Trade facilitation: CBEC and designated bank counters to remain open and strike withdrawal ensures uninterrupted tax acceptance and clearances.
Directive mandates CBEC offices to remain open on 29th-31st March, 2013 with normal hours; designated agency bank branches and RBI counters conducting government business will keep counters open and provide e-payment infrastructure for tax acceptance. The proposed nationwide strike by Associations of Superintendents and Inspectors of Central Excise for those dates has been withdrawn, and additional staff including IRS (Customs & Central Excise) probationers have been deployed to ensure uninterrupted clearances and trade facilitation.

Secured lending: PPP project debts recognised as secured where concession agreements, escrow priority and lender termination rights exist.
RBI authorises treating PPP project debts governed by model Concession Agreements as secured lending where the Project Authority's assurances apply, conditioned on escrowed user charges with senior lender priority, prescribed risk mitigation measures (such as tariff increases or extended concession periods), lender rights of substitution and to trigger termination on debt service default, and a compulsory buy out obligation by the Project Authority with pre determined debt repayment upon termination.

Foreign direct investment approvals advance multiple sectoral projects while several proposals were deferred and one rejected.
Government approved twelve foreign direct investment proposals across sectors including commerce, pharmaceuticals, industrial policy, electronics and IT, financial services and economic affairs, covering equity inductions, wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, downstream investments and share transfers; some approvals involved no fresh inflow and others recorded capital infusion. Nine proposals were deferred for further consideration and one proposal in the pharmaceutical sector was rejected.

Preferential import suspension of Thailand gold jewellery pending Certificate of Origin verification and retroactive audit.
Suspension of concessional import treatment for identified gold jewellery tariff lines from Thailand pending a retroactive check of Certificates of Origin issued under the Early Harvest Scheme. India-Thailand trade frameworks, including the Early Harvest Scheme and the ASEAN-India trade arrangement, previously covered gold jewellery for preferential treatment. The Department of Revenue has been advised to suspend preferential imports for the specified tariff lines until Thailand completes verification of origin documents.

Trade facilitation: field offices and banks instructed to extend opening hours to support revenue collection and trade services.
CBEC directed its field formation offices to remain open during the last three days of March 2013 as a trade facilitation and revenue collection measure and to issue trade notices; the Department of Financial Services was requested to have banks extend business hours and open for at least half days on specified dates, including gazetted holidays and a Sunday, to align banking availability with customs operations.

SEZ land-use restrictions bar sale of SEZ land and require state recommendation for establishment, limiting real estate misuse.
The SEZ Rules, 2006 contain safeguards to prevent SEZs from being used for real estate sales; Rule 11(9) prohibits the sale of land in an SEZ. Board approval for establishment is given only on explicit recommendation of the concerned State Government and subject to SEZ Act and Rules conditions, with land availability and provisioning remaining the responsibility of State Government agencies.

MSME export promotion: Government to form working groups and pursue technology, skill and IPR measures to boost competitiveness.
A high-level review of MSME exports gathered industry and senior officials to address barriers-cost of credit, technology upgradation, skill development, packaging and export incentives-and committed to forming small working groups for rapid follow-up and reconvened review to develop implementable measures. The meeting emphasized technology adoption, innovation, increased MSME participation in advanced sectors, and creation and protection of intellectual property alongside structured skill upgradation programmes to boost export competitiveness.

Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement negotiations continue, market access refined and India seeks EU recognition of its data protection framework.
Negotiations for a Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement between India and the EU proceed across multiple tracks-including goods, services, investment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers, government procurement, customs cooperation, dispute settlement, competition and intellectual property-with market access positions crystallized after stakeholder consultation; separately, the EU's 2010 report did not grant India Data Secure Status, and the Indian Government has requested reconsideration in light of amendments to the Information Technology Act and 2011 rules.

Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and Australia continue covering goods, services and investment with no fixed timeline.
Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement/Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between India and Australia were authorised following a Joint Study Group report to cover goods, services, investment and related issues; multiple negotiating rounds occurred, parties exchanged a Goods Offer, and Working Groups addressed goods, investment, services, SPS/TBT, Rules of Origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation. Negotiations remain ongoing with no fixed timeframe.

Trade agreements with ASEAN accelerate regional integration and complement export support measures for India's North East.
The Look East Policy advances ASEAN economic integration through CECA instruments including Trade in Goods, Services and Investment agreements, while domestic measures for the North East-via a North East Cell and an Export Development Fund-finance export linked activities such as pilot projects, equipment provision, common facilities and testing/standardisation; state proposals are invited and seventy two proposals have been approved for final assistance under the EDF.

