Tied grant release ensures funds for sanitation and drinking water with mandatory ten-working-day transfer to local bodies.
The Department of Expenditure released the first instalment of central grant-in-aid to Rural Local Bodies to supplement sanitation and drinking water services. Sixty percent of Panchayati Raj allocations are Tied Grants for water and sanitation priorities, while forty percent are Untied Grants for local discretionary use (excluding salaries). States must transfer funds to Rural Local Bodies within ten working days or pay interest for delay.

Due date extensions for electronic filing preserve compliance timelines for specified income-tax forms and statements.
CBDT extended electronic filing due dates for specified Forms and statements under the Income tax Act and Rules: Form No.10A filings may be made by 31 March, 2022 and Form No.10AB with cutoffs on/before 28 February, 2022 may be filed by 31 March, 2022; Equalization Levy Form No.1 and assorted quarterly statements (Form No.15CC), uploads of Form No.15G/15H, SWF and Pension Fund intimations (Form II SWF and Form No.10BBB), and international group reporting Forms 3CEAC/3CEAD/3CEAE have been given staggered extensions to late November or 31 December, 2021 as specified in CBDT Circular No.16/2021.

Financial inclusion expanded through PMJDY by broadening access to bank accounts, RuPay linkage and streamlined DBT delivery.
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a National Mission to provide affordable access to banking, remittance, credit, insurance and pension through Basic Savings Bank Deposit accounts with simplified and e-KYC, RuPay/AePS interoperability, fixed-point Business Correspondents, insurance and overdraft facilities, technology-driven core banking, financial literacy, and supportive measures such as the Jan Dhan Darshak App and coordination to reduce DBT failures.

Search and seizure uncovers alleged unaccounted real estate transactions and cash payments, prompting ongoing tax investigation.
Search and seizure on 24 August 2021 at a Rajkot real estate group covered over 40 premises and yielded documents and digital evidence of transactions outside books, unaccounted cash expenses, cash advances and cash interest payments, and on money payments in real estate projects. Authorities identified approximately Rs. 350 crore in unaccounted cash receipts, evidence of land purchases around Rs. 154 crore with large cash payments, concealment of income in excess of Rs. 300 crore, seizure of cash, jewellery and promissory notes, and 25 lockers under prohibitory orders; investigations continue.

Undisclosed financial transactions uncovered in tax searches leading to seizure and ongoing investigation for alleged sales suppression and expense inflation.
Income-tax search and seizure operations uncovered handwritten records and loose sheets evidencing alleged suppression of sales, inflation of expenditure, cash sales not recorded in books, and under-invoicing; seized unaccounted cash and documentary evidence indicate undisclosed financial transactions and form the basis for ongoing tax investigations.

Family pension increase enhances survivors' pay; employers' NPS contribution also raised to strengthen employee retirement security.
Increase of family pension to a specified proportion of last pay drawn replaces the earlier slab-and-cap arrangement, removing the previous maximum limit to provide greater support to survivors of public sector bank employees. Simultaneously, employers' contribution to the National Pension System for PSU bank employees has been enhanced above the prior rate to strengthen retirement savings and financial security under the bipartite wage revision framework.

Policy certainty: government urges industry risk-taking while shifting to market-based finance and enabling long-term lending.
Government commits to policy certainty and regulatory coordination to encourage investment and risk-taking by industry, while shifting toward market-based finance with an operational Development Finance Institution providing long-term lending. The state will facilitate sunrise sectors and start-ups, address competitiveness and compliance burdens, explore insurance bonds as alternatives to bank guarantees, pursue start-up tax measures, and consider front-loading capital expenditure-notably in infrastructure-to sustain recovery.

Infrastructure financing expands urban metro and funds TOD and multimodal integration to improve connectivity and accessibility.
The government and an international development bank entered a sovereign loan and technical assistance package to finance construction of two metro lines and stations, combining capital funding with a grant to develop transit-oriented development and multimodal integration plans, strengthen implementing agency capacity, and ensure accessibility for vulnerable groups while targeting congestion relief, improved connectivity, environmental benefits, and local revenue generation through land-value uplift.

Contractual performance obligations require contractor to rectify portal service failures, restoring functionality by mandated deadline.
Government directed the contractor to remedy persistent failures in the Income Tax Department's e filing portal as a service delivery obligation, urged increased resources and expedited efforts, and required resolution of current functional defects by a specified deadline to restore reliable access for taxpayers and professionals.

