Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal Meets European Industry Leaders in Brussels to Deepen India–EU Industrial and Technology Co...
International food-safety and phytosanitary compliance supports premium cherry and plum exports from Jammu and Kashmir to Singapore. Export of premium cherries and plums from Jammu and Kashmir to Singapore was facilitated to expand overseas market access for temperate fruits. The produce underwent scientific cultivation, optimum-maturity harvesting, grading, sorting, packing and cold-chain handling in compliance with international food-safety and phytosanitary standards. The initiative highlights quality enhancement, market development, logistics, export-oriented production and improved post-harvest management for horticultural exports.
Electricity bill recovery and prepaid departmental billing are presented alongside independent tariff regulation and rooftop solar promotion. Electricity-payment arrears were reported against government departments and non-government consumers. Tariffs are determined independently by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission on factors including power-purchase costs, regulatory assets, the distribution company's financial position and public hearings. Recovery from non-government consumers is undertaken under the Electricity Supply Code, while a pre-paid billing system is being implemented for government departments to improve payment compliance. Rooftop solar installations are also being promoted to reduce household electricity bills.
Rupee depreciation pressures intensify as elevated crude prices, foreign capital outflows and geopolitical tensions weigh on exchange markets. The rupee weakened for a fourth consecutive session amid elevated crude oil prices, a stronger dollar index and foreign capital outflows, with rising oil import costs adding to balance-of-payments pressures. Reserve Bank of India data showed an overall balance-of-payments deficit during the first two months of the fiscal year, although the current account recorded a surplus for April-May 2026. Geopolitical tensions and Strait of Hormuz risks were cited as supporting high crude prices, while possible Reserve Bank intervention could support the rupee.
Zero-duty India-UK trade under CETA begins with jewellery and coffee consignments, supported by exporter compliance guidance. India-UK CETA introduced a low- or zero-tariff regime covering about 99 per cent of tariff lines for Indian exports to the United Kingdom. Initial zero-duty jewellery and coffee consignments reached the UK under the agreement. CETA is intended to improve market competitiveness, strengthen supply chains and support businesses, exporters, importers and investors. A dedicated facilitation forum and a guide to UK import standards and regulatory requirements support Indian exporters, particularly small and medium enterprises, in navigating the post-CETA trading regime.
Foreign investor tax exemptions on government securities are proposed to continue, supporting sovereign debt market liquidity and capital inflows. Income-tax exemption for foreign investors in government securities is proposed to continue through the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, replacing the corresponding ordinance. The ordinance exempted interest income and capital gains from the sale, exchange or transfer of government securities by foreign investors, effective from 1 April. The measure seeks to attract foreign capital, deepen the sovereign debt market and improve liquidity amid global economic volatility. The legislative agenda also includes MSME reforms concerning delayed-payment redressal, enforcement of arbitral awards and State flexibility in constituting facilitation councils.
Foreign asset reporting requires complete Schedule FA and Schedule FSI disclosures despite limited information displayed in the Annual Information Statement. Annual Information Statement records for eligible taxpayers include foreign assets and foreign-source income information received through the Automatic Exchange of Information framework. The information is intended to facilitate accurate tax compliance and is not a scrutiny or investigation mechanism. As the displayed data is limited to information received from partner jurisdictions and is not exhaustive, taxpayers must correctly and completely disclose all foreign assets and foreign-source income in Schedule FA and Schedule FSI, whether or not such information appears in the Annual Information Statement.
Donation management safeguards require transparent accounting, secure precious-metal handling, audits and adherence to prescribed banking and statutory norms. Donation-management governance at the Vaishno Devi shrine was reviewed with emphasis on transparency, accountability and compliance with standard operating procedures. The review covered collection, counting, accounting, custody and utilisation of offerings, supported by verification procedures, surveillance, banking safeguards and periodic audits. Security protocols also govern the handling, storage, transportation, processing and refining of precious-metal offerings. The review took place amid a pending complaint alleging irregularities in silver offerings, with complete records sought regarding action taken.
EPFO-integrated provident fund payments streamline statutory compliance through digital banking, with real-time confirmations and instant challan downloads for businesses. EPFO-integrated provident fund payment service enables business customers to initiate statutory PF payments through the EPFO portal and complete transactions using the bank's internet banking platform. Real-time transaction confirmations and instant challan downloads support faster processing, cash-flow management and timely compliance with EPFO payment requirements.
