INSOLVENCY
& BANKRUPTCY CODE: GOVT LOOKING AT WAYS TO AVOID FRIVOLOUS BIDS
The government is looking at ways to ensure 'frivolous
bids' are not placed under the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC), according
to Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas. The government was mulling
whether criminal proceedings should be initiated against those not implementing
resolution plans or they should be barred from bidding for any other company
undergoing resolution under the IBC, Srinivas said on Tuesday. Another thought
within the government for stopping frivolous bids is to get a defaulting
applicant to pay for the costs incurred during resolution. Also, Srinivas said
pre-packaged resolution would be in place in two years’ time. Srinivas also
said that Section 12(A) allowed out-of-court settlement if 90 per cent lenders
allowed the withdrawal of the insolvency application against a borrower in the
pre-pack insolvency arrangement, but the UK insolvency law on this kind of
arrangements needed NCLT’s approval Srinivas said: It will take time to reach
the UK model but that is being worked out. The government is looking at group
insolvency, as the actual borrowing in many companies is found at the
subsidiaries and not the parent company. Since the inception of the IBC,
borrowers were becoming conscious of loans they had taken, said Srinivas,
adding that at the time of insolvency proceedings being triggered against a
company, Rs 2 trillion worth of loans had been settled out of court. Under the
insolvency regime, around Rs 3 trillion has been recovered. Srinivas added that
4,500 companies had seen resolution under the code, and that he was of the view
that banks and corporates both were appraising the loan by checking its
viability.
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LENDERS
REALISE RS 44,500 CR FROM RESOLUTION OF INSOLVENT STEEL FIRMS: ICRA
Of the 11 steel making entities named in the
Reserve Bank of India’s list of large corporate defaulters, four have completed
their corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), with the lenders
realising claims to the tune of Rs 44, 500 crore with an average haircut of 47
per cent Rating agency Icra says that with Essar Steel and Bhushan Power and
Steel attracting interest from domestic and foreign investors, the financial
creditors could realise at least Rs 60,000 crore more as the resolution process
of these entities is completed.
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GOVT
PLANS GEO-TAGGING TO CRACKDOWN ON SHELL COMPANIES
Companies may soon have to geo-tag their
registered offices in the statutory filings with the Registrar of Companies
(RoC), as the government seeks to prevent fraud by tightening regulatory
systems Geo-tagging, or attaching data of the exact location of the office,
will allow the online return filing system to alert government officials
wherever it detects far too many companies are registered in the same premises,
a trend noticed in past investigations into shell companies. This will help us
identify instances of one building being used by hundreds of shell companies as
their registered office or of companies citing vacant plots as their registered
office address. It will serve as an early warning system for detecting
mushrooming of shell companies, minister of state for corporate affairs P.P.
Chaudhary said. We are seriously thinking of introducing this requirement. With
this move, the ministry seeks to prevent abuse of the corporate structure by
companies that inflate costs by issuing fake invoices and laundering
unaccounted wealth in the form of loans or equity through bogus transactions.
Many companies that exist only on paper with the same address were found in the
past offering what is referred to as accommodation entries or bogus
transactions without commercial substance. A special investigation team led by
Justice M.B. Shah, a former judge of the Supreme Court, in 2015 highlighted the
role played by such entities in money laundering. The coordinates of the
registered premises will act as a key input for mining data in the ministry’s
IT infrastructure, called MCA21, to zero in on companies with a common address,
common contact numbers, common directors and sudden and unexpected changes in
revenue, etc. that may warrant a closer look into their affairs. The idea is to
seek the coordinates of the registered office at the time of incorporation in
the case of new companies and at the time of filing annual returns in the case
of existing ones. Over a period of time, the disclosure and transparency
requirements for companies have increased. Geo-tagging will certainly help in
identifying clusters of companies with the same address, said Amit Maheshwari.
Chaudhary said the government is working on defining what is commonly referred
to as a shell company
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LENDERS
EXPECT RESOLUTION OF ESSAR STEEL, BHUSHAN POWER BY END OF MARCH
By the end of next month, lenders expect to close
the resolution of at least two names in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)
first list of major non-performing assets. These two are Essar Steel and
Bhushan Power & Steel. Not enough to fulfill the central government’s
earlier target of closing the remaining eight cases on the list by March;
however, some are in the final stages. Alok Industries’ resolution plan is
being heard, Jyoti Structures’ final leg of hearing on its resolution plan is
expected to start and bids have been received for Jaypee Infratech. According
to Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, managing director (MD) of Syndicate Bank, five or six
accounts from the 12 in the RBI’s first list could be resolved by end-March.
Saurav Kumar, says where the bidders have been chosen by the respective committees
of creditors, and the resolution plan has been presented before the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), it is possible to reach a conclusion very soon.
For instance, with Essar Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel and Alok Industries.
