Trade imbalance prompted bilateral talks to seek export facilitation, investment in manufacturing, and coordinated support for a food security proposal.
A bilateral economic dialogue targeted a trade imbalance by directing three working groups to meet and by tasking the trade and economic cooperation group to prepare an action plan to improve India's trade position; India sought facilitation of exports in pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, buffalo meat and IT services while China signalled willingness to facilitate imports and consider investment in National Manufacturing Investment Zones with interest in infrastructure, power and capital goods manufacturing.

Customs duty increase on gold, silver and platinum raises CVD and excise rates, tightening import incentives.
Customs duties on gold, platinum and silver have been raised to 10% with consequential increases to duties on gold ore/concentrate and dore bars; CVD on gold dore bars and gold ore/concentrate has been increased to 8% and on silver dore bars to 7%. Notifications implementing these changes have been laid in Parliament. Excise duty on refined gold bars produced from ores, concentrates or dore bars and on silver produced from ores, concentrates or dore bars (including production via base-metal smelting) has been increased to 9% and 8% respectively, as part of measures to restrain rising imports.

Agricultural export policy balances surplus, food security and market factors, allowing selective removals and restrictions.
Agricultural export policy applies a multi-factor assessment prioritising availability of surplus beyond buffer/strategic reserves and food security, together with diplomatic/humanitarian concerns, international demand supply, quality standards, varietal distinctions and price competitiveness to decide export/import measures. The Government consults stakeholders before framing policy; in recent years it removed bans on several staple and value added items while maintaining restrictions for scarce commodities like pulses and edible oils, allowing some premium varieties to be exported.

Voluntary compliance scheme grants immunity from penalty and interest when disclosed service tax dues are paid under the scheme.
The release announces an FAQ booklet for the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, offering a one time opportunity to disclose unpaid service tax for the covered period; on payment of disclosed tax dues there is complete waiver of interest, penalty and other proceedings ("no penalty, no interest"). The booklet contains clarifications, statutory provisions, rules and forms to guide declarants and is intended to encourage disclosure and compliance.

Export target revision: planned export doubling scaled back due to adverse domestic and global economic conditions.
A national trade strategy to double merchandise exports was scaled back when the terminal-year export target was revised downward; the administrative adjustment was justified by weak industrial growth, higher credit costs, currency depreciation, sovereign debt turbulence abroad, recession in advanced economies and sluggish global demand, and was communicated to the legislature in a written ministerial reply.

Free trade agreement safeguards: domestic measures permitted including anti-dumping and safeguards to address import surges.
Pre agreement feasibility and sectoral impact studies are undertaken internally and through a Joint Study Group (JSG), whose reports inform FTA negotiations and are published; FTAs include sensitive/negative lists limiting tariff concessions, preserve rights to anti-dumping and safeguards against import surges and injury, and establish a Joint Review Mechanism to monitor implementation and address impacts.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures prompt requests for import tolerance and enforcement discretion in response to detained rice consignments.
A detention of basmati rice consignments for alleged pesticide residue was resolved after U.S. FDA testing; India requested the U.S. EPA to examine a dossier to set an import tolerance for tricyclazole and asked the U.S. FDA to exercise enforcement discretion pending EPA action, alongside tabulated 2012-13 export data provided in a parliamentary written reply.

Food safety compliance strengthened for agricultural exports through residue monitoring, traceability, standards and certification measures.
Measures to secure food safety compliance for agricultural exports include a residue monitoring plan for table grapes, a web based traceability system for grapes, aflatoxin control for peanuts and peanut products, and notified standards for fruits and vegetables under the AGMARK Act. APEDA registration schemes for pack houses and processing units, laboratory recognition and upgradation, accreditation of certification agencies (HACCP, ISO, GAP), and development of packaging and sea transport protocols further operationalise export quality and safety requirements.

Foreign direct investment approvals cover equity swaps, post facto regularisations and downstream investments under FIPB recommendations.
Central Government approved twelve FDI proposals per FIPB recommendations totaling about Rs. 343.39 crore, covering equity swaps, post facto regularisation of NRI/foreign inflows, downstream investments, increase of foreign equity in brownfield pharma, corporate restructuring of NBFCs and issuance of shares for non cash consideration. Four proposals were deferred, three rejected, two advised to use the automatic route, two placed in abeyance pending brownfield pharma policy, and several other matters were kept in abeyance, withdrawn, or required clarifications.

Agri Export Zones moratorium: new AEZ notifications restricted pending compelling reasons following peer evaluation and review.
DGFT-notified sixty Agri Export Zones across various states, each with specified commodity and district focus, have completed their initial five-year spans. A 2005 peer evaluation assessed AEZ performance and led to a policy decision to refrain from notifying new AEZs unless strong, compelling reasons are shown. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry disclosed these facts and the conditional restraint on fresh notifications in a parliamentary reply.

Special Economic Zones performance shows substantial export contribution and policy adjustments aimed at improving investor friendliness.
Statistics show 576 SEZ proposals approved, 392 SEZs notified and 173 operational as of 31 July 2013, with state-wise distribution provided. Export data present SEZ contribution to national exports and Q1 2013-14 figures. The Department monitors export, investment and employment and cites studies linking SEZs to local employment, new activities and social infrastructure; policy and operational amendments were made to improve investor-friendliness.

