DEPLOYMENT OF FORM MSME-1
This has reference to the
MCA Notification No. S.O. 368 (E) dated 22nd January, 2019 containing the
Specified Companies (Furnishing of information about payment to micro and small
enterprise suppliers) Order, 2019 wherein it is directed that: Every specified
company shall file in MSM E Form I details of all outstanding dues to Micro or
small enterprises suppliers existing on the date of notification of this order within
thirty days from the date of publication of this notification. 11 (Order 2)
Accordingly, every specified company is required to file the Initial return of
outstanding dues to Micro or Small Enterpriss Suppliers in MSME Form I by 21st
February, 2019. Although the MSME Form I for furnishing the a bove details with
the Registrar in respect of outstanding payments to Micro or Small Enterprises
has been prescribed in the aforesaid notification, the said e-form has not yet
been made available on the MCA website. With the due date just a round the
corner and the eForm not being available, it is practically not possible for
the companies falling within the ambit of this law to comply with this
requirement The difficulties are further accentuated for companies with wide
business network to gather information from suppliers pertaining to their MSME
Registration status. In light of the above, we request you to kindly consider
clarifying that MSME Form I will be deployed shortly and also that non-filing
due to non-availability of this Form by February 21 would not result in
non-compliance of the provisions of Companies Act, 2013
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COMPANIES PROSPECTUS AND ALLOTMENT OF SECURITIES) SECOND
AMENDMENT RULES, 2019
In exercise of the powers
conferred by section 26, sub-section (1) of section 27, section 28, section 29,
sub-section (2) of section 31, sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 39,
sub-section (6) of section 40 and section 42 read with section 469 of the
Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the
following rules further to amend the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of
Securities) Rules, 2014, namely:-
1. Short title and
commencement.-
(1) These rules may be
called the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment
Rules, 2019
(2) They shall come into
force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the Companies
(Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014, in the Annexure, in Form
PAS-3 against serial number 6, in item (b), the words not allotted securities
with an application size of less than twenty thousand per person against the
second check box shall be omitted.
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COMPANIES (ADJUDICATION OF PENALTIES) AMENDMENT RULES. 2019
In exercise of the powers
conferred by section 454 read with section 469 of the Companies Act. 2013, the
Central Government hereby makes the following rules, to amend the Companies
(Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014. namely:-
1 . Short Title and
Commencement.-
(1) These rules may be
called the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Amendment Rules. 2019
(2) They shall come into
force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the Companies
(Adjudication or Penalties) Rules, 2014, for rule 3 the following rule shall be
substituted namely :-
3. Adjudication of
Penalties -
(1) The Central Government
may appoint any of its officers, not below the rank or Registrar as
adjudicating officers for adjudging penalty under the provisions of the Act.
(2) Before adjudging
penalty, the adjudicating officer shall issue a written notice in the specified
manner to the company, the officer who is in default or any other person, as
the case may be to show cause within such period as may be specified in the
notice (not being less than fifteen days and more than thirty days from the
date of service thereon). why the penalty should not be imposed on it or him.
(3) Every notice issued
under sub-rule (2), shall clearly indicate the nature of non-compliance or
default under the Act alleged to have been committed or made by such company.
officer in default, or any other person, as the case may be and also draw
attention to the relevant penal provisions of the Act and the maximum penalty
which can he imposed on the company, and each of the officers in default, or
the other person.
(4) The reply to such
notice shall be filed in electronic mode only within the period as specified in
the notice:
Provided that the
adjudicating officer may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the
period referred to above by a further period not exceeding fifteen days, if the
company or officer in default or any person as the case may be satisfies the
adjudicating officer that it or he has sufficient cause for not responding to
the notice within the stipulated period or the adjudicating officer has reason
to believe that the company or the officer or the person has received a shorter
notice and did not have reasonable time to give reply.
(5) If, after considering
the reply submitted by such company, its officer or any other person, as the
case may be, the adjudicating officer is of the opinion that physical appearance
is required, he shall issue a notice, within a period of ten working days from
the date of receipt of reply fixing a date for the appearance of such company
through its authorised representative or officer of such company or any other
person whether personally or through his authorised representative:
Provided that if any
person, to whom a notice is issued under sub-rule (2) desires to make an oral
representation, whether personally or through his authorised representative and
has indicated the same while submitting his reply in electronic mode, the
adjudicating officer shall allow such person to make such representation after
fixing a date of appearance.
(6) On the date fixed for
hearing and after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the person
concerned, the adjudicating officer may subject to reasons to be recorded in
writing pass an order in writing as he thinks fit including an order for
adjournment:
Provided that after
hearing, adjudicating officer may require the concerned person to submit his
reply in writing on certain other issues related lo the notice under sub-rule
(2) relevant for determinition of the default.
(7) The adjudication of
officer shall pass an order,-
(a) within thirty days or
the expiry of the period reflected in sub-rule (2) or of such extended period
as referred therein where physical appearance was not required under sub-rule
(5):
(b) within ninety days of
the date or issue or notice under sub-rule (2), where any person appeared
before the adjudicating officer under sub-rule (5):
Provided that in case an
order is passed after the aforementioned duration, the reasons of the delay
shall be recorded by the adjudicating officer and no such order shall be
invalid merely because of its passing after the expiry of such thirty days or
ninety days as the case may be.
(8) Every order or the
adjudicating officer shall be duly dated and signed by him and shall clearly
state the reasons for requiring the physical appearance under sub-rule (5).
(9) The adjudicating officer
shall send a copy of the order passed by him to the concerned company, officer
who is in default or any other person or all of them and to the Central
Government and a cop) of the order shall also be uploaded on the website.
(10) For the purposes of this
rule, the adjuuicating officer shall exercise the following powers, namely :-
(a) to summon and enforce
the attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the
case after recording reasons in writing;
(b) to order for evidence or
to produce any document, which in the opinion of the adjudicating officer, may
be relevant to the subject matter.
(11) If any person fails
to repIy or neglects or refuses to appear as required under sub-rule (5) or
sub-rule (10) before the adjudicating officer, the adjudicating officer may
pass an order imposing the penalty, in the absence of such person after
recording the reasons for doing so.