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LOT OF
HEADWAY BEING MADE IN IL&FS MATTER, SAYS CORPORATE AFFAIRS SECRETARY
The first phase of resolution for problems
faced by IL&FS group is expected to be completed in the next few months as
a lot of headway is being made in addressing the issues, a senior official said
Tuesday. On Monday, the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) said that no
bank or financial institution can declare the accounts of debt-ridden IL&FS
and group companies as non-performing assets without its permission I think a
lot of headway is being made and in next few months the first phase of
resolution should be completed, Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas
said. He emphasised that pro-active steps have been taken regarding the
IL&FS matter.
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ABG
SHIPYARD'S COMMITTEE OF CREDITORS VOTES IN FAVOUR OF LIQUIDATION
ABG Shipyard’s committee of creditors has voted
in favour of liquidation of the company, according to a written submission made
on Monday at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Ahmedabad Bench. The
exact voting pattern could not be ascertained. Sources said though the decision
was not unanimous the voting was above statutory limit. The lenders have opted
for liquidation after rejecting two successive bids by London-based metals
player Liberty House group. Sources said the rejection of Liberty House’s bid
was primarily on the basis of commercial concerns. The matter will be heard on
Wednesday by a two-member Bench.
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LENDERS
AWAITING SC ORDER TO RESOLVE RS 10,600-CRORE RELIANCE NAVAL DEBT
Indian lenders, who have Rs 10,600 crore
exposure to Reliance Naval & Engineering, are pinning their hopes on the
Supreme Court on a bunch of petitions filed against the Reserve Bank of India’s
February 12 circular. The circular had banned debt resolution and has impacted
Reliance Naval’s debt resolution, say bankers. Reliance Naval is the second
company in the Anil Ambani group after Reliance Communications that is facing
the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings. Lenders said the Shipyard
Association of India (SAI) had moved the SC asking it to quash and set aside
the RBI circular This petition by the SAI will be heard in March along with other
petitions. Reliance Naval is a member of SAI. Banking sources said they are
worried about the company as in fiscal 2018, the company had made a net loss of
Rs 956 crore on revenues of Rs 335 crore and promoter's entire 29.8 per cent in
the firm is pledged.
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JM
FINANCIAL FILES APPLICATION WITH NCLT AGAINST HOTEL LEELAVENTURE
Hotel Leela Venture in its filing to the
exchanges on Tuesday informed that JM Financial has filed an application with
the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, against Hotel Leela Venture
Limited under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. We further
wish to inform you that the Company is continuing to engage with prospective
investors for a resolution, Hotel Leela Venture said in a press note to the
exchanges.
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RESOLUTION
PLAN CANNOT BE CHALLENGED BEFORE THE NCLT ON THE GROUND OF FAILURE TO MEET THE
THRESHOLD REQUIREMENT
The Supreme Court in the case of K. Sashidhar
v. Indian Overseas Bank & Ors. held that if the opposition to the proposed
resolution plan is purely a commercial or business decision the same, being non
justiciable, is not open to challenge before the NCLT or NCLAT. KS&PIPL was
incorporated as a private limited company on 20th October, 2008. Its steel
division commenced operation in the year 2013 but could not continue beyond
this period due to financial crisis and eventually filled a petition for
Insolvency. The petition was admitted initiating the Corporate Insolvency
Resolution Process wherein the resolution plan concerning both the corporate
debtors, namely KS&PIPL and IIL was considered by the concerned CoC and was
approved by less than 75% of voting share of the financial creditors. Hence,
failure to meet the requirement of 75% was to be treated as disapproved or
deemed to be rejected by the dissenting financial creditors. The resolution
plan was expressly rejected by 15.15% in the CoC meeting and later additionally
by 11.82% by email. Thus, the resolution plan was expressly rejected by not
less than 25% of voting share of the financial creditors. In the case of
corporate debtor IIL, the resolution plan received approval of only 66.57% of
voting share of the financial creditors and 33.43% voted against the resolution
plan. NCLAT opined that the resolution plan was deemed to be rejected by the
CoC and the concomitant is to initiate liquidation process concerning the two
corporate debtors. The issue before the Apex Court was whether the amendment
reducing the threshold limit to 66% had a retrospective effect and is
applicable in the present case. It was analyzed by Hon’ble Justice A.M.
Khanwilkar that when a resolution plan is rejected, the NCLT is not expected to
do anything more but obliged to initiate liquidation process under Section
33(1) of the I&B Code. The I&B Code lists the grounds on which the
resolution plan can be rejected. The NCLT as best has the powers to cause an
enquiry into the approved resolution plan on limited grounds mentioned under
the Act. Furthermore, none of authorities from resolution professional, NCLT or
NCLAT have been empowered by the Code to reverse commercial decision of the
CoC. For, the approval of the resolution plan by the CoC can be challenged on
those grounds. However, if the opposition to the proposed resolution plan is
purely a commercial or business decision, the same, being non justiciable, is
not open to challenge before the NCLT or NCLAT. The Hon’ble Court hence held
that the order of the Tribunal cannot be set aside under Article 142 of the
Constitution on the ground that same is to be read in light of the amended
provision of the I&B Code with a reduced threshold requirement of 66%. The
Court hence upheld the decision of the NCLAT.