Privileged access governance and explainable security monitoring support auditable, sovereign enterprise cybersecurity across private and air-gapped deployments. Swaraj Nandi provides privileged-access management through credential vaulting, automated rotation, Zero-Trust approvals, multi-factor authentication, session recording and audit reporting. Swaraj Hansa provides AI-assisted security information and event management by collecting, correlating and triaging security signals with explainable alerts and human-owned decisions. Both platforms support on-premise, private-cloud and relevant air-gapped deployment models, and their compliance architecture is mapped to the RBI IT Framework, SEBI CSCRF, DPDP Act, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001 and NIST CSF.
Money-laundering investigation targets alleged foreign-funded network facilitating illegal infiltration, forged identity documents and economic rehabilitation of immigrants. A money-laundering investigation examined an alleged syndicate facilitating illegal infiltration, forged Indian identity documents and settlement of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas. Investigators alleged that public charitable trusts receiving foreign contributions channelled funds through multiple bank accounts, mule accounts and layered transactions to support economic rehabilitation through cash assistance, employment and income-generating arrangements. Searches were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Money-laundering investigation examines alleged foreign-funded networks supporting illegal infiltration, forged documents, and economic settlement of migrants. A money-laundering investigation concerns an alleged network facilitating illegal entry and settlement of Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals. The alleged scheme involved forged identity and travel documents, charitable trusts receiving overseas contributions, and diversion of funds through bank accounts, mule accounts and layered transactions. Suspected fund use included settlement support, documentation, employment, cash assistance and income-generating assets. Searches examined the alleged infiltration, documentation and financial-support network.
Agentic AI innovation centre enables consumer businesses to co-create, test and scale enterprise AI solutions across operational functions. TCS launched a Gemini Experience Centre in Kolkata with Google Cloud to enable consumer businesses to co-create, test and scale AI-led solutions. The centre showcases agentic AI applications for store operations, supply-chain management, omni-channel retail and customer service, serving retail, consumer packaged goods, travel, tourism and hospitality enterprises. The initiative uses Gemini Enterprise-based industry- and context-aware AI agents and seeks to accelerate agentic AI adoption and support movement from AI pilots to enterprise-scale deployment.
Cost Inflation Index enables inflation-adjusted long-term capital gains calculations through indexed acquisition cost for eligible capital asset transfers. The Cost Inflation Index for financial year 2026-27 is 384 for computing inflation-adjusted long-term capital gains on transfers of capital assets, including immovable property, securities and jewellery. It is used to determine indexed cost of acquisition by adjusting purchase cost for inflation. Long-term classification generally requires holding exceeding 36 months, with stated periods of 24 months for immovable property and unlisted shares and 12 months for listed securities.
India-EU industrial and technology cooperation advances through trade facilitation, resilient supply chains, digital innovation and expanded market access. India-EU industrial and technology cooperation was advanced through engagements addressing industrial collaboration, technology partnerships, bilateral trade opportunities and business-to-business cooperation. Discussions covered trade facilitation, investment flows, supply-chain resilience, digital innovation, competitiveness and regulatory challenges. The interactions emphasised industry-led growth, greater market access for Indian enterprises and innovation-driven partnerships under the Trade and Technology Council framework.
Preferential India-UK trade framework introduces broad zero-duty export access, self-certified origin documentation, and social-security contribution relief for temporary professionals. India-United Kingdom CETA entered into force with preferential tariff treatment, including zero-duty access in the United Kingdom for nearly 99 per cent of India's exports. The Agreement covers goods, services and cooperation in customs, digital trade, financial services, telecommunications, intellectual property and professional services. The associated Agreement on Social Security exempts Indian professionals on temporary United Kingdom assignments from double social-security contributions for up to five years. Rules of Origin certification was operationalised through self-certified Certificates of Origin issued on the eCoO 2.0 platform.
Labour market indicators showed stable overall participation, employment and unemployment, with marginal urban improvement and softer rural unemployment. Monthly labour-market estimates for persons aged 15 years and above, compiled under the Current Weekly Status approach, show stable overall labour-force participation, worker population ratio and unemployment rate in June 2026. Urban labour-force participation and worker population ratio improved marginally, while rural participation and employment remained stable. Female labour-force participation was broadly stable month-on-month. Rural unemployment eased slightly, urban unemployment rose marginally from the preceding month, and urban unemployment declined on a year-on-year basis.
Competition clearance governs full acquisition of a data-centre provider alongside co-investor economic interests in the transaction. Competition approval concerns Opal Bidco Pte. Ltd.'s acquisition of the entire shareholding in STT GDC Pte. Ltd., a data-centre provider. The transaction also provides for specified co-investors to acquire economic interests in STT GDC on a see-through basis. STT GDC operates in India through an indirect subsidiary and is among multiple data-centre participants active in India.