(12) While adjudging
quantum of penalty, the adjudicating officer shall have due regard to the
following factors, namely :-
(a) size of the company:
(b) nature of business
carried on by the company:
(c) injury to public
interest;
(d) nature of the default:
(e) repetition of the
default;
(f) the amount of
dispropotionate gain or unfair advantage wherever quantifiable made as a result
for the default; and
(g) the amount of loss
caused to an investor or group of investors or creditors as a result of the
default:
Provided that in no case
the penalty imposed shall be less than the minimum penalty prescribed, if any
under the relevant section of the Act.
(13) In case a fixed sum
of penalty is provided for default of a provision the adjudicating officer
shall impose that fixed sum in case of any default therein.
(14) Penalty shall be paid
through Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal only.
(15) All sums realised by
way of penalties under the Act shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of
India.
Explanation 1 - For the
purposes or this rule, the term specified manner shall mean service of
documents as specified under section 20 of the Act and rules made thereunder
and details in respect
of address (including
electronic mail ID) provided in the KYC documents filed in the registry shall
be used for communication under this rule.
Explanation 2 - For the
purposes of this rule it is hereby clarified that the requirement of submission
of replies in electronic mode shall become mandatory after the creation of the
e adjudication platform.
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NATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING AUTHORITY (MANNER OF APPOINTMENT
AND OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS) AMENDMENT
RULES, 2019
In exercise of the powers conferred
by sub-section (3) of section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the
Central Government hereby makes the following rules to amend the National
Financial Reporting Authority (Manner of Appointment and other Terms and Conditions
of Service of Chairperson and Members) Rules, 2018, namely:-
1. (1) These rules may be called
the National Financial Reporting Authority (Manner of Appointment and other
Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and Members) Amendment Rules,
2019
(2) They shall come into
force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the National Financial
Reporting Authority (Manner of Appointment and other Terms and Conditions of
Service of Chairperson and Members) Rules, 2018, in rule 4, in sub-rule (5), for
the words within a period not exceeding one hundred and twenty days the words
within a reasonable period of time shall be substituted
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CABINET APPROVES PROMULGATION OF THE COMPANIES (SECOND
AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 2019
The Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Promulgation of the Companies
(Second Amendment) Ordinance 2019 and for replacement of the said Ordinance in
Parliament by a replacement Bill. It is based on the recommendations of the
Committee to review offences under the Companies Act, 2013, so as to fill
critical gaps in the corporate governance & compliance framework as
enshrined in the Companies Act 2013, while simultaneously extending greater
Ease of Doing Business to law abiding corporates. This will incentivize
compliance of law while simultaneously meting out exemplary punishment for
serious violations. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018 later renamed as the
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20th
December, 2018 and was considered and passed by the Lok Sabha on 4th January, 2019.
The Bill was transmitted to the Rajya Sabha but it could not be considered and
passed in the Upper House in the Winter Session or in the Budget Session. A total
of 29 sections were amended and 2 new sections were inserted through the
earlier ordinances, which were promulgated on 2nd November, 2018 (Ordinance 9
of 2018) and on 12th January, 2019 (Ordinance 3 of 2019). The amendments have
been brought in to address the need to impose civil liability for technical
& procedural defaults of a minor nature & to plug gaps in the corporate
governance & enforcement framework covering a wide range of issues such as:
a. Re-categorization of 16
minor offences as purely civil defaults which will de-clog special courts.
b. Transfer of certain
routine functions from NCLT to the central government such as dealing with
applications for change of financial year and conversion from public to private
companies.
c. Making non-maintenance of
registered office and non-reporting of commencement of business grounds for striking
of from register of companies.
d. Stringent provisions
with reduced timelines for creation and modification of charges
e. Breach of ceiling on
directorships being made a ground for disqualification.
The changes are expected
to lead to greater compliance by corporates, de-clogging of the special courts,
de-clogging of the NCLT and effective enforcement. At present around 60 percent
of the 40,000 odd cases pending in courts pertain to sections dealing with
procedural lapses that are proposed to be shifted to in-house adjudication
mechanism thereby incentivizing compliance by corporates. As a result of the
amendments brought in, in future, the compounding cases load on NCLT will also
come down significantly. The existing cases will be withdrawn from special
courts by bringing out an amnesty scheme as there are inherent benefits in
prescribing civil liabilities for procedural lapses instead of undertaking a
criminal trial. Analysis of data available demonstrates that most of the cases
initiated/ pending relate to procedural lapses such as non-filing of financial
statements and non-filing of annual returns etc. It was felt that if such
violations are re-categorized and allowed to be adjudicated in an in-house
mechanism through payment of monetary penalties, the burden on special courts
would be drastically reduced and more effective and speedy progress of the more
serious cases would be possible. This would also allow ROCs to more effectively
pursue action against serious offences it is also proposed to amend the Rules
to ensure that adjudicating officers (Registrar of companies) dispose-of
adjudicating proceedings within stipulated time limits which would have to be
rigorously followed.
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GOVT SET TO APPOINT 36 MEMBERS FOR NCLT COURTS
The inordinate delays in
resolving bankruptcy cases are set to fall dramatically in the next few
quarters as the government bolsters legal and technical members in National
Company Law Tribunals with 36 officers, more than doubling the bench strength.
In the last 18 months, less than a quarter of the bankruptcy cases saw a
resolution. The government is expected to finalise 36 such appointments before
the Election Code of Conduct kicks in, two people with the direct knowledge of
the matter told. There are 32 members now. A final list of such new
appointments has already been submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
said one of the persons cited above. Those additional judicial and technical
members, expected to be appointed before the announcement of general elections,
will aid operational ease for new NCLT chapters. Two busiest NCLTs in Mumbai
and Ahmedabad, dealing with high profile cases, will see more number of judges.
There will be new NCLT chapters in places like Cuttack and Kochi. Some places
do not even have dedicated judges. For example, a judge from Delhi visits
Jaipur NCLT twice a week. For appointment as a judicial member, the applicant
has to be a judge of a high court or a district judge for at least five years
or serve as an advocate of a court for not less than 10 years.