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A/CS OF
IL&FS AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES WILL NOT BE DECLARED NPA FOR NOW: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) on Monday ruled that accounts of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial
Services (IL&FS) and its subsidiaries would not be classified as
Non-performing Asset (NPA) by financial institutions such as banks without
prior approval from the appellate tribunal Without going into the rival
contention of the parties, we make it clear that due to nonpayment of dues by the
‘Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited’ or its entities
including the ‘Amber Companies’, no financial institution will declare the
accounts of ‘Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited’ or its
entities as ‘NPA’ without prior permission of this Appellate Tribunal, a two
judge bench led by Chairperson Justice S. J. Mukhopadhaya said in its order. Hearing
a plea moved by lenders to certain companies under the amber category who
wanted that accounts should not be declared NPA, the two judge bench observed
that the step was being taken in interest of the resolution plan being carried
out by the newly appointed board of IL&FS.
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SBI SAYS
NO DECISION TAKEN ON MOVING NCLT AGAINST JET AIRWAYS
State Bank of India Monday said no decision
has been taken on moving the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against Jet
Airways. Reports have been appearing in the media about decision taken by SBI
to refer Jet Airways to NCLT. These are totally speculative and SBI would like
to state that no such decision has been taken, a SBI spokesperson said in a
statement on Monday. On Monday, stock exchanges also sought clarification from
Jet Airways on the reports. The airline is yet to give its response to the bourses.
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THE NEW
DEAL
Five years ago, or less, nobody would have
imagined an Anil Ambani could face the prospect of a jail sentence or the Ruia
family may not be far from losing control over their crown jewel, Essar Steel.
That promoters can no longer treat their ownership of enterprises as a divine
right and enjoy the benefits of riskless capitalism, to quote the former
Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan, is something India Inc is still finding
difficult to reconcile with. The catalyst for this has been the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC) — arguably the Narendra Modi government’s biggest
economic reform measure, ahead of even the goods and services tax. The IBC has
fundamentally altered the relationship between large borrowers and their
creditors. Until recently, whenever the former defaulted, the latter invariably
had to make the concessions. The promoter continued to be at the helm, even
after mismanaging the business or diverting loans to avenues other than for
which they were sanctioned. That, thankfully, has changed. The IBC allows both
lenders and operational creditors to move a dedicated bankruptcy court — the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) — and initiate insolvency proceedings
against defaulting firms to recover their dues through a time-bound process The
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson did just that, by filing a bankruptcy
petition against Reliance Communications before NCLT to recover unpaid dues. It
forced the Anil Ambani-controlled company to enter into a settlement that was
approved by the Supreme Court. When the beleaguered telecom operator failed to
discharge its payment obligations under the deal, leading Ericsson to file
contempt pleas, the apex court ordered Ambani to cough up Rs 453 crore within
four weeks or risk a three-month prison sentence. What the IBC has done is to
provide a mechanism for enforcing the sanctity of debt contracts: The very
threat of a company’s control passing to creditors who would invite other
prospective promoters to take over and pay off its dues to the maximum extent,
is the best insurance against riskless capitalism and future bad-loans crises.
The Ruias are yet to give up. But in the new regime, it’s the lenders and
courts, not divine right, that will decide who will ultimately run Essar Steel.
The above transition to a more impersonal, rule-based capitalism is bound to
face resistance from those used to the earlier system, where both sanctioning
of loans and they being written-off in the event of turning bad could be
seamlessly managed. One indicator of it is the resolution process in many cases
taking much longer than the 270-days deadline (from any insolvency petition’s
admission by NCLT) set under the IBC. This is where the higher courts need to
step in and draw the line.
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FORTIS
WRITES TO SEBI FOR ARREST OF SINGH BROTHERS
Fortis Healthcare has said it has asked
markets regulator Sebi to initiate legal proceedings including arrest of its
former promoters Singh brothers, to recover Rs 472 crore from them and related
entities. In an application to Sebi for the recovery of the amount, Fortis
Healthcare and Fortis Hospitals have asked for the invocation of Section 28 A
of the Act to recover the amounts from Malvinder Mohan Singh, Shivinder Mohan
Singh, RHC holdings Pvt Ltd, Shivi Holdings Pvt Ltd, Malav Holdings Pvt Ltd,
Religare Finvest Ltd, Best Healthcare Pvt Ltd, Fern healthcare Pvt Ltd and
Modland Wears Pvt Ltd. Fortis Healthcare has also asked the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a personal hearing on the matter. Ravi
Rajagopal said: Once SEBI order was received in Oct 2018, then the revised
version in Dec 2018, we began legal proceedings to recover the money as per the
directive in the order. All the nine parties/noticees were sent notices from
FHL. The company is also awaiting SEBI approval on declassification of Singh
brothers as promoters, Rajagopal said. He further said the previous board of
Fortis Healthcare had links with Singh brothers and there was an investigation
by law firm Luthra and Luthra into the Rs 472 crore diverted into other
companies. Following release of the Luthra report, we initiated legal action -
writing to the regulatory authorities with the primary objective of recovering
money and protecting shareholders interest. We filed applications with SEBI,
SFIO and handed them report copies. Legal action have been taken against the
three entities - Fern, Modland and Best, Rajagopal said.
