Public debt management report summarises government financing operations, cash management, debt profile and secondary market activity.
Release of a quarterly public debt management report summarising Central Government debt policy and market operations in five sections: macroeconomic conditions affecting debt markets; primary market debt management operations including financing requirements, auction details, cost and maturity of borrowings; cash management operations and rationale; outstanding debt accounting emphasising cost, risk, holding pattern and maturity profile; and secondary market activity in government securities. The Department of Economic Affairs will publish this report quarterly to provide transparency on financing strategy and the profile of public debt.

ADB chairmanship assumption strengthens India's role in shaping regional development cooperation and South Asia economic collaboration.
The Finance Minister will visit Manila and Dhaka to represent India at the ADB Annual Board of Governors' Meeting, take over the Chair of the Board until the next meeting in Delhi, address business sessions on economic and development themes, launch the Delhi 2013 ADB Annual Meeting website, hold bilateral and multilateral meetings in Manila, attend a commemorative ceremony in Dhaka, conduct delegation-level talks with Bangladesh leadership, and return to the national capital thereafter.

Tariff value revision for imports updates customs valuation for brass scrap, gold and silver for import assessment.
Notification revises tariff value declarations for select imports, assigning updated customs valuation figures for brass scrap (all grades) per metric tonne and for gold and silver, where benefit under specified earlier notification entries is availed, per their respective weight units; most listed palm and oilseed oil entries remain unchanged.

Liberal interpretation of identity requirements enables broader exchange of taxpayer information under DTAA, aligning with international standards.
The mutual agreement permits a liberal interpretation of identity requirements under the DTAA information exchange provision: the requesting State need not compulsory provide the name and address of the person under examination and the foreign holder, provided the person can be identified by other means and, where known, the name and address of any person believed to possess the requested information.

Development through Empowerment theme announced for ADB Annual Meeting; India to host and engage public private partners.
India will host the 46th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, with large participation from official delegations, ministers, central bankers, economists, private sector leaders and civil society. The meeting theme, "Development through Empowerment," emphasises policies and programmes focused on inclusive growth through skills development and legal entitlements. The Government will partner with industry associations under a public private partnership model for organising the event and has released a special logo and identified government and industry stakeholders for planning and outreach.

Allegations of undue delay in approval process rebutted by records showing timely processing and ministerial approval within the expected timeframe.
Allegations of intentional delay in approving a foreign acquisition are rebutted by administrative records showing normal processing: application filed to enhance equity on 30 January 2006, inter-ministerial comments within the usual four to six weeks, FIPB consideration and recommendation on 7 March 2006, ministerial review on 13 March 2006, and formal approval issued by the Ministry of Finance on 20 March 2006.

Bank licensing guidelines: draft released, final guidelines pending further stakeholder consultation by regulator.
Guidance on licensing of new private-sector banks was previously issued in formal guidelines; no new prescriptive criteria were published after the earlier set until a discussion paper was placed on the regulator's website and a draft set of guidelines was subsequently issued. Final guidelines will be promulgated after considering stakeholder views, maintaining a consultative finalisation process for the licensing framework.

Pre-payment penalty prohibition: lenders barred from charging foreclosure or pre-closure fees on floating-rate home loans.
Lenders are prohibited from levying pre-payment penalties or foreclosure charges on home loans with floating interest rates; housing finance companies are also advised not to charge pre-payment fees on floating-rate loans and not to impose pre-closure charges when fixed-rate housing loans are repaid from the borrower's own sources.

FDI restrictions in real estate persist, while ECB allowance exists specifically for low cost affordable housing projects.
FDI is prohibited in the real estate business except that 100 percent FDI under the automatic route is permitted for townships, housing, built up infrastructure and construction development projects subject to conditions; ECBs are generally not permitted for real estate, though Budget 2012-13 allows ECB for low cost affordable housing, and the Government is not proposing further relaxations of FDI norms for the construction development sector.

Recovery of tax arrears: audit found weakened control mechanisms and urged improved monitoring to enhance collection.
The C&AG performance audit identified weakening of control mechanisms and non-adherence to procedures in recovery of income tax arrears, recommended steps to strengthen internal controls and monitoring, and recorded certified demand remaining uncollected. Impediments to collection include non-traceable taxpayers, inadequate or nil assets, prosecution under the Special Court Act, cases before insolvency or rehabilitation bodies, and companies in liquidation; the Ministry monitors dues, evaluates collection prospects, and subjects large-demand cases to higher-level oversight.

