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Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal during his address at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave today in New Delhi said that India is looked upon today as the centre of possibilities and the aspirational India will provide a demographic dividend which will help the growth of the India-Europe economic partnerships and geopolitical engagements. 

Shri Goyal said that there has been a change in mindset the way quality is viewed and active participation has been undertaken to be a part of the global initiative towards sustainability and keeping the world clean. The Union Minister noted that India has always been eco-conscious with the smallest per capita contribution of emissions and will continue to be a responsible nation in terms of climate and sustainability. “India is a nation that has adopted the philosophy of Reform, Perform and Transform’, said Shri Goyal emphasising the nation’s contribution of a 3D vision to the world backed by democracy, demography and demand. The Minister further said that the government is actively working to promote electric vehicles (EVs) and make them compelling business cases and is also looking to develop a circular economy to build sustainability globally.

On the business climate in India, Shri Goyal said that the government offers a conducive environment focused on reducing compliances and working as partners with businesses across the world aided by strong and robust regulatory mechanisms. The Minister said that today’s India is an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ with the fastest growing e-commerce market.

Shri Goyal emphasised India’s contribution at the global platform by organising the G20, and said that with the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor India will aid the free world to work together through transparent and fair play in trading systems. The Minister noted that the government is working towards a women-led development and is preparing the nation with strong macroeconomic fundamentals supported by a large pool of young aspirational talent. Shri Goyal further said that the aspirational new-generation, with an average age of under 30 years, will enable India to be a fully developed nation by 2047 alongside working on inclusive and sustainable growth.

Shri Goyal further added that India is conscious of climate change and is devoted to the Paris Agreement continuing to unlock new energy frontiers for the needs of the world.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 28^th Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in New Delhi, today.

The FSDC, inter alia, deliberated on issues related to macro financial stability and India’s preparedness to deal with them. The ongoing inter-regulatory issues were also discussed to support GIFT IFSC in its strategic role to become one of the world’s premier international financial centres and perform its envisioned role of facilitating foreign capital and financial services for the domestic economy.

The FSDC discussed various issues related to formulation of strategy for implementing the decisions of the FSDC and the Union Budget announcements. These, inter alia, included:

• prescribing uniform KYC norms, inter-usability of KYC records across the financial sector, and simplification and digitalisation of the KYC process;
• kickstarting fund-raising by social enterprises through social stock exchanges;
• to arrest the harmful effects of unauthorised lending through online apps and measures to curb their further spread.

The FSDC considered the domestic and global macro-financial situation and emphasised that the members need to maintain constant vigilance and continue their proactive efforts towards detecting emerging financial stability risks and taking the necessary measures to maintain the resilience of the financial sector. The FSDC members also decided to strengthen inter-regulatory coordination to further develop the financial sector so that it continues to provide the requisite financial resources for inclusive economic growth.

The FSDC also took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee chaired by the Governor, RBI, and the action taken by members on the previous decisions of the FSDC.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State  for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad; Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Dr. T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance (MoF); Shri Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, MoF; Dr. Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, MoF; Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Department of Revenue, MoF;  Dr. Manoj Govil, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA); Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, MoF; Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Board of India; Shri Debasish Panda, Chairperson, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India; Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority; Shri Ravi Mital, Chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India; Shri K. Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority, and the Secretary of the FSDC, Department of Economic Affairs, MoF.

The CBIC issued Instruction No.03/2024-Customs dated February 19, 2024, regarding the Compliance of imported consignments of Boric Acid (Technical Grade) with notified Bureau of India Standards (Standards for Boric Acid) Order, 2019.

Reference is invited to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Order S.O. No. 1766 (E) dated May 16, 2019, the Bureau of Indian Standards (Standards for Boric Acid) Order, 2019 vide which Boric Acid has been brought under BIS Standard IS 10116:2015 (copy enclosed). Copy of IS 10116:2015 (Reaffirmed in 2020) for Boric Acid is also enclosed.

The salient feature of the Bureau of Indian Standard IS 10116:2015 (Reaffirmed in 2020) for Boric Acid (Technical Grade) are as under:

a. Presence of Polishing Compounds comprising of Sulphate and Chloride in Boric Acid (Technical Grade) within the specified range.

b. Packing of Boric Acid (Technical Grade) in jute bags with suitable liner inside.

It is requested that necessary action may be taken to sensitize officers under your jurisdiction to undertake checking of all imported consignments of Boric Acid to ensure strict compliance with the specifications prescribed in IS 10116:2015 (Reaffirmed in 2020) for Boric Acid (Technical Grade).

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has notified the National Pension System Trust (Second Amendment) Regulations 2023 and Pension Fund (Amendment) Regulations 2023 on 05.02.2024 and 09.02.2024 respectively.

The amendments to NPS Trust Regulations simplify the provisions related to appointment of Trustees, their terms and conditions, holding of meetings of Board of Trustees and appointment of CEO - NPS Trust.

Amendments to Pension Fund Regulations simplify the provisions related to governance of Pension Funds in line with Companies Act, 2013 and enhanced disclosure by Pension Funds.

The other notable amendments inter alia include:

1. Clarity of roles of Sponsor of Pension Fund & Pension Fund alongwith compliance to ‘fit and proper person’ criteria.
2. Constitution of additional Board committees by Pension Funds such as Audit Committee and Nomination & Remuneration Committee.
3. Inclusion of name ‘Pension Fund’ in name clause and requirement of existing pension fund(s) to comply with this provisions within a period of 12 months.
4. The annual report of schemes managed by the pension fund to include Directors’ responsibility statement.

The amendments in key areas aim at simplification and reducing compliance. For detailed information on the amended regulations, please visit the PFRDA website:

The CBIC issued Notification No. 10/2024-Customs dated February 19, 2024, amending Notification No. 50/2017-Customs dated June 30, 2017, to revise effective rates of customs duty for certain goods and inserting some new entries, citing public interest and exercising powers under Customs Act, 1962 and Customs Tariff Act, 1975 effective from February 20, 2024.

In the said notification, in the Table, –

(1) after S. No. 3 and the entries relating thereto, the following S. No. and entries shall be inserted, namely: –

(2) after S. No. 32A and the entries relating thereto, the following S. Nos. and entries shall be inserted, namely: – 

(3) after S. No. 90 and the entries relating thereto, the following S. Nos. and entries shall be inserted, namely: – 

(4) against S. No. 100, in column (2), for the entry, the entry “2202 99” shall be substituted;

(5) after S. No. 304A and the entries relating thereto, the following S. No. and entries shall be inserted, namely: –