G20 Framework Working Group meeting to review macroeconomic reports and define future work priorities for global policy guidance.
G20 Framework Working Group will meet in Raipur to review 2023 deliberations and identify future work areas, informed by the Presidency deliverables: the G20 report on macroeconomic impacts of food and energy insecurity and the G20 report on macroeconomic risks from climate change and transition pathways. Over 65 delegates from member and invitee countries and international organisations will participate, with outreach events on digital banking, financial inclusion, financial literacy, and cultural engagements organised alongside the meeting.

India-UK Infrastructure Finance Bridge launched to mobilise investment and deepen financial services cooperation including GIFT IFSC initiatives.
Adoption of a joint statement concluded the 12th India UK Economic and Financial Dialogue and announced the India UK Infrastructure Finance Bridge, a collaborative initiative to mobilise expertise and investment in support of India's National Infrastructure Pipeline. The parties committed to deepen cooperation on financial services and investment in the GIFT IFSC, build a robust FinTech partnership, advance sustainable finance, and enhance knowledge exchange and multilateral economic collaboration.

Flexible inflation targeting anchors price stability while enabling calibrated policy responses to growth and supply shocks.
The monetary policy framework shifted to Flexible Inflation Targeting in 2016, with a legislatively mandated numerical inflation target and a collegial Monetary Policy Committee to decide the policy rate. Forward-looking forecasts-nowcasting, short-term econometric projections, and a calibrated quarterly model-anchor policy choices. FIT's flexibility enabled calibrated easing, targeted liquidity operations and limited asset purchases during the pandemic, and a subsequent withdrawal of accommodation in response to generalized inflationary shocks, all supported by transparent communication and liquidity management.

ITR processing improved; taxpayers must promptly verify returns and validate bank accounts to avoid delays.
The Income Tax Department reports that a large majority of ITRs for AY 2023-24 have been verified and over 88% of verified returns processed, leading to numerous refunds issued; processing times have fallen markedly. Remaining unprocessed ITRs are primarily due to taxpayers not completing verification, not responding to requests for additional information, or not validating bank accounts for refunds, and taxpayers are asked to take the required actions via the e-filing portal.

Capital expenditure as the central policy lever underpins growth by crowding in private investment and boosting manufacturing output.
Policy emphasis on capital expenditure is identified as the primary growth instrument, crowding in private sector investment and supporting employment and household incomes. Recovery in rural consumption and residential real estate demand, plus services export strength and manufacturing expansion, underpin near term growth while inflation remains contained but monitored. Structural measures-public digital platforms, PM GatiShakti, National Logistics Policy, and Production Linked Incentive schemes-are framed to boost manufacturing output and sustain investment momentum.

Financial inclusion via PMJDY expands formal banking access and enables seamless direct benefit transfers to marginalised adults.
PMJDY establishes nationwide access to basic financial services for unbanked adults through BSBD accounts with relaxed and e KYC, interoperable RuPay debit cards, overdraft facilities, micro insurance and pension linkages, and a credit guarantee mechanism. Technology-online core banking, AePS, RuPay and the Jan Dhan Darshak App-and a fixed point Business Correspondent model reduce costs and enable seamless Direct Benefit Transfers, digital transactions, and expanded deposit mobilisation among women and rural accountholders.

Enhanced taxpayer services improve access to Direct Tax laws and compliance tools through revamped website.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes launched a redesigned Income Tax Department website serving as a consolidated repository of Direct Tax laws, allied Acts, Rules, circulars and notifications, with cross-references and hyperlinked texts. A dedicated Taxpayer Services Module provides tools to assist filing, while features such as mobile-responsive layout, mega menu, guided virtual tours, comparison tools for statutes and treaties, section-based content tagging, and dynamic due-date alerts aim to improve navigation and facilitate compliance.

Perquisite valuation rules updated for employer provided accommodation; city categories and percentage rates revised to reduce tax burden.
Amendment to Rule 3 of the Income tax Rules, 1962 revises computation of the perquisite for employer provided rent free or concessional residential accommodation by updating city categorisation to the 2011 census with higher population thresholds, reducing the percentage rates applied to salary for valuation, and providing a rationalised method to compute the perquisite where the same accommodation is occupied across multiple previous years.

Advance rulings provide pre-investment tax certainty for resident and non-resident taxpayers, promoting dispute prevention and faster resolution.
The notification operationalises the Board for Advance Rulings and implements an E-advance Ruling Scheme to provide tax certainty via e-mail and video conferencing. The Scheme enables non-resident investors and qualifying resident taxpayers, as well as public sector undertakings, to obtain rulings on tax liability and questions of fact or law, supported by a procedural Handbook to guide applications and hearings, with the stated aim of preventing disputes and facilitating prompt resolution.

Self employment support expands jobs and domestic demand through Mudra financing and MSME relief measures.
Prime Minister attributes India's rise to enhanced fiscal transfers and targeted welfare spending that expand national capacity. The Government highlights specific interventions: large scale support for self employment under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana driving new business formation and job creation; loan assistance to shore up MSMEs during the COVID 19 crisis; movement of millions out of poverty into the middle class; an increased income tax exemption threshold benefiting salaried taxpayers; and continued efforts to control inflation to reduce household burdens.

