Competitive bidding for coal mines mandated, with specified exceptions for government companies and power-project awardees.
The Amendment Act authorises grant of reconnaissance permits, prospective licences or mining leases for coal and lignite areas by Auction by Competitive Bidding under prescribed terms; exceptions permit direct allocation to a government company or corporation for mining or specified end use, and to a company awarded a power project through competitive tariff bids, including ultra mega power projects.

Indian Leather Development Programme funding: central grant allocations and statewise disbursements disclosed, including unspent balance adjustments.
The Indian Leather Development Programme provided central grant-in-aid to states for leather sector development, with state-wise disbursements for 2009-10 through 2012-13 and annual GOI assistance figures; differences between state totals and central assistance are attributed to release of prior-year unspent balances by a financial intermediary.

Steel deregulation allows producers to source iron ore freely; export duty imposed to secure domestic availability.
NMDC supplies iron ore to some sponge iron units but is not the sole supplier; its Karnataka output is sold via e auction per judicial directions. National production exceeded consumption in the cited year, NMDC plans capacity increases, and a high Customs duty on iron ore exports (except pellets) has been imposed to favour domestic availability. Steel is deregulated, allowing producers to source ore from anywhere, and the Ministry does not keep records of individual producers' sourcing; no notice of Odisha imposing a transport ban was reported to the Ministry.

Government export support measures for engineering sector: expand focus schemes and reduce transaction costs to boost competitiveness.
Government assessment attributes reduced engineering exports to weakened external demand in major markets rather than raw material scarcity, and describes policy measures to improve competitiveness by expanding tariff-line coverage under the Focus Product and Market Linked Focus Product Schemes, widening markets under the Focus Market Scheme, and reducing transaction costs via information technology.

Land as State Subject: SEZ land governed by state policy, sale prohibited and BOA approves state recommended proposals.
Land for SEZs is a state subject; availability, tenure and terms are set by State Governments and BOA considers only State recommended proposals. Sale of SEZ land is prohibited under the SEZ Rules. The BOA determines the authorised quantum of social, commercial and industrial infrastructure after assessing SEZ functional requirements. Government periodically reviews SEZ policy; as of 10 December 2012 there were 585 formally approved SEZs totalling 71,302.19 hectares, with a state wise area annexed.

Export duty and freight increases reduced iron ore exports; government promotes agricultural exports via targeted assistance schemes.
Levy of a 30% ad valorem export duty on iron ore lumps and fines and higher railway freight for export cargo have led to a decline in iron ore exports, which had been driven by exports of fines due to limited domestic pelletization/sintering capacity. There is no export incentive scheme for coal and rare earth minerals. To boost agro exports, the Government implements assistance schemes (including MDA, MAI, ASIDE, Vishesh Krishi and related focus product/market programmes) and APEDA financial support, supplemented by trade delegations and buyer-seller meets. Annexed tables provide provisional and historical export data.

SAFTA sensitive list reduction expands zero-duty market access, promoting bilateral trade facilitation and tariff barrier reduction.
Under SAFTA, India reduced its Sensitive List for Least Developed Countries, including Bangladesh, and granted zero basic customs duty access on items removed from that list; Bangladesh reciprocally reduced its sensitive list for non-LDC partners. Both governments have taken steps to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers and to improve physical infrastructure for bilateral trade facilitation, and organised a joint trade promotion event in Dhaka to enhance future trade and investment opportunities.

Allocation of coal blocks to proceed via auction and tariff-based bidding, with exceptions for government and awarded power projects.
The Government has earmarked coal blocks for allocation to government companies, the power sector and auction-selected companies, with allocation to proceed only under the amended statutory framework requiring competitive auction and tariff-based bidding after detailed exploration. The Amendment mandates auction-based grant of reconnaissance permits, prospecting licences and mining leases for coal and lignite, while excluding areas allocated to Government companies and to companies awarded power projects via tariff-based competitive bids; allocations must follow the Amendment and the notified auction rules.

FDI liberalisation broadens sectoral investment limits and supports trade normalisation, facilitating enhanced economic engagement and market access.
The document sets out 2012 policy actions to liberalise FDI-raising foreign equity caps and opening sectors such as retail, airlines, power exchanges and broadcasting-alongside institutional measures to promote manufacturing via NIMZs and implementation boards. It describes trade normalisation steps with Pakistan through a shift to a negative list and SAFTA tariff reductions, and details export support measures including expanded EPCG options, interest subvention extensions, status holder incentives, e BRC implementation, and continued SEZ facilitation with automatic route FDI.

Coal import advisory urges utilities to import coal to bridge domestic shortfall and pursue overseas acquisitions via JV.
Power utilities were advised to import coal during 2012-13 to bridge the gap between national coal demand and domestic availability and to build stocks; Coal India Limited will acquire and develop overseas thermal coal assets, and International Coal Ventures Limited was formed as a joint venture of major public sector promoters to acquire, operate and import coal from overseas mines for supply to thermal power plants.

