise schedule showing RE allocations, additional amounts and overall releases.