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MCA AMENDS SIGNIFICANT BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP (SBO) RULES FOR
COMPANIES
The Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA) has amended the Significant Beneficial Ownership (SBO) rules for
companies under the Companies Act, 2013 which would now help identify entities
that might be controlled from outside the country It has been titled the new
amended SBO rules as Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Amendment Rules,
2019. The amendment rules provides a new definition of SBO, according to which
an individual as SBO is now based on direct and indirect holding of right or
entitlement in the reporting entity. In its notification, MCA said that every
individual, who acting alone or together, or through one or more persons or
trust, possesses one or more of the following rights or entitlements in a
reporting company shall be deemed to be a SBO:
- _holds indirectly, or together with any
direct holdings, not less than 10% of the shares;_
- _holds indirectly, or together with any
direct holdings, not less than 10% of the voting rights in the shares;_
- _has the right to receive or participate (by
virtue of their indirect and/or direct holdings) in not less than 10% of the
total distributable dividend or any other distribution_ or
- _has the right to exercise, or actually
exercises, significant influence or control (through their indirect holdings
only) over the reporting company._
In addition, the new SBO rules
also lay down comprehensive criteria for the determination of an individual's
indirect holdings in the reporting company for the purpose of determining
whether or not an individual is an SBO The amendment rules has also introduced
few important definitions such as reporting company, control, majority stake. With
regard to filing obligations under the new SBO rules, every SBO is required to
make a declaration in Form No. BEN-1 to the company in which he/she holds the
significant beneficial ownership within 90 days of the new SBO Rules coming
into effect and every time any individual acquires significant beneficial
ownership in a reporting company, the declaration in Form BEN-1 has to be filed
within 30 days of acquiring such significant beneficial ownership. Once a
declaration by an SBO is received by the reporting company, the reporting
company is required to, within 30 days of receiving such declaration, file a
return in Form No. BEN-2 with the relevant registrar of companies in respect of
each such declaration received by the reporting company.
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MCA GIVES TEETH TO DELAYED PAYMENT ACT; MAKES MANDATORY FOR
COS TO FILE HALF YEARLY RETURNS & CITE REASON FOR DELAYS
The Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA) decided to pull up the big companies which fail to make payments
to their micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) suppliers within 45 days According
to the new norms, the directors of the companies delaying payment to MSEs can face
imprisonment up to six months or be slapped with a fine between Rs 25,000 to Rs
3 lakh. MCA has asked the companies to file a report in a particular format and
also mandatorily cite reasons for the delay. With this, the Ministry of MSME’s
November 2 notification for the big companies to file half yearly return has
got teeth now. The notification of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said, The
Central Government vide notification number S.O. 5622(E), dated the 2nd
November, 2018 has directed that all companies who get supplies of goods or
services from micro and small enterprises and whose payments to micro and small
enterprise suppliers exceed forty five days from the date of acceptance or the
date of deemed acceptance of the goods or services as per the provisions of
section 9 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27
of 2006) (hereafter referred to as Specified Companies), shall submit a half
yearly return to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It said, in exercise of
power under section 405 of the Companies Act, 2013, (18 of 2013) the Central
Government, considers it necessary to require Specified Companies to furnish
above information under said section of the Act. This Order called the Specified
Companies (Furnishing of information about payment to micro and small
enterprise suppliers) Order, 2019 added that every specified company shall file
a return as per MSME Form I specified the MCA by 31st October for the period
from April to September and by 30th April for the period from October to March.
The form specified by the MCA asks for initial return of outstanding dues to
Micro or Small Enterprises Suppliers; Total outstanding amount due as on date
of notification of this order and Reasons for Delay in amount of payments due. In
a note, MCA said Attention is drawn to provision of sub section 4 of section
405 of Companies Act, which provide for punishment for any information statists
which is incorrect or incomplete in any material respect. According to the sub
section 4 of section 405 of Companies Act, If any company fails to comply with
an order made under sub-section (1) or sub-section (3), or knowingly furnishes
any information or statistics which is incorrect or incomplete in any material
respect, the company shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty
five thousand rupees and every officer of the company who is in default , shall
be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or
with a fine which shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees but which
may extend to three lakh rupees, or with both. According to the Public
Procurement Policy, it is mandatory for all Central ministries and departments
including CPSUs to ensure 25 per cent of their overall annual procurement from
MSEs including sub targets for procurement from the MSEs owned by women and
SC/ST entrepreneurs. It is mandatory for them to make the payments within 45
days to the MSE suppliers.
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SC HOLDS ANIL AMBANI GUILTY OF CONTEMPT; ORDERS RCOM TO PAY
ERICSSON
The Supreme Court on
Wednesday held Reliance Communication chairman Anil Ambani and two directors guilty
of contempt of court on three contempt applications filed by Telecom equipment
maker Ericsson against him over not clearing dues of Rs 550 crore. The apex
court has asked RCom to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson within four weeks, failing
which, Anil Ambani, Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel
chairperson Chhaya Virani would face a three-month jail term. The court also
imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore each on them, which has to be deposited within a
month. If they fail to furnish the amount, the three will be awarded a month's
jail-term. A bench comprising of Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran said if
the contemnor failed to make the payments within the specified period, they
will undergo a jail term of three months. It directed that Rs 118 crore already
deposited by Reliance Group in the apex court's registry be disbursed to
Ericsson. From the undertakings given by Reliance Group's top brass, it appears
they have wilfully not paid the amount to Ericsson despite orders, it said.
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ADAG STOCKS TUMBLE ON UNFAVORABLE SUPREME COURT VERDICT IN
ERICSSON CASE
Shares of Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani Group (ADAG) companies tumbled by up to 11 per cent on the BSE in
intra-day trade on Wednesday after an unfavorable Supreme Court (SC) verdict in
Ericsson contempt case. In a big setback for Anil Ambani, the SC today held
Reliance Group chairman and its two directors guilty of contempt in pleas filed
by telecom equipment maker Ericsson for not clearing its dues of Rs 550 crore.
Court asked Ambani to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson in four weeks, failing which
he will have to serve three months of jail term. Additionally, apex court has
also imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore each on them, if not deposited within a month
they will have to serve one month in jail. Reliance Communications (RCom) said
it respects the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement. The RCom Group shall comply
with same. This surely is a setback for the promoter, who will now have to pay
up. Over the short-to-medium term, the stocks can remain under pressure. Over
the past year, the markets have severely punished Reliance Nippon Life
Insurance, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Capital. Among the ADAG group
stocks, these three should stage a recovery going ahead. The fall on Wednesday
post the SC verdict makes valuations of these three even more attractive, says
G Chokkalingam, managing director and founder at Equinomics Research. Following
the verdict, Reliance Capital slipped 11 per cent to Rs 136, followed by
Reliance Infrastructure (9 per cent at Rs 112), Reliance Communications (9 per
cent at Rs 5.45), Reliance Naval and Engineering (8.5 per cent at Rs 8.22),
Reliance Power (6 per cent at Rs 10.25), Reliance Home Finance (4 per cent at
Rs 24.75) and Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (1 per cent at Rs 150) on
the BSE in intra-day trade. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.72
per cent at 35,604 points at 10:52 am.