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BOARDS OF
COMPANIES SHOULD ASSERT ETHICAL CONDUCT: CII
Stronger commitment is required to improve
the effectiveness of boards of companies and they should constantly assert
ethical conduct while focusing on risk management, according to a CII report.
To promote integrity and transparency in governance, the chamber has introduced
a 'Model Code of Conduct' for business ethics to act as a guide to industry to
adopt best practices Corruption, bribery and improper payments continue to be
high compliance risks in the country, CII said in a report. It has also
prescribed norms for business courtesies which are often extended by
enterprises like gifts and entertainment, transportation and meals. CII
suggested that gifts should be of nominal value and in nature of consumables,
instead of cash or jewellery, etc. Moreover, gifts to family members should be
avoided. Besides, casual lift, ground transportation to and from the company
office or facility can be provided in the ordinary course of business but these
should be limited to customers or government officials or regulators, while
extravagant modes like air fare/rail fare should be avoided unless mandatory.
Moreover, CII said meals must only be offered as a casual social hospitality
and lavish or extravagant meals should be avoided by companies when extending
courtesies. The guidelines can be adopted by companies which currently do not
have any specific guidelines on business courtesies. For companies with similar
existing policies related to business courtesies, these can act as reference.
CII considers ethical practices in business dealings to be critical for the
development and growth of the industry in the country. The adoption of a
simplified code by industry including SMEs is a landmark step in inculcating a
culture of ethics and good practices in corporates, the chamber said. The CII
Model Code of Conduct covers key areas of business practice such as maintaining
accurate books and accounts, prohibiting bribery and corruption, fair and
equitable treatment, health and safety, quality of goods and services and
environment and society considerations. Integrity, transparency, governance and
absence of corruption are inter-dependent and inter-connected to each other.
Business leaders must continuously improve the way they approach and
collaborate to set high standard of ethics and principled business practices,
CII said.
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RBI
SUGGESTS MAJOR CHANGES TO TOP BANK EXECUTIVES' PAY STRUCTURE
India’s banking regulator has proposed
wide-ranging changes in compensation plans for top bank executives, including
directors and ace traders often earning bulge-bracket bonuses, suggesting even
the inclusion of a clawback clause on variable pay when assessments of the
central bank and those of a lender differed on asset quality. Banks are
required to put in place appropriate modalities to incorporate malus/ clawback
mechanism in respect of variable pay, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a
discussion paper posted on its website. Wherever the assessed divergence in
bank’s asset classification or provisioning from the RBI norms exceeds the
prescribed threshold for public disclosure the bank shall not pay the unvested
portion of the variable compensation for the assessment year under the ‘malus’
clause. In the recent past, the RBI had held back its approval on the proposed
bonuses for Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma at ICICI Bank and Axis Bank,
respectively. Other proposals by the central bank include maintaining the ideal
balance between fixed and variable components of targeted remuneration and
creating plans that reward talent with employee stock options. A substantial
proportion of compensation i.e. at least 50%, should be variable, and paid on
the basis of individual, business-unit and firm-wide measures that adequately
measure performance, the RBI discussion paper said. The regulator has also
listed down the items that should be included among the perquisites. These
include residential accommodation, cars and club memberships and all other
retirement benefits, entitlements that should be part of fixed pay. The banks
are required to furnish the monetary value of all components of pay, including
perquisites, to the nearest rupee value, it said. The regulator suggested a cap
on variable pay. It should be ensured that there is a proper balance between
fixed pay and variable pay, the paper said. The total variable pay shall be
limited to a maximum of 200% of the fixed pay (for the relative period). Within
this ceiling, at higher levels of responsibility, the proportion of variable
pay should be higher. The deterioration in the financial performance of the
bank should generally lead to a contraction in the total amount of variable compensation
paid. To ensure that decisions of top executives do not damage longterm
interests at a bank, the RBI has suggested payment of these benefits in a
deferred manner.
