Undisclosed foreign income and assets now face separate taxation and PMLA scheduled offence designation with stricter penalties.
The Income tax Department pursues black money via searches, surveys, assessments, penalties and prosecutions. The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015 imposes separate taxation on undisclosed foreign income/assets, strengthens penalties and prosecution, and treats wilful tax evasion concerning such assets as a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money laundering framework. Yearwise enforcement data for 2015-16 to 2017-18 on prosecutions, search and seizure outcomes and surveys are reported to demonstrate enforcement activity.

Benami property attachments result in provisional seizure and legal action against benamidars and beneficial owners.
Provisional attachment under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 was carried out in over 1,600 cases involving movable and immovable assets-land, flats, shops, vehicles, bank balances and fixed deposits-amounting to a substantial aggregate value; enforcement steps have been taken against benamidars and beneficial owners, and category-wise details of persons are not maintained in administrative records.

FEMA penal provisions cover FDI policy violations, with central bank administration and a finance ministry enforcement authority overseeing compliance.
No special investigatory body monitors online retail platforms; violations of the FDI policy are subject to the FEMA penal provisions. FEMA is administered by the central banking authority and enforced by a designated enforcement authority under the Ministry of Finance.

Extension of return filing deadline: deadline for certain taxpayers shifted to a later date to allow additional time for compliance.
Extension of the due date for filing Income Tax Returns for the assessment year specified is announced, shifting the deadline for certain categories of taxpayers from the originally prescribed date at the end of July to a new date at the end of August as a formal amendment to the filing deadline for returns for that assessment year.

Insolvency resolution reforms accelerate creditor-led recovery while barring wilful defaulters from the process.
The legal and procedural framework for recovery has been strengthened through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and amendments to the Banking Regulation Act authorising the central bank to direct initiation of insolvency resolution, a creditor led regime excluding wilful defaulters and placing interim control with resolution professionals; complemented by SARFAESI amendments, additional debt recovery tribunals, bank operational reforms and recapitalisation to enable active recovery and deterrence.

Undisclosed foreign assets: strengthened legal, disclosure and international exchange measures to detect, tax and investigate offshore holdings.
Locational banking statistics collected by the Swiss National Bank with the BIS better reflect deposits and loans of Indian residents in Swiss banks, which have declined; the Government has enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (linked to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002), offered a limited voluntary disclosure window, constituted a Special Investigation Team, and strengthened international cooperation through AEOI/CRS, FATCA, DTAAs/TIEAs and multilateral instruments to obtain financial account information and pursue taxation and prosecution of undisclosed foreign assets.

Benami property prohibition strengthened: dedicated units identify and provisionally attach suspect transactions under amended law.
The amended Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act prohibits benami transactions irrespective of acquisition method and covers movable and immovable property. Dedicated Benami Prohibition Units in the Income-tax Department gather and match information to identify suspected benami properties and support provisional attachment and other actions under the amended enforcement framework.

Banking reform EASE: FinTech-driven MSME financing and automated microloan processing to expand credit access.
The EASE reform agenda was referred to Public Sector Banks for board-approved implementation to ensure prudential and clean lending, expanded credit availability, improved governance, and enhanced customer service. It directs promotion and ongoing assessment of FinTech solutions, automated online processing and decisioning for micro enterprise loans via a dedicated platform, online application facilities, banking-from-home and mobile banking, and broader digital banking adoption to ease MSME financing.

Automatic Exchange of Information expands cross-border financial reporting, strengthening detection and taxation of undisclosed foreign assets.
India has strengthened detection and taxation of undisclosed foreign assets by activating Automatic Exchange of Information under the Common Reporting Standard and FATCA, expanding information exchange via DTAAs/TIEAs and multilateral conventions, and entering MCAA based automatic reporting with Switzerland. Domestic enforcement was reinforced by a Special Investigation Team on Black Money and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015, which imposes stricter penalties and designates willful foreign asset tax evasion as a Scheduled Offence under the Prevention of Money laundering Act.

Cash availability pressures led to ATM shortages; government and central bank are monitoring currency stocks to ensure supply
Cash availability pressures caused reports of ATMs showing no-cash notices; the central bank attributes increased ATM usage to seasonal factors (agricultural demand and state disbursement schemes) and structural factors (economic growth and high currency-deposit ratios). The Government and central bank perform regular monitoring of currency stocks, ATM functionality, and positions of fresh and reissuable notes in RBI vaults and bank currency chests to ensure adequate cash supply and prevent ATMs from running dry.

