Industrial corridor development linked to smart cities promotes coordinated planning and export facilitation through a new national framework.
A National Industrial Corridor Authority will be established to coordinate industrial corridor development linked to smart cities and transport connectivity, overseeing expedited master planning for key corridors and smart city sites, and facilitating the creation of new industrial clusters. An Export Promotion Mission is proposed to bring stakeholders together and strengthen export facilitation, while States are urged to provide necessary infrastructure and facilitation measures.

National Industrial Corridor Authority to coordinate industrial corridors and smart cities, with an Export Promotion Mission proposed.
A National Industrial Corridor Authority will be established in Pune to coordinate industrial corridors and linked smart cities, with master planning expedited for the Amritsar-Kolkata corridor and three smart cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru corridor (Ponneri, Krishnapatnam, Tumkur). Perspective plans for the Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor and the Vizag-Chennai corridor will provide for new industrial clusters. Kakinada and its port will be developed as a hardware manufacturing driver, and an Export Promotion Mission is proposed to consolidate stakeholders and enhance export facilitation.

Basic customs duty changes expand concessions and hikes across sectors, altering import duty structure and incentives.
The budget restructures import and excise duties to promote domestic manufacturing and correct inverted duties by selectively reducing basic customs duty on inputs and finished goods while granting concessional rates for project machinery in solar and compressed biogas sectors; it raises duties on certain raw materials and exports, adjusts duty-free entitlements for garments, alters excise rates for specified machinery and tobacco-related products, and increases the Clean Energy Cess to finance environmental initiatives.

Service tax expansion to include digital advertising and selected transport and clinical services, changing tax base and credit rules.
Service tax scope is broadened to include online and mobile advertising and certain transport and clinical services while preserving an exclusion for print advertising; Cenvat credit for rent-a-cab and tour operator services is permitted, tour services wholly conducted outside the country are excluded, specified pre existing Employees' State Insurance services are exempted, and life micro-insurance exemptions are expanded to the stated sum assured threshold. Trade facilitation steps include expanded 24x7 customs clearance at additional airports and seaports and implementation of an Indian Customs Single Window Project, alongside legislative amendments to expedite disposal of appeals and a reaffirmed commitment to implement GST.

Budget allocations for urban infrastructure reform aim to upgrade Delhi's power and water services and regional institutions.
Budget speech announces allocations for power and water sector reform to upgrade Delhi's infrastructure and address long term water supply issues, prioritising the Renuka Dam; it also provides funds for island communications, disaster preparedness, assistance for displaced populations, a National Centre for Himalayan Studies, and a proposed National Academy for Customs and Excise.

Special Economic Zones revival to operationalize SEZs and attract investment for infrastructure development and efficient land utilisation.
Strengthening of Special Economic Zones is announced as a policy priority to restore their role in industrial production, export promotion and employment generation by operationalizing SEZs, reviving investor interest, enabling improved infrastructure development, and promoting efficient utilisation of unutilised SEZ land.

Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme shifts project implementation to State Implementing Agencies, ending SPV-led new projects.
Assessment of 39 IIUS projects shows 21 completed and the rest at varying stages; two sanctions withdrawn where implementation did not commence. Delays arose mainly from land acquisition and environmental clearances and from shortfalls in stakeholder and State contributions. An independent evaluation found the Scheme delivered common facilities and infrastructure critical to SME clusters and supported pollution-control measures. The Scheme was revised as the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS), under which only a State Implementing Agency (SIA) may implement new projects; Appendix-II records projects and central grant earmarking under the revised framework.

Import of gold: recorded imports fell while customs seizures and central bank gold holdings were disclosed publicly.
Import of gold reporting discloses annual import quantities for three fiscal years and provides seizure figures by Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, indicating enforcement activity against illicit importation. The release also records the Reserve Bank's reported gold holdings and notes lack of official data on gold held by the public.

Import prohibition on fresh fruit prompts strengthened phytosanitary controls and routing through approved pack houses and formal dispute raised.
EU prohibition on import of specified Indian fruits, including Alphonso mangoes, was instituted due to interceptions of consignments not compliant with phytosanitary regulations. The Government of India enhanced inspection capacity and infrastructure, implemented a Standard Operating Procedure for exports, and mandated routing of perishables to the EU through approved pack houses to enable inspection and certification, while formally notifying the EU and registering disagreement with the temporary restriction.

Export promotion measures bolster value added marine food exports by funding technology upgrades and cold chain infrastructure.
The Government provides targeted export facilitation measures including a Technology Upgradation Scheme, capital and interest subsidy assistance for tuna processing and seafood unit modernisation, chilled tuna export support, development assistance for ornamental/aquarium fishes, and Sea Freight Assistance, together with state level funding for large cold storages, modern ice plants, and subsidised insulated fish boxes to strengthen cold chain and export infrastructure for value added marine food products.