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COMMODITY
ARM OF ANAND RATHI, GEOFIN COMTRADE 'NOT FIT AND PROPER': SEBI
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange
Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday declared the defunct commodity subsidiaries of
broking firms Anand Rathi (ARCL) and Geofin Comtrade (formerly Geojit Comtrade)
(GCL) not fit and proper in relation to the Rs 5,600-crore National Spot
Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam. Earlier, the regulator had last week taken a similar
action against the commodity arm of leading equity brokers Motilal Oswal
Financial Services and India Infoline. In two separate orders, Sebi found the
commodity arms of ARCL and Geofin guilty of gross violation of provisions of
the erstwhile Forward Contract and Regulation Act 1972 (FCRA). The notices had violated
the provisions of FCRA and made false representation of assured/risk-free
return, arbitrage opportunity in the spot market by way of paired contracts,
making assurances with risk-free returns on assured collateral of commodities.
Also, these noticees had done client code modifications with manipulative
artifice. Hence, these noticees are not fit and proper person to hold, directly
or indirectly, the certificate of registration and therefore, cease to act,
directly or indirectly as commodity derivative brokers, said the Sebi orders.
Interestingly, some of these brokers already shut down their commodity broking
firms immediately after the NSEL scam erupted in 2013 and forayed into this
business again under the new company name. The new entity has been generating
sizeable business in the commodity derivatives markets with the membership of
leading commodity exchanges.
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NSEL
SCAM: 300 BROKERS FACE CRIMINAL ACTION
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) has initiated criminal proceedings against about 300 brokers for their
alleged role in the ₹5,500-crore
National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam in 2013. The regulator had already begun
civil proceedings against them. It passed two orders during the weekend against
leading brokers Motilal Oswal Commodities and India Infoline Commodities,
declaring them not fit and proper to undertake commodities derivatives trading.
Sebi’s decision to initiate criminal proceedings against the brokers is based
on the recommendation by the designated authorities that the regulator had set up
to look into the NSEL matter. The designated authorities — comprising three
adjudicating officers of Sebi — submitted their report on April 11, 2017. They
recommended that since the conduct of the brokers was questionable and their
general reputation, record of fairness, honesty and integrity had eroded, Sebi
should ban them from commodities derivatives trading and also initiate
prosecution for the irregularities. Normally, designated authorities recommend
civil proceedings as provided in the intermediaries regulation. But in the NSEL
case, they have exceeded their brief and also suggested prosecution, said a
person familiar with the development. Sebi rules state that no court below that
of a presidency magistrate or first-class magistrate can take cognisance or try
such offences I understand that crime must not go unpunished. However,
regulatory breaches have two remedies — one is the civil law for imposition of
penalties or other consequences such as suspension, cancellation of
registration or disgorgement of profits, said senior advocate Amit Desai.
Separately, there is a second remedy, which is prosecution. But, in every
matter, it is not necessary to invoke prosecution. Prosecution should be used
in exceptional criminal activities.
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SEBI
ORDER ON IIFL, MOTILAL OSWAL: BROKERAGES DID NOT HAVE TO EXIT BUSINESS IN ALL
EXCHANGES, SAYS JIGNESH SHAH
After Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) declared Motilal Oswal Financial Services and IIFL Holdings' commodity
broking subsidiaries as not fit and proper, Jignesh Shah, on Monday said there
is no need to brokerages to exit the business in all exchanges The recent
investigation report by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Serious Fraud
Investigation Office (SFIO), Sebi is now studying things in finer details. Now
facts are getting established, roles of all others are also becoming clear and
things will be clear further.
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SEBI
SLAPS FINE ON 6 ENTITIES FOR FRAUDULENT TRADE
Markets regulator Sebi on Monday slapped a
penalty of over Rs 32 lakh on six entities for ''non-genuine'' trading in
illiquid stock options on the BSE. After observing a large-scale reversal of
trades in the bourse's stock options segment, Sebi conducted a probe into the
trading activity in illiquid stock options on the BSE from April 2014 to
September 2015. Accordingly, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on all
entities except Wonderland Paper Suppliers, which faced a higher penalty of Rs
7.2 lakh.
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RBI
DELAYS FY18 BONUSES, STOCK OPTIONS FOR PRIVATE BANK CEOS: REPORT
Even as FY19 comes to a close, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) is yet to approve bonuses and stock options for CEOs of
private banks for FY18. This delay is because the variable pay component of the
new compensation policy is still being finalised A source told the newspaper
that this is the longest delay yet. Usually the clearance comes in by
October-November, but this year seems to be special, the person said. There was
a delay in FY17 as well, but the approvals had come in before the end of the
calendar year. The RBI wants to have standards in place before this process
begins again for the current fiscal. Apparently, most of the cases have been
sorted and almost closed now. The bonuses will be released soon which will
provide insight into the compensation regime for CEOs. The new policy being
drafted will put greater emphasis on information drawn from the annual
financial inspection reports (AFIs) and risk-based supervision (RBS) — the
offsite surveillance system. It will also take into account compliance by
private banks and their subsidiaries with regulators like Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI). Appropriate regulatory actions were taken against
some private sector banks on account of certain lapses in their functioning and
governance. With a view to align the compensation policy with evolving
international best practices and for an objective assessment of remuneration
sought by the banks for their whole-time directors, a review of the extant
guidelines on compensation is on the cards, the central bank noted in its Trend
and Progress of Banking in India (2017-18) report. Even the extent of variable
pay is being reviewed and terms for clawback are being written.