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MAHARASHTRA SEAMLESS SHINES AFTER RESOLUTION PLAN FOR
ACQUISITION
Maharashtra Seamless rose
2.1% to Rs 442 at 11:45 IST on BSE after the company made payment of Rs 477
crore for acquisition of United Seamless Tubulaar. The announcement was made
after market hours yesterday, 19 February 2019. On BSE, so far 6,310 shares
were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 5,628 shares in
the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 449 and a low of Rs 440.95 so
far during the day. Maharashtra Seamless made payment of Rs 477 crore for
acquisition of United Seamless Tubulaar (USTPL) under the Corporate Insolvency
Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 as approved by
Hyderabad Bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
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DECCAN CHRONICLE FACING SERIOUS FUND CRUNCH: RP
Mamta Binani, the
Insolvency Resolution Professional for city-based Deccan Chronicle Holdings
Limited (DCHL), on Tuesday said that the media house whose flagship brand is
Deccan Chronicle daily was facing financial crisis and as result, salaries were
not paid for the past four months. Making an appeal to Ratakonda Murali, Member
(Judicial), Court-I of Hyderabad Bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT),
to speed up the process of approval of the resolution plan she submitted to the
court Binani admitted that it was increasingly becoming difficult for her to
run the operations as there was no money. I am not able to run the company as
there is no money. Lordship, I have not been able to pay the salaries for the
past four months. We have not been paid for the last eight months, she told the
NCLT court. Binani made this appeal when DCHL resolution process case came up
for hearing on Tuesday. At this juncture, the Member (Judicial) asked her
whether there was no income for the company. For that, she replied: No income,
Lordship. It is now increasingly becoming life-threatening for me to get inside
the office and run the organisation. She further pointed out that the
resolution plan was already two-months old. It may be mentioned here that in
December last year, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) led by Canara Bank
approved the resolution plan submitted by the Vision India Fund of
Kolkata-based Srei Multiple Asset Investment Trust (SMAIT) with over 80 per
cent votes. However, IDBI Bank, one of the financial creditors, registered its
dissent and voted against the plan, saying some banks got disproportionately
higher amounts from the proceeds promised by the resolution applicant. The bank
which filed an interim application (IA No. 24) with the NCLT court raised
objections against higher payments to some banks. Indian Overseas Bank also
raised objections against the resolution plan.
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TRIBUNAL ADMITS RS 2.81 LAKH CLAIM UNDER INSOLVENCY CODE
The National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted an insolvency petition against a Chandrapur-based
company over a liability of Rs2.81 lakh. The petition was filed by brothers —
Nandlal Popat and Dhayalal Popat, who were former directors of the company.
Agrawal pointed out that the norms prescribe a 14-day period for admitting a
petition, while here it has taken 10 months. On this, Popat said it was due to
availability of dates at the tribunal. The professional will have to come up
with a revival plan for the business within 180 days.
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BANKS MAY HAVE TO WRITE OFF NEARLY RS 30,000 CR OF LOAN TO
IL&FS ENTITIES
Financial institutions
that have lent money to IL&FS group companies could be collectively staring
at a write-off of nearly Rs 30,000 crore a source told. That is because Rs
65,000 crore of the outstanding loans are to IL&FS groups classified in the
‘red’ category according to a progress report. This grading denotes companies
which cannot meet their payment obligations towards even senior secured
financial creditors as and when such obligations become due. These entities can
only make payments necessary to maintain and preserve the 'going concern'
status. Out of Rs 65,000 crore, barely Rs 30,000 crore can be recovered, the
source told. The assessment has been made on the basis of a solvency test
formulated by the new board and MCA. Entities which can repay all debt
obligations and have not defaulted so far account for just Rs 6,605 crore of
loans. Around Rs 50,500 crore of loans are to entities which cannot meet
operational and senior secured financial debt, and Rs 15,000 crore of loans are
to entities that are unable to repay even senior secured financial debt
obligation as and when due. A large part of provident fund investments are in
the Rs 50,500 crore assets, the source said, adding, and they are likely to
take a significant hit, as they will get their money only after secured lenders
have been paid off. Around Rs 16,800 crore of loans is to companies which are
not able to meet all obligations (financial and operational), but can meet
operational and senior secured financial debt. According to the report
submitted to the NCLAT, monetisation process for assets with an embedded debt
of Rs 35,000 crore has been initiated. The monetisation of another set of
assets with Rs 15,000 crore of embedded debt will be initiated in the next 4-6
weeks.
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IREO, SUPERTECH, PARSVNATH, ANSAL, EMAAR, TWO OTHERS CHALLENGE
INSOLVENCY LAW IN SC
Ireo on Monday challenged
the section 5(8)(f) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 in the Supreme
Court which ensures inclusion of home buyers as financial creditors under the
code. The company has taken a stay over the insolvency proceedings going-on
against them. Ireo is the latest in the line of several builders who have
knocked the SC's door and have received a temporary relief In the last one
week, Supertech, TDI Infrastructure, Ansal Properties, Emaar MGF Land, all have
filed a plea in the apex court regarding the insolvency cases going on against
them. The filing of petitions started after SC in January 2019 gave a stay
order in the case filed by Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure against the
insolvency proceedings going on against it in NCLT-Delhi, informed Aditya
Parolia. Parolia is representing about 50 home buyers against Ireo, Parsvnath
and Ansal Properties. In its petition the company had prayed that direction be
given against the amendment that has been made in IBC. The petition is filed
under Article 32 of the constitution of India, challenging the validity of the
explanation of section 5(8)(f), section 21 (6A)(b) and section 25 A of the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 as being violations of articles 14 and
19(1)(g) of the constitution. However after SC's judgement in Pioneer's case,
all other builders quickly moved to SC taking a stay order against all the
proceedings. Initially home buyers were treated neither as financial nor
operational creditors under the IBC. Hence in June 2018, the amendment of
Section 5(8)(f) with respect to the definition of 'Financial Debt' ensured
inclusion of home buyers as financial creditors under the Code. With this
amendment, home buyers can now initiate insolvency proceedings against
developers who have not completed projects within the dates specified in the
sale agreements.