External Commercial Borrowings disclosure: RBI published ECB/FCCB allocations by route, end use, borrower and maturity for monitoring compliance.
The Reserve Bank of India published detailed monthly disclosures of External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) for October 2012, categorised by route (Automatic and Approval), listing borrower, USD equivalent, stated end use and approximate maturity. Automatic Route entries are based on Form 83 submissions for Loan Registration Numbers; clarifications were sought from certain companies on end use conformity, borrower eligibility and other ECB parameters. Aggregate totals for each route and a Grand Total are provided to enable monitoring of external borrowing inflows and compliance.

Export regulation of cotton: exportable surplus to determine registration; exports allowed under open general licence with contract registration.
The Government governs cotton exports by enforcing an exportable surplus determination and requiring registration of export contracts; exports are placed on an Open General Licence while registration must adhere to the surplus established by the Cotton Advisory Board, with this policy anchored in the National Fibre Policy and related planning and financing provisions.

Debt restructuring for textile borrowers implemented case-by-case to restore debt serviceability under banking prudential norms.
Volatility in cotton prices and domestic prices exceeding support levels caused financial distress in the textiles sector-negative operating cash flows, low profitability, adverse capital structure and inadequate debt service coverage-necessitating a targeted debt restructuring package implemented on a case-by-case basis under banking prudential guidelines to restore debt serviceability and stabilise textile borrowers' capital positions.

Cotton export licensing moved to open general licence with DGFT registration, balancing exports and domestic supply stability.
India experienced a slight production decline yet maintained an exportable surplus and adequate domestic availability; markets traded below the COTLOOK benchmark with orderly functioning. The Government limited intervention to minimum support price operations in some States and regularly reviews cotton distribution policy. Cotton exports were shifted to an open general licence regime requiring DGFT registration, and the registration certificate limit was raised to facilitate exports while preserving domestic supply.

Export policy for agricultural products promotes increased exports through targeted assistance schemes and market development measures.
Government export policy for agricultural produce balances domestic food security and grower remuneration with international competitiveness by calibrating exports according to available stocks, surplus over buffer norms and strategic reserve needs. To encourage agro-exports the Ministry implements targeted assistance and promotional measures including Market Development Assistance, ASIDE, Vishesh Krishi and Gram Upaj Yojana, Focus Product and Focus Market Schemes, infrastructure support and market access activities.

Withdrawal of tax exemptions for SEZs undermines investor confidence; government reviews policy to restore stability and implementation.
Withdrawal of exemptions from Minimum Alternate Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax, together with an uncertain fiscal regime and global export slowdown, reduced investor interest in SEZs. The government periodically reviews the SEZ policy and operational framework based on stakeholder inputs and takes measures to facilitate speedy and effective implementation and restore investor confidence.

No import proposal for rice and wheat as central pool stocks and higher domestic production meet buffer requirements.
No import proposal for rice and wheat is indicated because Central Pool stocks exceed buffer norms and strategic reserves, and no imports have occurred in the past three years for Central Pool needs. The Government relies on supply-side measures-National Food Security Mission components, subsidies for agricultural equipment under central schemes, and increased Minimum Support Prices-to boost domestic rice and wheat production, which official data show has risen over the cited period and underpins the decision not to import.

Customs enforcement action sought as complaints of fraudulent cashew imports are referred for regulatory investigation and compliance.
Complaints alleging fraudulent imports of raw cashew nut were referred to the Central Board of Excise & Customs for appropriate action; this disclosure accompanied three-year import data identifying major source countries and provisional figures for the most recent year, as provided by the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry in a parliamentary written reply.

Sugar export controls: quota releases and market directives used to stabilise domestic sugar prices and availability.
Control of sugar availability and pricing is effected through a regulated release mechanism whereby authorities manage open-market sales and quotas to stabilise domestic retail prices. Measures included permitting sale of unsold non-levy stocks, directing mills to sell a specified proportion of their quarterly quota, and releasing additional non-levy and supplementary quotas with defined sell-off deadlines. No export authorisation for the current sugar year had been announced, and these administrative quota releases and sales directives operate as supply-side tools to influence market availability and price stability.

Trade deficit widening amid monthly export-import fluctuations, contributing to a larger current account gap relative to GDP.
Monthly merchandise trade data for 2012 show exports and imports fluctuating, with the trade deficit narrowing between February and April, rising in May, falling in June, and then increasing through October. The press release links these movements to the broader external position by reporting the 2011-12 current account deficit at US$ 78.2 billion (about 4.2% of GDP), up from US$ 45.9 billion (about 2.7% of GDP) in 2010-11, sourced to DGCI&S, Kolkata.