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‘3-4 MORE
BANKS LIKELY TO COME OUT OF RBI’S PCA FRAMEWORK THIS YEAR’
The Ministry of Finance expects three to four
more lenders to come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weak bank list in
the next six to eight months on account of improvement in financial health amid
capital infusion and falling bad loans. The recent capital infusion of Rs
48,239 crore in 12 public sector banks (PSBs) will help Corporation Bank and
Allahabad Bank to come out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework in
the next few weeks, sources said. Corporation Bank is the biggest beneficiary
of this round of capital infusion with Rs 9,086 crore of funding, followed by
Allahabad Bank with Rs 6,896 crore. This infusion will help these two lenders
meet requisite capital thresholds of 7.375 CET-1 ratio, 8.875 per cent Tier I
ratio, 10.875 per cent of capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) and the
net NPA ratio threshold of below 6 per cent. The RBI may in the next few weeks take
a decision to remove these two lenders out of PCA supervision as they had done
in the case of Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and Oriental Bank
of Commerce (OBC) last month after capital infusion in December, sources said.
Dena Bank, which is among eight entities under PCA, will cease to exist from
April 1, 2019. So, the list will further shorten with the bank merging with
Bank of Baroda beginning next fiscal, sources said. IDBI Bank, now majority
owned by LIC, is also improving its financial health and bringing down its net
non-performing assets (NPAs) in a bid to come out of the PCA supervision.
Besides, Central Bank and UCO Bank are trying to improve their parameters on
mission mode. So, sources said, four more banks are likely see curb lifted by
RBI on them in 6-8 months.
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CENTRE
LOWERING INTEGRITY OF PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS: KERALA FINANCE MINISTER
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said
that the Centre has resorted to some extreme measures which have had the effect
of demeaning the integrity of public sector banks. The net results are
increasing bad loans as well as merger of banks, with its own adverse impact he
said in a message to the 25th all-India triennial conference of the Corporation
Bank Employees' Union (CBEU). In a wider global scenario, the public financial
sector is being hijacked and, as a result, the Indian economic systems are
being redesigned by neoliberal values and principles. CH Venkatachalam, said
that bank merger efforts have always had far reaching adverse implications.
This failed model is being replicated through the Bank of Baroda -Vijaya-Dena
Bank merger, he said. Thus, two more banks are becoming extinct. The AIBEA has
been consistently opposing mergers in the neoliberal policy environment. Viewed
in this backdrop, the Centre's Interim Budget is an exercise in deception since
it is without an Economic Survey and reports analysing data and outcomes on
various fronts, which are integral to the Budget document. Credit deployment in
agriculture, industry and services sectors have contributed to growth, he said.
We shall ensure that voice of bank employees is heard in Parliament.
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LIABILITY
OF PAST SUC DUES IS ONLY OURS AND NOT JIO'S: RCOM TO TDSAT
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications
(RCom) on Monday told the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal
(TDSAT) that the liability of past dues related to spectrum usage charges (SUC)
rested only with it and not Reliance Jio Infocomm, according to the agreement
between the two. The company, however, made it clear that the past dues would
include only those related to the spectrum it was selling to Jio and not entire
licence. We are hiving off only the 800 MHz spectrum. The licence remains with
us. Only the dues related to this very spectrum is to be paid. Any dues
recoverable cannot be omnibus the counsel appearing for RCom said. Accusing the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of forcing it into the wall, RCom also
said that it would survive if the government stopped taking the stance of not
giving the required no-objection certificate (NoC) deliberately. The Department
of Telecommunications (DoT), on the other hand, contested RCom’s plea and said
that either the company or Jio should give an undertaking that they would clear
any past liabilities that arose. It was due to lack of this undertaking by the
two companies that DoT has so far refused to give the NoC that would allow RCom
to sell its spectrum to Jio, the counsel for DoT said.
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IL&FS
LENDERS TO SAVE RS 10,000 CRORE IN Q4 POST NCLAT BREATHER
A
bankruptcy appeals court ruling, which ordered Monday that no loan account of
IL&FS and its units be put into the nonperforming category without its
approval would save lenders about Rs 10,000 crore in March-quarter provisioning
costs, two people aware of the development said. A two-judge bench of the
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) said that the decision was
taken in the interest of the debt resolution plan at the stressed
infrastructure financier and its group companies. The IL&FS group, which
skipped repayment commitments early autumn and triggered a liquidity squeeze in
the financing business, has debt exposure of about ₹91,000 crore.