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HOMEBUYERS AS FINANCIAL CREDITORS: DEVELOPERS' DEFAULT RISKS
SPIKE
Treating home-buyers as
financial creditors under the bankruptcy law has increased the default risks
for developers with delayed projects, warns a report. In recent months, there
have been various instances of aggrieved home-buyers initiating insolvency
proceedings against developers who have delayed project execution. The
time-bound nature of the insolvency process provides a limited window for
developers to reach settlement with the aggrieved buyers, failing which the
resolution professional takes over the management, rating agency Icra said. According
to a report by rating agency Icra as the amounts paid by home-buyers now
constitute a financial debt, any delay in handing over the property as per the
commitments in the sale agreement can be ground for initiating the insolvency
proceeding under the IBC. Even a single buyer in a single project pursuing such
a remedy can put the company at risk of financial default, irrespective of the
liquidity position of the company, the report warned without quantifying the
defaults by the number of companies. Managing such risks will be a challenge for
developers, especially those who have legacy projects where completion has been
affected by factors such as weak sales, falling prices or inadequate funds, it
added. According to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India website, some
companies against whom claims were admitted in recent months include Puri
Construction, Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure, Emaar MGF Land, Vardhman
Buildtech and Sikka Infrastructure. Some of these companies could reach
settlements with the claimants resulting in closure of the insolvency
proceedings, the report said, adding but in some other cases they could not
obtain a stay on the proceedings from the Supreme Court. However, if such
remedies are not in place before the resolution professional takes over the
management, debt servicing can be at risk as the RP may decide to enforce
moratorium on any such payments while the resolution proceedings go on, the
report said.
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JAYPEE INFRATECH'S PROMOTER MAKES SECOND ATTEMPT TO SETTLE RS
10,000-CR DUES WITH LENDERS
Crisis-hit Jaiprakash
Associates has once again submitted a proposal to lenders of its subsidiary
Jaypee Infratech for settling dues worth Rs 10,000 crore amid bids for taking
over the realty firm under the insolvency process. This is the second time in
less than a year that Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) has sought to retain
control of the cash-strapped subsidiary. The latest offer also comes close on
the heels of state-owned NBCC and realty firm Suraksha group putting in bids
for Jaypee Infratech. The promoter JAL also submitted a settlement proposal
under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC), 2016 for
consideration of the Committee of Creditors, Jaypee Infratech said in a
regulatory filing. However, it did not disclose the details of the settlement
proposal This section provides for withdrawal of bankruptcy application subject
to certain conditions. In April last year, JAL had made an unsolicited offer of
about Rs 10,000 crore to settle dues of Jaypee Infratech. Meanwhile, lenders of
Jaypee Infratech in a meeting on Monday decided to negotiate with NBCC and
Suraksha group. Both made presentations before the Committee of Creditors
(CoC). Jaypee Group promoters were also called in the meeting. In the first
round, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was
rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the
company's net worth and assets. As per sources, NBCC in its bids has promised
to deliver flats to homebuyers in four years. It has also offered 1,400-acre
land worth Rs 6,000 crore as well as Yamuna Expressway highway to lenders. NBCC
has suggested that banks should raise about Rs 2,000 crore against the
expressway and provide half of the amount (Rs 1,000 crore) to the PSU, which
will utilise this fund as an upfront payment. NBCC will also fund the gap of
about Rs 1,500 crore between estimated construction cost and receivables from
customers. Jaypee Infratech is developing about 32,000 flats, of which it has
delivered 9,500 units. JAL had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the
Supreme Court for refund to buyers. However, this amount was transferred to
NCLT as per an order of the apex court.
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ARCELORMITTAL LIKELY TO PAY $672 MN FOR ESSAR PLANT
ArcelorMittal has made an
offer of Rs 48 billion ($672 million) to buy an Essar Power generation plant,
outbidding the founding Ruia brothers, according to people with knowledge of
the matter. The non-binding offer from the world’s largest steel producer to
lenders of the 1,200-megawatt power plant in Madhya Pradesh compares with a Rs
35 billion settlement offer made by Essar’s founders - Shashi Ruia and Ravi
Ruia - the people said asking not to be named, as the discussions are private. The
Ruias and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal are slugging it out before courts to gain
control of Essar Steel India Ltd., after ArcelorMittal emerged as the winning
bidder to buy the alloy maker. The power plant, which supplies electricity to
the steel mill, would boost ArcelorMittal’s attempts for a foothold in the
Indian market. Lenders, led by ICICI Bank Ltd., have given ArcelorMittal
permission to carry out due diligence of the asset, which is in the midst of
debt restructuring with Rs 75 billion of outstanding loans. A firm bid may come
only after the due diligence is complete, the sources said. ICICI Bank had
filed an insolvency case against the Essar group company last year, but the
case stalled after Supreme Court ordered a hold on such moves against power
companies. The apex court’s order came on a plea from power producers, who have
said that their inability to make timely payments was due to issues including
fuel shortages, delayed payment by distribution utilities and slow resolution
of tariff claims by regulators.
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ARCELORMITTAL LIKELY TO PAY $672 MN FOR ESSAR PLANT
ArcelorMittal has made an offer
of Rs 48 billion ($672 million) to buy an Essar Power generation plant,
outbidding the founding Ruia brothers, according to people with knowledge of
the matter. The non-binding offer from the world’s largest steel producer to
lenders of the 1,200-megawatt power plant in Madhya Pradesh compares with a Rs
35 billion settlement offer made by Essar’s founders - Shashi Ruia and Ravi
Ruia - the people said asking not to be named, as the discussions are private.
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YES BANK SAYS RELEASED RBI REPORT TO COMPLY WITH SEBI NORMS
Yes Bank on February 19
said that it had released information of nil divergence from a Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) FY18 risk assessment report in order to be fully compliant with
Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) regulations. The bank said in a
release that the information had to be given out to comply with SEBI's norms
for information symmetry among market participants. The bank also said that RBI
mandates listed banks to disclose information pertaining to divergence only.
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INFOSYS PAYS SEBI RS 34 LAKH AS CONSENT FEE, GETS EX-CFO
PAYOFF CASE FINALLY SETTLED
Infosys settled a case
pertaining to the severance package for former chief financial officer Rajiv
Bansal by paying Rs 34.35 lakh as consent fees to the market regulator, which
had found the compensation was not in accordance with the remuneration policy.