Windfall tax on petroleum exports revises diesel and aviation fuel levies while reducing the petrol export levy. Special Additional Excise Duty on petroleum-product exports was revised from 16 July 2026, increasing the levy on diesel and aviation turbine fuel exports while reducing it on petrol exports. Duty rates on petrol and diesel cleared for domestic consumption remained unchanged. The windfall tax framework seeks to support domestic fuel availability and discourage exporters from benefiting from differences between domestic and global fuel prices during elevated crude-oil prices.
Duty-free market access under the India-UK trade pact expands exports while preserving safeguards for procurement and policy space. The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement provides duty-free access for nearly 99 per cent of Indian exports and includes reciprocal government-procurement access subject to safeguards. India retains MSME preferences, limits covered procurement to selected central entities, excludes strategic sectors, and applies minimum contract thresholds. The agreement preserves compulsory licensing and permits withdrawal of certain concessions if a future UK carbon tax adversely affects Indian exports. Its gender, SME, environment, and labour chapters contain no dispute-settlement provisions.
India-UK trade agreement expands duty-free market access and tariff reductions for exports, services, manufacturing and small enterprises. India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is stated to provide duty-free access in the UK market for 99 per cent of Indian products and to reduce or eliminate UK import tariffs across key product categories. It is expected to support Karnataka exports in manufacturing, agricultural produce, processed food, electronics, aerospace and medical devices, with certain tariff reductions phased out over time. Mode 1 services provisions are identified as beneficial to Bengaluru's IT industry, while awareness programmes and investment roadshows are proposed to help exporters and attract investment.
Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee held meeting with the stakeholders of different Industry Groups to get their inputs for General Budget 2011-12, here today. This was the second meeting in the series of pre-Budget consultations held by Finance Minister with the stakeholders of different sectors. First meeting was held on Friday, the 7th January, 2011 with the stakeholders of agriculture sector.
In his opening remarks, the Finance Minister said that a good performance of industry is vital for the overall growth of the economy and for the growth of government revenues to fund critical public expenditure on social and infrastructure development in the economy. He said that Indian industry, particularly the manufacturing sector, has been an important growth driver in recent years. The Finance Minister said that we have seen the economy clock over 9 per cent GDP growth in the years prior to the global economic slowdown, which impacted us in years 2008 and 2009. Shri Mukherjee said that we have done well in recovering our growth momentum from this slowdown and the impact of other external shocks over the last two years. Shri Mukherjee said that the recovery has been broad based with agriculture, industry and services all contributing to the consolidation of the growth process and he is happy to see the performance of the industrial sector in the past few months.
The Finance Minister said that the industrial production has achieved a cumulative growth rate 10.3 per cent during April-October 2010. Sustained robust expansion in capital goods and consumer durables segments is an indication of the pick-up in industrial activity, he added. The Finance Minister further added that the strong growth in capital goods also suggests an improvement in investment and business confidence. Merchandise exports during April-October of this financial year have increased by a healthy 27 per cent, said the Finance Minister.
The Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that the Government is conscious of two major concerns relating to the pace of development of infrastructure and investments in Research and Development (R&D). He said that both these issues have a direct bearing on the productivity of Indian enterprise. Shri Mukherjee said that the investment in infrastructure sector is also the key to sustainable and inclusive growth. He said that our spending on R&D as a ratio of GDP is very low in comparison to other emerging economies and we need to make all possible efforts to invest in R&D and innovate in order to remain competitive. In both these areas, the Finance Minister said that the Government alone would not be able to achieve the desired outcomes without the complementary efforts of the private sector, be it in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) or purely private initiatives. He asked for the suggestions from representatives of industry present to enhance and strengthen the private sector participation in infrastructure and R&D initiatives.
The Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that he would also like to hear specific short and medium term suggestions from the stakeholders of industry sector for sustaining a double digit growth in industry and for stepping up the growth of manufactured exports. He asked for their specific observation about the corporate tax collections in the current financial year which are not keeping up with the anticipated trend.
After that the stakeholders representing the different industry groups gave their suggestions for consideration for General Budget 2011-12.
Industry growth solicited: stakeholders urged to propose infrastructure, R&D and corporate tax measures ahead of budget.
The Finance Minister stressed sustaining industrial growth and revenue mobilisation for public expenditure, citing robust industrial production and exports. He identified inadequate infrastructure development and low R&D spending as key constraints on productivity and competitiveness, urged enhanced private sector participation including PPPs, and requested specific short- and medium-term industry proposals to sustain industrial growth, increase manufactured exports, and address underperforming corporate tax collections for consideration in the General Budget 2011-12.
Note: It is a system-generated summary and is for quick reference only.
TaxTMI 
of 3353
Join Channel
TaxTMI 