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INDIAN
FIRMS' CSR SPENDING NEEDS MORE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
With the enforcement of the Companies Act in
2014, India became the first country to make corporate social responsibility,
or CSR, mandatory The legislation stipulates that companies conscientiously
contribute to society by integrating development programmes in their business
models and culture. Corporate India increased its prescribed amount for CSR
expen diture from Rs 5,779.7 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 7,096.9 crore in 2017-18,
states auditor KPMG’s 2018-19 report which analysed the CSR work of 100
companies. It found that companies were spending more than what was prescribed
From Rs 4,708 crore total expenditure on CSR in 2014-15, it increased to Rs
7,424 crore in 2017-18. But the country’s most backward districts that require
maximum CSR support, remain deprived. According to the Ministry of Rural
Development, 115 of the 718 districts in India are backward. NITI Aayog
stipulates that corporate handholding can ensure the development of these
districts. Jharkhand has 19 such districts, Bihar 13, Chhattisgarh 10 while
Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh have eight each. But only one per cent
of all CSR progra mmes have been implemented in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh
each. Bihar has received just 2 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 3 per cent and Odisha
11 per cent. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,
which account for only 15 per cent of the aspirational districts, have received
60 per cent of the CSR money. Twelve per cent of the districts in the Northeast
require CSR attention, but just about 4 per cent received CSR money in 2017-18.
In 2016-17, the public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Hindustan
Petroleum, Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation together contributed about Rs
146 crore as CSR towards the Rs 3,000-crore Statue of Unity, built in the
memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Aditya nath has written to all district magistrates to use CSR funds to
set up cow shelters. Although schedule VII of CSR policy allows contributions
to government schemes such contributions contradict the principles of CSR.
Instead of engaging with communities to uplift them, companies do a one-time
cheque-signing exercise. CSR policy stipulates that one-time activity cannot be
considered responsible business. CSR funds should not be used as a source of
funding government schemes states the Ministry of Corporate Affairs FAQs on CSR
norms. At a time when the country eagerly awaits a robust policy, companies are
not even complying with the present one. In July 2018, a good 272 companies
were served notices by the Registrar of Companies for non-compliance with CSR
expenditure Between July 2016 and March 2017, as many as 1,018 companies, such
as Adani Infrastructure and Developers, DLF Assets, and Vodafone India Services
were issued notices for non-compliance. KPMG has identified three principal
areas of non-compliance—disclosure of direct and overhead expenditure on
projects, details of overhead expenses, and keeping these overhead expenses
below 5 per cent of total CSR spends. Poor understanding of the social needs of
communities is assessed as the main reason for poor CSR compli ance. The
problem is aggravated by inadequate infrastructure and imple mentation
capability within organi sations and lack of required expertise. There is no
data to know if companies are undertaking need-based assess ment studies, a must
since it prioritises the requirements of the impacted communities, says Sujit
Kumar. Such an assessment should be inclusive and participatory on the lines of
gender, caste and religion. Often, professionals handling CSR are not trained
to comprehend societal nuances. In most cases those heading the human resource
department handle CSR activities. The need now is a policy which drive
companies towards self-regulation, the key to CSR, Singh says.
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STARTUP
PROMOTERS TO GET SUPERIOR VOTING RIGHTS?
The govt is looking at the feasibility of
letting Indian promoters of startups & tech cos to maintain control even
after selling majority stakes to investors like venture capitalists, private
equity etc. This could be done by differential voting rights (DVRs) of shares,
which is what allows Mark Zuckerberg till today to control Facebook. Its also
how Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin still stay in control of
Google and it’s parent company Alphabet. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs may lift
the current ceiling of issuing 26% shares with DVRs. The start up community has
been asking the government to lift the cap to 51% of the post issue paid up
equity share capital. The Ministry Of Corporate Affairs is also looking at
doing away with the requirement of having a 3-year long track record of
distributing profits to issue shares with differential voting rights. We need
to find a way that allows promoters to technology start ups to raise funds
without ceding control. This will help them focus on their vision, grow
revenues, stay committed to core management operations and all without having
to compromise on capital formation, said a government official. The market
regulator SEBI has also been looking at ways to allow promoters to have
superior voting rights, and without impacting corporate governance.
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OVER 450
START-UPS TOOK OFF IN 1,000 DAYS IN KERALA, CLAIMS STATE GOVT
The Kerala government, which is celebrating
1,000 days in power has said that 453 new start-ups have begun operations in
the technology field in the state during this period and around 35,000 jobs
have been generated in the sector. Start-up projects in the state have attracted
investments worth Rs 314 crore so far, the government said. The state added
3,23,262 sq ft floor space for start-ups in 1,000 days and 63 start-ups have
received international attention, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala
is redrawing the start-up landscape. The state has also offered support to 31
incubators. Kerala start-ups have received funding of $38 million in 2017-18,
according to the Kerala Startup Ecosystem Report 2018. The report, released in
November, 2018, stated that the institutional funding, which stood at $9.5
million in 2014, was increased to $19.6 million in 2015. Since 2016, there has
been a steady increase in the fund flow that came to $15.72 million.