Strengthening multilateral development banks to expand sustainable lending and bolster financial capacity for global development goals.
Strengthening multilateral development banks is central to the agenda, with an Expert Group proposing a triple agenda: expand MDB mandates to tackle global challenges alongside poverty reduction, substantially increase sustainable lending by 2030, and enhance MDB financial strength through capital adequacy improvements and capital increases; implementing these within MDB governance frameworks is presented as essential. Parallel priorities include coordinated debt treatment and restructuring for vulnerable countries, advancement of Digital Public Infrastructure to foster inclusion and stability, and principles for mobilizing private finance for urban infrastructure.

Make in India initiative expands manufacturing investment through incentives, reforms and institutional mechanisms to attract investors.
Make in India establishes a coordinated policy framework to expand manufacturing by facilitating investment and easing compliance through measures such as corporate tax reduction, GST implementation, FDI liberalisation, a National Single Window System, and Project Development Cells. Targeted instruments include Production Linked Incentive Schemes, the National Infrastructure and Monetisation Pipelines, India Industrial Land Bank, Industrial Park Rating System, and One District One Product to attract investment, boost production and exports, and develop regional value chains.

Investment facilitation through liberalized FDI policy and single window clearance to boost manufacturing competitiveness and export access.
Investment attraction is pursued through an investor friendly FDI policy with broad automatic route access and ongoing liberalisation, with all government approval filings channelled via the National Single Window System. Project Development Cells in Ministries/Departments and the Business Reforms Action Plan drive administrative facilitation and state level reform assessment. Manufacturing and export competitiveness are supported by Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes across fourteen priority sectors, alongside Make in India and Startup India initiatives.

Artificial intelligence in finance professionals urged to modernise procedures and improve efficiency and cost reduction by ICoAS leadership.
The celebration recognised ICoAS officers' advisory role in appraisal and approval of government financial proposals and noted study reports that achieved significant savings and efficiency in public expenditure; it also emphasised integrating automation and artificial intelligence into finance functions to modernise procedures and improve service delivery.

Cross-border payments cooperation advances, focusing on interoperable systems and climate finance mobilization to support renewable investment.
Senior finance officials from India and the United States met to coordinate policy work ahead of the next ministerial meeting, addressing the bilateral economic outlook, shared approaches to global debt challenges, and cooperation to mobilize climate finance and accelerate the clean energy transition through innovative investment platforms. They reviewed developments in cross-border payment systems, including India's unified payments interface and the U.S. faster-payments implementation, and committed to ongoing collaboration to develop interoperable payment solutions under the G20 Cross-Border Payments Roadmap.

Access to affordable credit for street vendors: banks urged to expedite sanctioned loans and avoid returns based solely on low credit scores.
A joint DFS-Tamil Nadu review directed banks and urban local bodies to collaboratively review and rectify returned PM SVANidhi applications, avoid rejection solely for low credit bureau scores, expedite sanction and disbursement of loans covered by the credit guarantee scheme, and ensure branch-level dissemination and senior-official field visits to improve scheme implementation.

Startup recognition enables access to funding schemes, credit guarantees, IP fast track and regulatory incentives for eligible startups.
The Startup India initiative provides a DPIIT recognition based framework granting recognised startups access to targeted funding instruments (FFS, SISFS), the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) operated by NCGTC, expedited intellectual property support, regulatory relaxations including self certification under specified laws, procurement advantages, and time limited income tax exemptions, supplemented by national programmes and digital platforms to connect startups with investors, mentors and markets.

Settlement scheme Vivad se Vishwas II offers graded voluntary settlements for government contractual disputes under standardized terms.
Vivad se Vishwas II is a one-time voluntary settlement scheme for domestic contractual disputes involving the Government or its controlled organisations, covering arbitral awards passed on or before 31.01.2023 and court awards passed on or before 30.04.2023. Eligible claims must be submitted through GeM (with IREPS for certain Railways contracts). The scheme offers graded standardized settlement terms with maximum settlement amounts of up to 65% of net arbitral awards and up to 85% of net court awards, pursuant to Department of Expenditure guidelines issued for implementation.

ITR Filing surge leads to wider tax base and faster processing via e-verification and new e-pay platform.
Record ITR filings for AY 2023-24 through 31 July 2023 exceeded prior-year filings with a peak on the statutory due date and notable participation by first-time filers, reflecting an expanding tax base. The Department reported high rates of e-verification-primarily via Aadhaar OTP-with a majority of e-verified returns processed by the cut-off. The replacement of the earlier payment system by the TIN 2.0 e-pay platform enabled multiple real-time payment modes and substantial challan throughput since rollout.

Capex-led growth strategy to catalyse private investment and sustain high economic growth through targeted reforms and incentives.
The central policy emphasis is a capex-led growth strategy that raises public capital expenditure and uses that fiscal push-together with structural reforms, Grants-in-Aid to States, and targeted incentives-to crowd in private investment and sustain high economic growth.