Failure to deduct tax at source sparks probe into bogus expenses, undisclosed accounts and unaccounted income.
Searches revealed related party inflations of purchases and large trading margins alongside persistent booked losses attributed to significant bogus expenses, non existent payees and unfiled recipients, use of undisclosed bank accounts, and documentary and electronic evidence of unaccounted funds reintroduced as fictitious transactions. Investigators also found alleged illegal payments and cross border currency dealings, and identified substantial failures to deduct tax at source and large provisions for doubtful debts whose admissibility is under scrutiny.

Public Sector Enterprise survey reports operational coverage and consolidated fiscal performance of centrally owned enterprises for 2019-20.
The Department of Public Enterprises released the 60th Public Enterprises Survey 2019-20, a complete enumeration of Central Public Sector Enterprises in which the Government of India holds more than 50% equity, covering 256 operational CPSEs classified across five sectors and 21 cognate groups. The Survey reports aggregate financial and operating indicators for 2019-20, including paid-up capital, financial investments, capital employed, gross revenues, aggregate profit and loss, reserves and net worth, dividend distributions, contributions to the Central Exchequer, and foreign-exchange earnings.

Digital banking adoption rises while bank licensing remains the central bank's prerogative without a separate digital category.
Public sector banks now conduct the majority of transactions through digital channels while the Reserve Bank of India retains sole authority on banking licences and is not considering a separate digital bank category. Under PSB EASE Reforms, mobile and internet banking services, customer features and regional language interfaces have been expanded; end to end automated digital lending and digital retail loan initiation have been enabled in larger PSBs; analytics based credit offers and substantial digital disbursements have been supported. Additional measures include online life certification for pensioners, contactless loan approval via data triangulation, and PSB onboarding onto the TReDS platform for MSME bill discounting.

Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant released in monthly instalments to eligible states to address post devolution revenue gaps.
The Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant is provided to States under Article 275 and released in monthly instalments as per Fifteenth Finance Commission recommendations to meet the gap in State revenue accounts after accounting for assessed devolution; eligibility and grant quantum were based on the assessed revenue-expenditure gap for the financial year. The fifth monthly instalment was released to the 17 States recommended for PDRD grants, with state-wise allocations and cumulative year-to-date disbursements reported.

ULB grant conditions: half untied for local needs, half tied to drinking water and solid waste, transfer within ten days.
Grants to Non Million Plus Urban Local Bodies under the 15th Finance Commission are split 50% basic (untied) - not for salaries or establishment costs - and 50% tied for drinking water (including rainwater harvesting and recycling) and solid waste management. These grants are additional to funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes. States must transfer funds to ULBs within 10 working days of receipt from the Union Government; delays require release with interest. The press release lists State wise amounts released in 2021-22.

Dam safety: a risk-based asset management initiative to upgrade guidelines, emergency planning and climate resilience.
The program strengthens safety and performance of existing dams by establishing dam safety guidelines, introducing global practices and innovative technologies, and adopting a risk-based approach to asset management to prioritise resources. Implementation covers approximately 120 dams across ten states and is coordinated through the Central Water Commission, with provision for additional participants. Complementary measures include flood forecasting, integrated reservoir operations, Emergency Action Plans for downstream resilience, and pilots of supplemental revenue schemes such as floating solar.

Extension of e-filing due dates: CBDT extends deadlines for various income-tax Forms and regularises delayed filings.
CBDT issued Circular No.15/2021 extending electronic filing deadlines for specified Income-tax Forms: Form 15CC and Form 1 may be filed by 31st August, 2021; Form 64D by 15th September, 2021; Form 64C by 30th September, 2021. Due to non-availability of e-filing utilities, Pension Fund Form 10BBB and Sovereign Wealth Fund Form II SWF for the quarter ending 30th June, 2021 may be furnished by 30th September, 2021. The circular regularises forms e-filed after prior extended time limits up to the date of issuance of Circular No.15/2021.

Public financial management appointment: new Controller General of Accounts assumes charge, emphasising technical and administrative leadership.
Shri Deepak Das, a 1986-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer, has assumed charge as Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance effective August 1, 2021; the release emphasises his 35-year career across ministries, leadership at the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance, prior role as Principal Chief Controller of Accounts at the Central Board of Direct Taxes, and experience with technology-driven initiatives in tax collection, reporting and receipt accounting.