Wholesale price inflation moderates; policy rates eased to support growth while guarding against renewed demand-led inflation.
Wholesale price inflation eased overall between October 2011 and March 2012, but primary articles saw renewed inflation led by protein-rich items due to demand-supply imbalances. Monetary policy adjusted repo rates under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility to balance growth moderation and guard against demand-led inflation, while the Union budget advanced supply-side measures-including a National Mission for Protein Supplement, oilseeds and oil palm initiatives, increased storage capacity, and boosted agricultural programme allocations-to improve availability and address inflationary pressures.

Duty exemptions for fuels and mining support production, with VGF extension and fuel supply agreements facilitating investment.
The government attributed slower growth in core sectors to weak crude petroleum, natural gas and steel performance and announced measures to boost production: promote private participation in exploration and mining, extend Viability Gap Funding to fertiliser and oil and gas infrastructure under the PPP support scheme, direct Coal India Limited to sign fuel supply agreements with power plants, and grant full exemptions or reductions in basic customs duty for fuels, coal mining projects and mining machinery and instruments.

Interest prohibition on eligible agricultural loans: lenders barred from charging interest post-scheme cutoff; exception for defaulting borrowers.
The Scheme imposed an interest moratorium on eligible agricultural loans, barring lenders from charging interest on the eligible amount after February 29, 2008, while permitting banks to charge interest after June 30, 2009 for borrowers who defaulted on their share and lost One Time Settlement eligibility; the Government reimbursed cooperative banks to support implementation.

Aadhaar-enabled payments: departments must provide Aadhaar and payment details to banks to credit beneficiaries' accounts.
The report recommends routing government payments, including Electronic Benefit Transfer and Direct Transfer of Subsidy, to Aadhaar-enabled accounts, requiring each government department or institution to submit the beneficiary's Aadhaar number and payment amount to its accredited bank, which will credit the beneficiary's account through a network of Business Correspondent agents using Micro-ATMs.

Mobile banking regulation expands permissible transactions while enforcing stronger authentication and mandatory card transaction alerts.
RBI directives permit banks and their business correspondents to provide mobile banking, with mobile banking grievances covered under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme; the framework was relaxed to expand permitted transactions while modifying encryption and transaction limit conditions. For credit cards, the RBI requires an additional factor of authentication for online and IVR transactions, mandatory transaction alerts to customers across all channels regardless of amount, and PIN validation after successive ATM transactions.

Diversion of agricultural loans: government records report no complaints of reallocation away from small and marginal farmers in Delhi.
The government reported aggregate agriculture credit disbursements for 2011-12 and the share to small and marginal farmers, provided crop-loan figures for Delhi for 2010-11 and up to December 2011, and stated that regulatory reporting disclosed no complaints alleging diversion of loans meant for small or marginal farmers to larger farmers in Delhi.

Education loan scheme access for eligible students ensured with oversight on bank compliance and timely application disposal.
The revised Educational Loan Scheme circulated by the India Banks' Association is available for adoption by member banks and covers all students, including minorities; it limits eligibility to Indian nationals admitted to professional or technical courses in India or abroad through entrance tests or merit selection. Banks may modify the model but must observe the scheme's core eligibility and scope. Complaints about non-sanction, non-disbursal or delays are being acted upon, and Public Sector Banks' implementation and timeliness in disposing loan applications are subject to review and advisories to ensure faithful execution.

Diesel price policy: market determination endorsed but RSP modulation retained to shield consumers from price shocks.
Provision is made in the Budget Estimate to finance oil subsidies including compensation to oil companies for under recoveries and Post APM subsidies; payments have been made under PDS kerosene and domestic LPG subsidy, freight subsidy for remote areas, and subsidy for natural gas supply to the North Eastern Region. The Government supports market determination of diesel prices in principle but continues to modulate Retail Selling Prices of diesel to shield consumers, and has no present proposal to fully deregulate cooking gas prices.

Infrastructure investment through debt funds and reforms boosts growth prospects and eases supply bottlenecks in key sectors.
Measures focus on mobilising infrastructure finance through an Infrastructure Debt Fund, promoting public private partnerships, announcing a new manufacturing policy, and enacting legislative reforms to develop the banking sector. Complementary actions address supply bottlenecks in agriculture, energy and transport-notably coal, power, national highways, railways and civil aviation-to support industrial growth; a recent central bank policy rate reduction is cited as further supportive to growth prospects.

Trade policy and technology adoption urged to stabilise sugar supply and boost quality, recovery, energy and environmental performance.
The Finance Minister urged adoption of advanced technology to improve production, productivity, sugar quality and recovery from sugarcane; highlighted government use of trade policy instruments, including duty free imports under specific schemes to stabilise supply and prices; identified priorities-improved sugar quality, energy conservation, environmental considerations, higher recovery and reduced water intensity-and called for development of by product technologies, co generation, carbon credit opportunities and enhanced international cooperation on data, research and technology transfer.