Import duty on bicycles is central; origin verification initiated to prevent misuse of preferential trade claims.
Bicycles attract basic customs duty at 30% and specified parts at 20%. Allegations of misuse of preferential origin claims led the Central Board of Excise and Customs to initiate verification of certificates of origin under SAFTA, SAPTA and ISLFTA on 31 January 2014; the Department of Commerce has advised State Governments to procure Indian-made bicycles with indigenous parts to protect domestic industry.

Economic reform priorities: stabilise inflation, rationalise subsidies and liberalise agricultural markets to support growth recovery.
Economic policy focus centres on restoring growth through macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reforms across fiscal, monetary and regulatory domains, emphasising a low and stable inflation regime, fiscal consolidation via revenue augmentation and expenditure rationalisation, subsidy rationalisation with a move toward targeted income support, and removal of restrictions on farmers' trade and storage to improve agricultural outcomes.

Infrastructure investment: prioritise rail links, clearances and financing reforms to accelerate coal and broader infrastructure supply.
The Survey reports mixed performance across core industries in 2013-14 with power and fertilizers outperforming but coal, steel, cement, refineries, crude oil and natural gas lagging; infrastructure services saw selective gains. Key constraints include regulatory delays, land acquisition, environmental clearances and project time overruns. To boost supply and capacity, it recommends prioritising feeder railways for coal evacuation, clearing pending clearances for private and CIL mines, pushing CIL restructuring, and strengthening long-term infrastructure finance via transparent issuance, uniform stamp duty and credit enhancement mechanisms.

Low and stable inflation regime promoted through fiscal consolidation, tax and expenditure reform, and food market integration.
The Survey advocates moving to a low and stable inflation regime via fiscal consolidation, a monetary policy framework, and a competitive national food market; it prescribes tax reform (single-rate GST, fewer exemptions), expenditure shifts from price subsidies to targeted income support and public goods focused on outcomes, and structural reforms removing restrictions on agricultural trade while modernising markets and revamping social-sector delivery through governance simplification and greater local empowerment.

Trade deficit improvement: import contraction and export turnaround bolster external balance, but global risks keep recovery fragile.
India's merchandise trade balance improved in 2013-14 as the trade deficit narrowed sharply due to an 8.3% fall in imports-notably gold and capital goods-while exports shifted to modest positive growth led by textiles, leather and other labour intensive sectors. The POL deficit remained substantial. Government measures reduced precious metal imports, but the recovery is fragile given weak global trade and external shock risks such as oil price volatility.

Agricultural market reform urged to remove legal trade barriers and promote direct marketing, contract farming, and unified tax coverage.
The Economic Survey identifies legal and policy barriers that prevent a national common agricultural market and recommends reviewing restrictive statutory provisions, promoting alternate marketing such as direct marketing and contract farming, considering inclusion of agriculture-related levies under a unified goods and services tax framework, adopting tariff-based trade policy, and incentivising private investment and competition in agro-processing while rethinking government roles in foodgrain production and distribution.

Export liberalization and processed product exemptions increased agricultural exports and incentivized agro processing and farmer support.
Export policy liberalisation permitting rice and wheat shipments and exempting processed or value added products from export restrictions aims to incentivize farm productivity and agro processing; these regulatory changes are linked to increased agricultural and marine exports. Complementary measures reported include agricultural credit exceeding targets, interest free working capital for sugar mills, and export targeted incentives for raw sugar production, set against large public foodgrain stocks and rising private investment in agricultural capital formation.

Fiscal consolidation remains imperative; deficit containment achieved via expenditure compression and emphasis on tax mobilisation.
Fiscal consolidation is the central policy imperative, with the central government achieving its medium term fiscal targets for 2013 14 through containment of the fiscal and primary deficits, strengthened revenue mobilisation and active debt management measures such as buybacks, switching and inflation indexed bonds, while relying substantially on compression of capital and plan expenditure rather than sustained revenue enhancement.

Resource mobilisation through PPP and asset monetisation aimed at stabilising railway finances and accelerating safety and capacity works.
The Statement identifies a critical funding gap driven by high social obligations, rising operating costs and project delays, and proposes a multi-pronged resource mobilisation strategy: leveraging Railway PSU surpluses, enabling private and foreign investment, expanding PPP financing, and monetising land and commercial assets. It pairs this with strict project prioritisation, strengthened project management, fares linked to fuel costs, enhanced safety allocations, and customer-facing reforms (station upgrades, cleanliness, next-generation e-ticketing) to stabilise revenues and accelerate completion of priority works.

Foreign Direct Investment approval permits foreign subscription to Indian banking equity; one approval, five proposals deferred.
The Government approved one FDI proposal permitting M/s Destimoney Enterprises Limited (Mauritius) to subscribe to 3,76,92,300 partly paid equity shares of PNB Housing Finance Ltd. (face value Rs.10, premium Rs.120) for a proposed inflow up to Rs. 489.99 crore, with a specified upfront payment and the balance payable on subsequent capital calls; five other sectoral FDI proposals were deferred for further consideration.