In May 2016, during the tenure of then CEO Vishal Sikka, Infosys disclosed that
it had awarded over Rs 17 crore as severance pay to Bansal, who resigned in
October 2015. The company had handed him about Rs 5 crore before stopping
payments. An investigation by the Securities & Exchange Board of India
prima facie found that Bansal’s severance payment was not in accordance with
the remuneration policy It was found to be a related-party transaction that was
done without approval of the nomination and remuneration committee and without
prior approval of the audit committee. Infosys had also failed to make detailed
and timely disclosures about the severance agreement, the cessation of the
severance payment and the initiation of arbitration proceedings to the stock
exchanges, violating listing regulations, Sebi said in an order dated February
15.
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PF FUNDS' INVESTMENT IN IL&FS BONDS HAVE NO GOVERNMENT
GUARANTEE: FINANCE MINISTRY
The provident and pension
fund trusts that invested in the IL&FS bonds now fear loss of money as the
debt-ridden company's bonds are unsecured debt, and the Finance Ministry says
superannuated bonds do not carry any government guarantee and all such
instruments have to face all market-related risks. Since these are investments
in bonds, the government does not ensure any guarantee on them as such and if
these are invested in stock markets, they carry the market risks as applicable.
It is between the bond issuer and bond holders, the Finance Ministry said in
response to IANS queries. Thousands of crores of money of more than 15 lakh
employees of both public and private sector companies have exposure to IL&FS
bonds. Over 50 funds that manage retirement benefits of over 15 lakh employees
have exposure to IL&FS. PF trusts of state electricity boards, public
sector undertakings (PSUs) and banks are among them. The provident and pension
fund trusts have filed intervening applications in the National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stating that they stand to lose all the money since
the bonds are under unsecured debt.
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RESERVE BANK OF INDIA MAY LIFT PROMPT CORRECTIVE ACTION CURBS
ON DENA, CENTRAL & ALLAHABAD BANKS
Allahabad Bank, Central
Bank of India and Dena Bank may be next in line to be taken out of the Reserve
Bank of India’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, with the government
likely to inject more capital into these lenders and hopes of better loan
recovery through the insolvency resolution mechanism. The government is
encouraging banks under PCA to adjust the fresh capital from it against bad
loans. The fresh equity is largely being used for reduction in net
non-performing asset ratio below the 6% level, said the chief executive officer
of a state-owned lender that’s under the corrective mechanism. Three to four
banks are likely to get out of the stringent rule after March even as their
gross NPA remained elevated beyond 16-17%. The government is expected to
provide another Rs 12,500 crore of capital in the current quarter to banks that
have capital ratios below the mandatory level. The RBI removed Bank of
Maharashtra, Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce from the PCA on
January 31. Both BoM and BoI have net NPA ratios below 6%, but their return on
assets remained negative. In the case of OBC, though its net NPA was at 7.15%,
the government’s capital infusion helped the lender to improve that ratio to
less than 6%. Hence, it has been decided to remove the restrictions placed on
OBC under PCA framework subject to certain conditions and close monitoring, the
central bank had said.
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1994 NCD CASE: COURT REJECTS RIL PLEA FOR INTERNAL SEBI REPORT
A 25-year-old case of
market manipulation from the Dhirubhai Ambani-era is still proving to be an
irritant for Reliance Industries (RIL). On SEBI’s direction last month,
chartered accountant YH Malegam visited RIL’s office here to examine the
company’s records relating to the non-convertible debentures (NCDs) issued by
it in 1994. RIL, which has long sought ‘settlement’ of the matter with SEBI,
asked to see Malegam’s report, a request which the regulator declined. Subsequently,
the Bombay High Court, too, rejected RIL’s petition seeking the Malegam report
at this juncture and directed it to wait for the documents till adjudicatory
proceedings took place. The RIL NCDs that had the crucial 120 million warrants
attached to it were then subscribed for a whopping ₹300
crore by 38 entities. On conversion of these warrants into equity shares in
2000, some of the entities stood to gain as their stake in the company rose
sharply at a substantially lower cost of acquisition. SEBI probed the
allegations against RIL and the entities linked to the case on October 21,
2002. S Ramesh, a SEBI official then, was the investigating authority and
Piyush Gupta was adjudicating the case. Subsequently, RIL informed the BSE that
the 38 entities were persons acting in concert, which meant they were
associated with RIL’s promoters. SEBI deemed this to be a violation of the
takeover code and issue of capital and disclosure regulations. Its
investigation report also alleged that the 38 entities were ‘dummies’ with a
common address.
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EPFO IN A SPOT AFTER DISMAL CPSE ETF AND BHARAT 22 ETF RETURNS
The decision of the
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in 2017 to invest in select
exchange traded funds (ETFs) to help the government meet its disinvestment
targets has yielded subpar returns for its subscribers. Two days before
announcing the annual EPF interest rate, calculations by the EPFO show that its
investments in CPSE ETFs and Bharat 22 ETF have yielded just 1.89% and 0.48%,
respectively, as of 31 December. That compares unfavourably with the yields on
ETFs run by SBI Asset Management Co. and UTI Asset Management Co. for the
retirement fund manager. While the SBI mutual fund ETFs returned an average of
12%, the ETFs run by UTI have yielded 10.31% as of 31 December 2018 since EPFO
started investing in ETFs in August 2015. The issue is likely to be discussed
at the central board meeting of EPFO on Thursday. EPFO, which works under the
union labour ministry, first invested in the CPSE ETF in January 2017 on the
prodding of the finance ministry. The ministry wanted us to invest ₹3,000
crore, but we have agreed to invest ₹2,800 crore as of now, the
then central provident fund commissioner, V.P. Joy, had said. Mindless
investment to achieve goals of the government always has its shortcomings. EPFO
has to understand that there is a difference between investors investing by
informed choice, and poor workers’ money getting invested by compulsion through
substandard ETFs, said A.K. Padmanabhan, a central board trustee of EPFO. Since
EPF interest rate is a yearly payout, a good yield is a primary requirement,
the person said. So, the return from CPSE ETF and Bharat 22 ETF raises a
question on the merit of the investments, more so when its other equity
exposure is doing relatively better, the person added.
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RPOWER PROMOTERS AIM RS 2,500 CR FROM STAKE SALE
Sovereign wealth funds of
Qatar and Abu Dhabi as well as private equity major KKR have evinced interest
in investing in Reliance Power, where promoters plan to sell part of their
direct holdings to raise Rs 2,500 crore, investment banking sources said
Tuesday. Part of the diversified Anil Ambani group, Reliance Power has
appointed J P Morgan as the banker for the proposed stake sale, the sources
said. The sources said promoters plan to offload 18 to 19 per cent of their 30
per cent direct holding in the company. Overall, they would retain 51 per cent
of direct and indirect shareholding post sale. At the end of December 2018, promoter
entities held 75 per cent stake in the company, as per data available on the BSE.