Access to institutional finance under PMMY expands small business lending and records year wise, state wise sanction data.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana provides institutional finance to unfunded micro and small business units by extending term loans up to Rs. 10 lakh and includes an overdraft facility under PMJDY; Member Lending Institutions report year wise and State/UT wise sanctioned account counts and sanctioned amounts on the MUDRA portal, while certain borrower characteristics such as age profile are not maintained centrally.

Amalgamation of regional rural banks to consolidate operations, broaden capital base and boost rural credit flow.
Amalgamation of Regional Rural Banks is proposed as a regulatory roadmap to consolidate RRBs within each State, prepared in consultation with NABARD and seeking comments from State Governments and Sponsor Banks, aiming to minimise overheads, optimise technology, enhance capital base and area of operation, increase lending exposure, and improve scale-efficiency, productivity, financial health, financial inclusion and rural credit flow.

Insolvency creditor-in-saddle approach strengthens recovery under IBC; RBI authorisation and SARFAESI reforms enhance bank-led resolution.
Five-pronged framework: SME resolution with a Robust Monitoring Process, bank-led restructuring, AMC/AIF-led resolution, insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code using a creditor-in-saddle approach that removes management control and excludes wilful defaulters, and an asset trading platform; legislative amendments empower the central bank to direct insolvency initiation and SARFAESI amendments and tribunal expansion aim to accelerate recoveries.

Asset Quality Review prompted recognition of stressed loans as NPAs, leading to increased provisioning and net losses for many public sector banks.
Asset Quality Review measures from 2015 led to reclassification of stressed exposures as NPAs and required provisions for expected losses, causing Public Sector Banks to recognise higher NPAs and incur net losses largely attributable to increased provisioning and ageing provisions following transparent asset recognition.

Government securities auction: re issue of multiple dated stocks via multiple price auction with non competitive facility and electronic bidding.
Re issue of four dated Government stocks will be conducted through a price based, multiple price auction with a total notified amount and an option to accept additional subscriptions. Up to 5% of each issue is reserved under the Non-Competitive Bidding Facility. Competitive and non competitive bids must be submitted electronically on the E Kuber system within prescribed time windows. Auction results and payment follow announced dates. The stocks are eligible for When Issued trading per RBI guidelines.

Fund of Funds for Startups: support routed through AIFs requiring matched investment, with operating agency oversight.
The Fund of Funds for Startups contributes to the corpus of SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds, which must invest at least twice the FFS contribution into startups; each AIF makes investment decisions through its own investment committee. A Monitoring Committee comprising representatives of the monitoring and operating agencies and relevant departments reviews progress and implementation of Startup India measures to support the startup ecosystem.

Memorandum of Understanding expands professional recognition and cooperation between Indian chartered accountants and Tanzanian accountancy regulator.
A Memorandum of Understanding establishes a mutual co-operation framework between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the National Board of Accountants and Auditors, Tanzania to coordinate on member management, professional ethics, technical research, continuing professional development, professional accountancy training, audit quality monitoring and advancement of accounting knowledge, aiming to enhance professional standards, foster working relations and expand recognition and opportunities for ICAI members in Tanzania and the African market.

Trade and investment cooperation: tariff reductions and DTAA progress to boost market access and cross border investment.
India and Oman agreed to enhance trade and diversify the trade basket, seek tariff reductions to improve market access for specified chemical and industrial products, pursue internal approvals for early finalisation of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, and continue revision of the Bilateral Investment Treaty. They discussed extension and amendment of commercial agreements including the Urea Off Take Agreement and Gas Supply Agreement, and committed to sectoral cooperation in energy (including renewables and a proposed waste to energy joint venture), agriculture, tourism, mines, telecom and other areas to attract investment.

Tariff value adjustment for specified edible oils, metals and commodities modifies import valuation under customs rules.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, exercising powers under sub section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 of Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) to prescribe specified tariff values: per metric tonne values for edible oils (crude palm oil, RBD palm oil, palmolein variants, crude soybean oil), brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts, and per unit values for gold and silver where particular notification benefits are availed, creating fixed foreign currency valuation benchmarks for import and customs purposes.

Significant Economic Presence expands tax nexus to digital transactions and user interactions, enabling source-country taxation of attributable income.
Significant Economic Presence expands "business connection" under Section 9(1)(i) to include specified transactions in goods, services or property (including data or software downloads) exceeding prescribed payment thresholds, and systematic digital solicitation or interaction with a prescribed number of users. The rule applies irrespective of contract location or physical presence, and only income attributable to those transactions or interactions is treated as arising in India. The government has sought stakeholder comments to prescribe revenue and user-number thresholds to operationalise SEP.