Sustainability reporting discipline requires credible disclosures, board-level integration, data assurance and proportionate ESG implementation across business value chains. ESG-led responsible business conduct requires sustainability disclosures that are relevant, comparable, evidence-based and verifiable, supported by reliable systems, internal controls, documentation, traceability and independent examination. Sustainability should be integrated into board-level decision-making, fiduciary responsibilities, risk management and long-term enterprise value. Stronger governance, accountability and data-assurance frameworks are needed to address greenwashing, with proportionate reporting, technology and capacity-building supporting implementation across value chains and MSMEs.
Promoter shareholding increase through market purchases remains within creeping acquisition limits and signals confidence in long-term growth prospects. Promoter and promoter-group shareholding in Reliance Industries Ltd increased by nearly 0.5 percentage points through market purchases during the June quarter. The purchases were reported to be within SEBI creeping acquisition limits, allowing gradual promoter acquisitions without triggering a mandatory open offer where prescribed thresholds are met. The increase may strengthen promoter control and marginally reduce public float, and was characterised as reflecting confidence in long-term growth, earnings trajectory and capital-allocation plans.
Tariffs on Russian oil purchasers would target sanctions evasion, with reassessment mechanisms and limited energy-sector exemptions proposed. Proposed United States Senate legislation would impose mandatory tariffs on imports from leading purchasers of Russian oil or gas and leading facilitators of Russian oil-sanctions evasion. It provides for periodic reassessment and tariff adjustments, while exempting qualifying countries reducing Russian gas imports. Russian uranium purchases for specified nuclear and medical needs, and certain nuclear and space cooperation activities, would be excluded.
Foreign currency non-resident deposits enable overseas Indians to invest foreign earnings while supporting India's foreign-exchange reserves. Foreign Currency Non-Resident deposits allow Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin to maintain overseas earnings as foreign-currency fixed deposits with Indian banks without conversion into Indian rupees. Banks may offer enhanced interest rates for a limited period under an initiative intended to strengthen foreign-exchange reserves and support the rupee. The framework covers the investment process, regulatory requirements, taxation aspects and advantages for eligible overseas investors.
GST compliance management integrates reconciliation, input tax credit support, invoicing and statutory monitoring within an AI-powered enterprise platform. The unified cloud platform combines accounting, manufacturing, inventory, procurement, human resources, payroll, compliance, reporting and document management with an embedded AI agent. Its compliance functions include GST validation, purchase-register reconciliation with GSTR-2B, input tax credit support, supplier filing-gap detection, e-invoicing, e-way bills, TDS and statutory due-date tracking. Financial and operational workflows are intended to use common real-time data, with automation for invoices, journal entries, reconciliations, reporting, workflow approvals and compliance-risk monitoring.
Institutional trade cooperation expands through industry MoUs, supporting investment, innovation and technology partnerships across strategic economic sectors. Bilateral trade and investment cooperation was advanced through ministerial discussions and industry engagements concerning financial markets, innovation, enterprise financing and commercial relations. Two institutional Memoranda of Understanding established mechanisms for industry collaboration and greater business engagement. Sector-specific interactions covered digital and frontier technologies, space, clean energy, bioeconomy, circular economy, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, focusing on collaboration, investment and technology partnerships.
Codex spice standards harmonise quality benchmarks for cardamom, coriander and vanilla, supporting trade consistency, market access and export competitiveness. Codex standards for large cardamom, coriander and vanilla establish harmonised international quality benchmarks following review by relevant committees on analytical methods, food additives and food labelling. The standards are intended to promote consistent quality requirements, facilitate trade, improve market access and support export competitiveness. India was also accepted as Co-Chair of an Electronic Working Group developing policy guidance on risk analysis for new food products.
Export readiness for MSMEs strengthens global market access through trade intelligence, standards compliance, preferential origin rules and trade remedy awareness. Export readiness for Indian MSMEs is supported through practical guidance on identifying export opportunities, market-access requirements, trade intelligence tools, international standards, sustainability requirements and buyer identification. International expansion strategies include using preferential Rules of Origin and cooperation mechanisms under Free Trade Agreements, selecting export destinations, product positioning, diversification and value addition. Trade remedy awareness and guidance on unfair trade practices and import surges, together with institutional support, partnerships and trade-exhibition participation, can strengthen global competitiveness and integration into global value chains.
Reciprocal tariff measures and multilateral dispute settlement are pursued in response to contested import duties. Reciprocal tariff measures are proposed in response to a new tariff on specified Brazilian imports allegedly involving unfair trade practices. Brazil rejects those allegations and proposes to use its reciprocity-law mechanisms, including reciprocal tariffs and other trade-related countermeasures, while pursuing multilateral dispute settlement. It maintains that trade investigations must conform to multilateral international-trade rules and notes that the tariff may burden exports and increase commercial uncertainty.
Section 301 tariff authority offers a procedurally constrained route to replace temporary global import tariffs after emergency powers failed. Import-tariff authority is shifting from emergency-based measures to temporary and investigatory powers under the Trade Act of 1974. Section 122 supports a global tariff measure only for a limited period, whereas Section 301 permits tariffs or trade sanctions for unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory foreign trade practices after required public-comment and hearing procedures. Current Section 301 investigations concern forced-labour imports and alleged overproduction by trading partners. A more rule-bound tariff framework may reduce, but not eliminate, commercial uncertainty, and broad use of Section 301 for near-universal tariffs may face legal challenge.
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.
The ECB policy is regularly reviewed and modified by the Government in consultation with Reserve Bank of India, keeping in view the evolving macroeconomic condition, sectoral requirements and investment demand. The policy was reviewed in June, 2009. As per the extant ECB guidelines, units in the SEZ are permitted to access ECBs for their own requirements. However, based on review effective from June 30, 2009, SEZ developers have been permitted to avail of ECB under the Approval route for providing infrastructure facilities also, as defined in ECB policy, within the SEZ. However, ECB shall not be permissible for development of integrated township and commercial real estate within the SEZ. The infrastructure facilities as defined in the extant ECB policy include (i) power, (ii) telecommunication, (iii) railways, (iv) road including bridges, (v) sea port and airport (vi) industrial parks (vii) urban infrastructure (water supply, sanitation and sewage projects) and (viii) mining, refining and exploration.
ECB can be accessed under two routes. Viz. (i) Automatic Route as outlined in Section I(A) and (ii) Approval Route as outlined in Section I (B) of Master Circular dated July 1, 2009 on ECB issued by RBI under FEMA. Under the Automatic Route, the eligible borrowers may enter into loan agreement with recognized lender for raising ECB complying with the amount, maturity, all-in-cost, and end use etc. conditions in the ECB guidelines without prior approval of the Reserve Bank. However, the borrowers are required to obtain a Loan Registration Number (LRN) from the Reserve Bank before drawing down the ECB. The procedure for obtaining LRN has been outlined in Section II(i)(b) of Master Circular on ECB and Trade Credits issued by RBI under FEMA,
This information was given by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question raised in Lok Sabha today.
External commercial borrowings: SEZ developers may use the Approval route for permitted infrastructure financing, not real estate.
SEZ units may access ECBs for their own needs, and SEZ developers may obtain ECBs under the Approval route to provide defined infrastructure within SEZs; ECBs remain impermissible for integrated township and commercial real estate. ECBs are available under the Automatic Route or the Approval Route per the Master Circular: the Automatic Route permits eligible borrowers to contract with recognized lenders without prior RBI approval subject to amount, maturity, all-in-cost and end-use conditions and requires obtaining a Loan Registration Number before drawdown.
Note: It is a system-generated summary and is for quick reference only.
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