It has also appointed investment bankers for part placement of the group's
direct 30 per cent stake in Reliance Power to institutional investors,
officials at the lenders and Reliance Group said Sunday.
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DISAPPOINTED OVER TWEAK IN ECOMMERCE FDI LAW: WALMART
Walmart chief executive
officer Doug McMillon said it was disappointing that the Indian government had changed
norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) in ecommerce without consultation and
hoped for a more collaborative process going forward. We were disappointed in a
recent change in law and the lack of consultation, but the team has worked to
ensure we are in compliance with the new rules, McMillon said on an investor
call on Tuesday. We hope to have an effective productive dialogue related to
future changes that happen. The government tightened norms that came into
effect on February 1, prohibiting marketplaces from selling products of
affiliates and stipulating that such entities cannot exercise ownership or
control over inventory. Ecommerce firms including Walmart owned Flipkart and
Amazon were also asked to provide services such as warehousing, logistics and
advertising to all sellers in a fair manner. It barred ecommerce companies from
entering into pacts for the exclusive sale of products as well. The things that
happened have been disappointing in some ways, but they haven’t shaken our
confidence and excitement about what this is going to be to the company (in
the) long term, added McMillon, following the earnings announcement for the
fourth quarter ended January with revenues rising 3.1% to $140.5 billion.
Walmart’s financials included Flipkart for the entire quarter for the first
time.
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POWER POLICY NEEDS A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
The Supreme Court has
before it petitions moved by many private thermal power companies against the
Reserve Bank of India’s direction to banks to initiate insolvency proceedings
against loan defaulters The power companies argue that their under performance
is due to systemic issues whereas the RBI’s argument is that the banking
regulator cannot discriminate between sectors when dealing with loan defaults.
There is no easy solution. The 40th Standing Committee on Energy estimated that
loans to two- thirds of the country’s coal-based power capacity are under
stress. Banks are hesitant to take any further risk on the thermal power
sector. Yet insolvency may result in the power companies being sold off piece
by piece, leading to recovery of a fraction of the crores of rupees poured into
them. Long-term ramifications for the country’s power-generation capacity and
investor confidence in the sector are obvious. This costly turn of events
began, partly, in 2014, when the Supreme Court cancelled over 200 coal-block
allocations, because no objective criteria or consistent standards and
guidelines were followed and consequently found the approach to be arbitrary,
unconstitutional and illegal. The decision exposed the absence of a comprehensive
legal framework when entrusting public resources and duties to the private
sector. That absence continues, even as public-private partnerships(PPPs) have
evolved to include complex structures in traditional state functions such as
transportation, water distribution or health infrastructure. It is difficult
for the judiciary to provide the needed clarity In the absence of legislation,
the judiciary relies upon Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees
equality before law, and has been interpreted to include restrictions on the
state from acting in an arbitrary, unreasonable or discriminatory manner. These
are sound constitutional principles, but are best relied upon to set the
boundaries for how the state cannot act, rather than detailed guidance on how
it can. In each case, the court examined the individual circumstances to assess
whether the state acted in an arbitrary manner. It is notable that of the 312
projects approved by the PPPAC since 2006, only 48 have been approved in the
last four years, and only 13 in the last two financial years. There are a
number of key questions a rules based framework could clarify, starting with
the allocation process. If public auction is the preferred but not the only
method, then the exceptions to it should be clearly articulated. Unsolicited
proposals, emergency situations and continuity of service are examples of
articulated exceptions to public tendering in other countries. Most countries
with PPP laws stipulate at least some basic guidelines on public contracts,
such as the maximum term. (In Brazil, for example, the term of the contract
cannot be more than 35 years.) Knowing the limits of what they could offer
during contract negotiation may have been helpful to the public authority in
the Delhi-Noida tollway case. The process of setting contractual terms should
ideally involve affected stakeholders. In India, unlike in some other
jurisdictions, there is typically no formal consultation with potential
stakeholders other than the bidders. Such consultations could serve to better
identify concerns, and means to address them. For example, projects which
entail displacement could involve consultation procedures with affected persons
to better identify meaningful resettlement and rehabilitation obligations. A legal
framework should also provide guidance on amendment of contractual terms A few
years ago, a change in Indonesian price controls for exported coal caused
several Indian power plants to become economically unviable overnight. Given
public sensitivities, state distribution companies did not agree to change the
power tariffs in the contracts, and only after years of agitation spanning
governments, commissions, and courts, has the Supreme Court now finally agreed
to permit approaches to electricity regulatory commissions to tweak the
contracts, on the strength of expert reports that the power companies would
face liquidation if not allowed the benefit of revised power prices.
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INDIA SURPASSES ITALY FOR WORLD’S WORST SOURED LOAN RATIO
India holds the dubious
distinction of having the worst non-performing loan ratio among the world’s
major economies, having surpassed Italy. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said
in December that the ratio for banks fell for the first time since 2015, though
its still high for comfort. A $190 billion pile of soured and stressed debt has
cast the future of some lenders in doubt and curbed investments. Italy
succeeded in quickly reducing its bad-loan ratio, with non-performing loans
falling to about 200 billion euros ($227 billion) last year from their peak of
over 360 million euros in 2016.
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SACHIN BANSAL INVESTS ₹650 CR IN OLA
Flipkart co-founder Sachin
Bansal has invested about ₹ 650 crore in Ola giving the Indian ride-hailing company more
ammunition to compete with rival Uber. The investment is in Sachin’s personal
capacity and is also the largest financing by an individual in Ola till date,
Ola said in a statement. In January, Ola had issued shares worth ₹150
crore to Sachin as part of series J round of funding. Sachin, who founded
Flipkart over a decade ago with Binny Bansal, had quit after US retail behemoth
Walmart picked up 77 per cent stake in the Indian e-commerce company for $ 16
billion. Ola is one of India’s most promising consumer businesses, that is
creating deep impact and lasting value for the ecosystem, Sachin said. The
investment is part of Ola’s plans to raise about $ 1 billion in funding. It had
also stated that it was in advanced talks to close an additional $1 billion
funding to take total mop-up to more than $ 2 billion. We are extremely
thrilled to have Sachin on-board Ola as an investor. Sachin is an icon of
entrepreneurship and his experience of building one of India’s most respected
businesses ground up, is unparalleled, said Bhavish Aggarwal.