Open General Licence export policy permits non-basmati rice and wheat exports while pulses except Kabuli Chana remain prohibited.
Export of non-basmati rice and wheat is authorised under an Open General Licence, pulses (except Kabuli Chana) are prohibited from export, and sugar exports are permitted subject to registration with DGFT. CCEA approved exports of wheat from Central Pool stocks via tender subject to a floor price, with Central PSUs implementing government export/import decisions. Export decisions consider surplus availability, food security, diplomatic and humanitarian needs, international demand and standards, variety and price competitiveness, and the balance between grower remuneration and consumer affordability. APEDA assists registered exporters in post harvest infrastructure.

Arsenic contamination concerns prompt clarification that no official report was received even as basmati exports rose.
The Government reported rising basmati rice exports and stated that domestic agricultural prices are influenced by demand, supply, production costs and inflation rather than exports alone; it has not received any official report from the US regulatory authority or the diplomatic mission, though the US regulator's website posts a consumer update noting preliminary arsenic tests in some food products including basmati rice.

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement expands trade liberalisation with ASEAN covering goods, services and investment cooperation.
Bilateral merchandise trade statistics between India and ASEAN for 2009-10 through January 2013 are presented for exports, imports and total trade; data cover goods only and lack uniform quantity measures. Priority sectors for trade expansion are listed, and the summary records that India and ASEAN concluded an Agreement on Trade in Goods under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, and negotiated Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment, alongside separate CECAs and negotiating frameworks with individual member states.

Accredited Client Programme offers certified importers expedited customs processing subject to annual renewal and post clearance audits.
The Accredited Client Programme grants assured facilitation to importers demonstrating compliance, initially for one year with annual extensions, and is subject to post-clearance audits; enrolment and cargo percentages are reported, audits revealed short levy of duty and partial recovery, with further action under legal provisions.

Extension of filing deadline for Form ST-3 to prevent electronic filing congestion and ease return submission obligations.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking sub-rule(4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, extended the last date for submission of Form ST-3 for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 September 2012 from 25 March 2013 to 15 April 2013 to address anticipated ACES availability and avoid network congestion that could impede filing.

External Commercial Borrowings reporting outlines ECB/FCCB inflows by route, end use and maturity for supervisory transparency.
Regulatory disclosure lists ECB and FCCB inflows for January 2013 under the Automatic Route and Approval Route, detailing borrowers, amounts, stated end uses (e.g., new projects, import of capital goods, modernisation, refinancing, on lending) and approximate maturities. Automatic Route entries derive from Form 83 submissions; certain cases are flagged for clarification on end use conformity and borrower eligibility. Route totals and a grand total are provided to support supervisory monitoring of external borrowings and route specific compliance.

DBFOT projects expand port infrastructure enabling increased dry bulk handling and long-term private concession operations.
Approval was granted for two 30-year concessions to develop multipurpose and mechanised berths at Haldia Dock II on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis, to be financed and operated by concessionaires and transferred at concession expiry, aimed at increasing dry bulk handling capacity to meet hinterland demand for coal and other bulk cargo.

Export decline prompted expanded trade incentives, scheme additions, and broadened interest subvention to support shipments.
Exports contracted in the first half of 2012-13 across multiple merchandise sectors due to weak global demand and competitive pressures. In response, the government implemented targeted export promotion measures: additions to the Focus Product Scheme and markets, updates to MLFPS/VKGUY, an Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme for specified markets, and expansion of a 2% Interest Subvention Scheme to engineering sub sectors with extended validity.

Special Economic Zone approvals: conversion of in-principle to formal approval subject to contiguity, plus state-wise SEZ status.
Announcement of central government SEZ approval activity: in-principle approval was granted to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for a port-based multi-product SEZ at JNPT, with the Board of Approval subsequently approving conversion of that in-principle approval into formal approval subject to contiguity. An annexed state-wise table records counts of formal approvals, in-principle approvals, notified SEZs, and exporting/operational SEZs and provides aggregated totals as of the stated date.

Export competitiveness measures expanded to counterfalling external demand and support engineering exports through targeted subsidy schemes.
A decline in engineering exports for April-January 2012-13 to key regions-most sharply to ASEAN+2 and with reductions to the EU, Rest of Europe, North America, North East Asia and South Asia-is attributed to weakened global demand. In response, the Government expanded and extended the Interest Subvention Scheme, broadened the Focus Market and Focus Product schemes, introduced a 2% Incremental Export Scheme for Q4 2012-13 for select markets, and launched a 2% pilot interest subvention for project exports via EXIM Bank for SAARC, Africa and Myanmar.