Exemptions for supplies to SEZs allow duty- and service-tax-free authorized operations; DTA suppliers may claim rebate from excise authorities.
Supplies to SEZ units for authorized operations are exempt from Central Excise Duty and Service Tax, while DTA suppliers who paid excise on such supplies may claim a rebate from the jurisdictional excise authorities. The SEZ Act envisages a Single Window Clearance mechanism and state-level enabling legislation. SEZ Rules 2006 Rule 53 requires units to achieve positive Net Foreign Exchange earnings cumulatively over five years, with certain limited categories of domestic sales allowed to be counted toward NFE.

Exchange rate volatility: RBI tightened liquidity to curb disorderly FX moves, to be rolled back as stability is restored.
Reserve Bank of India maintained policy rates unchanged and used liquidity tightening and open market operations to check exchange rate volatility, linking rollback to state-contingent indicators such as bid-ask spreads, intraday FX volatility, forward contract volumes, futures open interest and global market conditions; objective is orderly adjustment not defending a specific exchange-rate level, while addressing macro risks from a high current account deficit, inflation pass-through and supply constraints and preferring domestic financing and structural measures over sovereign bond issuance at this juncture.

Fiscal consolidation: government commits to a strict fiscal deficit target and measures to stabilize external financing.
The government commits to strict fiscal consolidation with a defined fiscal deficit ceiling and to fully finance the current account without drawing on reserves. Policy measures include compressing non essential imports (notably gold), boosting exports via increased incentives and funding, attracting stable foreign financing through FDI liberalisation, public sector fund raising abroad, NRI and institutional investor engagement, and calibrated liberalisation of longer term ECBs in consultation with the central bank.

Interest subvention rate increased for exporters, expanding eligible sectors and directing immediate clearance of pending claims.
An administrative increase in the Interest Subvention rate for exporters' credit has been announced, maintaining eligibility for all micro and small enterprise exporters and specified sectoral beneficiaries (handlooms, handicrafts, carpets, toys and sports goods, processed agricultural products, readymade garments, selected engineering tariff lines and certain textile made-ups). The government has directed immediate clearance of pending claims and scheduled a Board of Trade review to assess the export environment and implementation implications.

Monetary policy trilemma: limited discretion to counter external volatility while balancing growth support and inflation control.
The Reserve Bank kept key policy rates and the cash reserve ratio unchanged while maintaining the MSF markup, adopting a stance to address external shocks, support growth, guard against inflation, and manage liquidity to ensure credit flow. Liquidity tightening measures were used to stabilise the foreign exchange market and will be calibrated back as stability returns. Growth was revised down amid weak industrial activity; inflation will be guided toward the Bank's stated level by the target date using all instruments. Principal risks include external financial volatility, a large current account deficit, weak investment conditions, and supply constraints.

Monetary policy: repo rate unchanged at 7.25% amid FX volatility; liquidity tightening and gold import curbs deployed.
The Reserve Bank maintains a cautious monetary policy stance to restore foreign exchange stability amid capital outflows while managing growth and inflation risks. Operational measures include keeping the repo rate at 7.25%, reverse repo at 6.25%, MSF and bank rate at 10.25%, CRR at 4.0%, restricting LAF access (aggregate and bank-level limits), open market sales, a special repo window for mutual funds, tighter currency derivative norms, and gold import rationalisation with a 20/80 export availability requirement.

Monetary policy recalibration to restore exchange rate stability and manage inflationary and macro financial risks proactively.
Reserve Bank of India identifies heightened macro financial risks warranting a cautious monetary stance: slow recovery supported by monsoon, weak industrial activity and slack aggregate demand, alongside a still-large CAD and deteriorating external financing indicators. Contagion from global bond re pricing increased financial market volatility, prompting Reserve Bank measures to stabilise the exchange rate and tighten liquidity through higher facility rates, restricted LAF access, raised daily reserve maintenance and open market sales. Headline WPI inflation moderated but CPI remains elevated, with currency depreciation and fuel price risks noted.

Market economy status sought under antidumping rules while long-term potash supply cooperation and sectoral MoUs advance.
The Commission advanced sectoral trade cooperation, focusing on securing long-term supply agreements for potash with volumes and terms to be finalised between the Belarusian potash producer and an Indian counterpart to be nominated by the Government of India. India and Belarus signed a Protocol and agreed to negotiate a textiles MoU. Belarus requested recognition as a market economy and revocation of antidumping duties; India stated the request is under consideration within its antidumping rules. Parties also agreed to create a Belarusian software Certification Centre and schedule business promotion events.

National Manufacturing Policy acceleration to fast track NMIZ development and align tax and labour provisions for manufacturing growth.
The Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board directed acceleration of National Manufacturing Policy implementation and NIMZ development, endorsed lodging the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund within the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance to operationalise the Fund, instructed the Ministry of Labour to convene a tripartite meeting to finalise an Industrial Disputes Act amendment, required the Department of Revenue to include NMP approved capital gains tax relief in the Direct Tax Code Bill, and tasked the Department of Heavy Industry and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council to propose measures and identify tariff lines to strengthen the capital goods sector.