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EMPLOYEE STRESS LEADING CONCERN FOR EMPLOYERS IN INDIA: STUDY
Lack of employees'
physical activity and stress are top lifestyle risk factors identified by
employers in India according to a study. Besides, other major concerns are
obesity, followed by poor financial well-being and tobacco use, said the India
Health and Wellbeing Study by Willis Towers Watson. According to the study, combating
employee stress appears to be a key focus area for employers in India. A vast
majority, 80 per cent of the organisations, have taken at least one action to
manage employee stress and mental health in 2018 and 89 per cent selected
'identify and manage stress and behavioural health issues across the workforce'
as a top priority, the report by the global advisory, broking and solutions
company said Tuesday. The lack of physical activity (62 per cent) and stress
(55 per cent) in employees are the top lifestyle risk factors identified by
employers in India, the study said. The other top concerns were obesity (43 per
cent), followed by poor financial wellbeing (27 per cent) and tobacco use (25
per cent), it added. According to the study, 66 per cent employers have already
developed or are developing a stress or mental health strategy for their
employees and an additional 17 per cent are considering it for 2021. The key
steps already taken by organisations to manage employee stress and mental health
include providing flexible working options (68 per cent), followed by offering
on-site stress management interventions (46 per cent), promoting the employee
assistance programmes (40 per cent), offering stress management and resilience
training (38 per cent) and employee education and training (38 per cent). It is
immensely encouraging to observe this increased focus on employee health and
wellness However, to translate this into all-round wellbeing, enhanced
productivity and ultimately improved financial performance, companies must
develop a coherent and holistic health and wellness strategy encompassing all
four aspects- physical, emotional, financial, and family, said Rohit Jain. The
study also said although tobacco use was identified as one of the top-five
lifestyle concerns by 25 per cent of the companies, only 8 per cent currently
offer tobacco cessation programmes and additional 15 per cent are considering
that following suite in 2021. It further said that 44 per cent of the
organisations have taken at least one action on tobacco use in 2018.
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USD 2 MN INVESTMENT EARMARKED UNDER INDIA INNOVATION GROWTH
PROGRAMME
An investment of USD 2
million in social and industrial innovations has been announced on Tuesday
under the India Innovation Growth Programme 2.0 The programme has been
established by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India,
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Tata Trusts. The 2019 edition of the programme,
launched in Guwahati on Tuesday, is aimed at accelerating indigenous
innovations through incubation of affordable, accessible and acceptable
solutions. Anita Gupta, adviser and associate programme head of innovation,
entrepreneurship, Department of Science and Technology, said with the government's
commitment towards building a young start-up nation India is rightly poised to
drive the next entrepreneurship wave. To ensure success, a conducive ecosystem
is needed that not only nurtures creativity and innovation but also provides
market opportunities to the new genre of entrepreneurs, she said in a
statement.
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938 PEOPLE DETAINED IN 6 DETENTION CENTRES IN ASSAM, 823
DECLARED FOREIGNERS, CENTRE TELLS SC
The Centre Tuesday told
the Supreme Court that 938 people are detained in six detention centres in
Assam and 823 of them have been declared as foreigners by tribunals. The Centre
was responding to the January 28 queries of the apex court which had asked the
Centre and the state to provide details of functional detention centres in
Assam and the foreigners detained in them during the last 10 years. A bench
headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
that both the Centre and the state have filed their affidavits providing
details sought by the apex court. The Centre said over 27,000 foreigners have
been pushed back at border points while attempting to enter India illegally.
Solicitor General told the bench, also comprising Justices L N Rao and Sanjiv
Khanna, that the Centre has allotted Rs 47 crore and Assam has provided land
for building a new detention centre with various facilities, keeping in mind
issues covering human rights. He said the new detention centre will be ready by
August 31. However, when Mehta was making his submissions the bench showered
him with several questions. It also said that tribunal has declared only 52,000
as foreigners and the Centre has deported only 162. How can people have
confidence in Assam government? the bench said. The bench also referred to the
issue of NRC carried by the Assam government and said that only 40 lakh people
were not included in it. It asked does this mean they are foreigners. The apex
court further said that the problem of illegal migrants in Assam has been there
for the last 50 years. Why no steps taken to deport or repatriate them, it
said. Mehta said all illegal migrants have to go and he would take instructions
how to expedite repatriation. The apex court also sought to know condition of
detention centres saying PIL alleges sub-human conditions there. Hearing will
continue after lunch.
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2,278 CASES OF SWINE FLU IN DELHI THIS YEAR: REPORT
As many as 2,278 cases of
swine flu have been reported from the capital till February 17, a report
compiled by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) stated. As per
the report, the death toll due to swine flu in Delhi so far this year stands at
seven. In 2018, only eight cases and zero deaths were reported in February.
While the IDSP report limits the number of swine flu deaths to seven, the two
Centre-run hospitals have reported 13 deaths due to the disease this year.
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RISE IN IMPORTED API COSTS MAY LEAD TO HIKE IN DRUG PRICES
There is a speculation
that prices of certain drugs may go up, considering that costs of Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) that India imports from China have increased
compared to last year. This comes in the light of re-opening of revamped
Chinese facilities that had shut shop last year, due to regulatory issues, said
Karthikeyan Thangaranjan. Costs of certain APIs, which are the core ingredients
that go into formulation of drugs, had doubled over the last year, as over a
lakh Chinese facilities closed. Prices of APIs and key starting materials
originating from China have started to moderate but are likely to settle at
higher-than-the-previous-average levels. We are speculating a 20-30 per cent
rise in costs of certain APIs that India imports from China, Thangarajan told. Hike
in API costs will hit anti-malarial and Antiretroviral (ARV) drug categories
the most, as these are procured from the companies by global non-profit
organisations or governments at fixed price contracts for two-three years and
the companies that produce these may suffer a setback, he added. Meanwhile,
India’s API imports have only increased with China claiming a lion’s share of
the pie. According to India Ratings data, while in 2014, India imported 2.46
lakh tonnes of API (72 per cent of the requirement) of which 60 per cent was
from China, in 2018, India imported 3.10 lakh tonnes, of which China's share
was over 60 per cent.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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