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M-CAP OF
SEVEN OF TOP 10 MOST VALUED FIRMS SLUMPS RS 67,980.60 CRORE
Seven of the top-10 most-valued companies of
the country together lost Rs 67,980.60 crore in market valuation last week,
dragged down by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which took the sharpest hit. While
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, Infosys and Kotak
Mahindra Bank witnessed fall in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the
week ended Friday, rest three -- HDFC, SBI and ICICI Bank -- made gains. The
m-cap of TCS slumped Rs 39,400 crore to Rs 7,22,671.77 crore, emerging as the
worst hit among the top-10 firms. Kotak Mahindra Bank's valuation dropped Rs
8,147.3 crore to Rs 2,36,796.56 crore and that of RIL tumbled Rs 6,909.15 crore
to Rs 7,81,303.97 crore. The m-cap of ITC declined Rs 6,454.28 crore to Rs
3,36,040.81 crore and that of Infosys fell by Rs 3,669.67 crore to Rs
3,20,375.12 crore. HDFC Bank's valuation fell by Rs 2,263.71 crore to Rs
5,69,336.21 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) dipped Rs 1,136.44
crore to Rs 3,82,666.64 crore. On the other side, SBI added Rs 6,961.83 crore
to Rs 2,41,633.86 crore in its m-cap. Also, ICICI Bank's valuation zoomed Rs
6,287.7 crore to Rs 2,26,639.17 crore and that of HDFC went up by Rs 1,694.18
crore to Rs 3,24,225.57 crore. In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL stood at
number one position followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, HDFC, Infosys, SBI,
Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank.
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AUCTION
FOR SALE (RE-ISSUE) OF GOVERNMENT STOCKS
The Government of India has announced the Sale
(Re-issue) of
(i) ‘7.00 per cent Government Stock, 2021’ for
a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction,
(ii) ‘8.24 per cent Government Stock, 2027’
for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction,
(iii) ‘7.95 per cent Government Stock, 2032’
for a notified amount of Rs. 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction,
(iv) ‘7.40 per cent Government Stock, 2035’
for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction,
and
(v) ‘7.06 per cent Government Stock, 2046’
for a notified amount of Rs. 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction.
Subject to the limit of Rs. 12,000 crore, being total notified amount, Government
of India will have the option to retain additional subscription up to Rs. 1,000
crore each against any one or more of the above securities.
The auctions will be conducted using multiple
price method. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on March 1, 2019 (Friday). Up to 5% of the
notified amount of the sale of the stocks will be allotted to eligible
individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding
Facility in the Auction of Government Securities. Both competitive and
non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format
on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on March 1,
2019. The result of the auctions will be announced on March 1, 2019 (Friday)
and payment by successful bidders will be on March 5, 2019 (Tuesday).
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MAHARERA
ASKS RNA GROUP TO REFUND RS1.06 CRORE WITH 10.55% INTEREST TO BUYER VRAJESH
HIRJEE
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory
Authority (MahaRERA) has directed Skyline Construction Co, part of the RNA
group, to refund Rs 1.06 crore, along with an interest of 10.55% to actor
Vrajesh Hirjee for failing to handover possession and keeping blank the date of
possession in the registered agreement. The Authority also asked the builder to
refund tax deducted at source (TDS) and stamp duty paid by Mr Hirjee. The
learned advocate of the respondents (RNA group) therefore submits that the date
of possession is kept blank with the consent of the parties and no date of
possession was agreed upon, states B D Kapadnis, member and adjudicating
officer of MahaRERA, in his order. l do not agree with him because section 4
(1A) (ii) of the Maharashtra Ownership of Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of
Construction, Sale, Management and Transfer) Act 1963 (MOFA) provides that
before accepting more than 20% of the sale price as advance payment or deposit,
the promoter is liable to enter into a written agreement for sale and to
mention in it the date by which the possession of the flat is to be handed over
to the purchaser. Section 13(2) of RERA also casts similar liability. Hence,
the respondents cannot take disadvantage of their own wrong.
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REDUCTION
OF VENDORS NOT GOOD FOR TELECOM INDUSTRY: VODAFONE ON HUAWEI BAN
British telecom major Vodafone Monday said
there are three major telecom vendors left in the sector and reducing that to
two with blocking Huawei will not be good for the industry. This is not a
Vodafone topic, it is an industry topic. Huawei plays major role in supply
chain. If you look at it from our perspective, we have resiliency and security
in our networks. If we concentrate down to two players, it is not healthy,
Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read said. In India, the company's joint
venture Vodafone Idea has partnered with Huawei for 5G trials. Currently, there
are three major telecom venders left in the world -- Vodafone, Ericsson and
Nokia. In India also, there are three major players -- Vodafone Idea, Bharti
Airtel and Reliance Jio. Certain countries have blocked purchase of 5G
equipment from Huawei. According to third-party reports, the Chinese firm has
taken lead over its rival in getting highest number of patents that will be
required for 5G services, and cited attempt to block purchase if its equipment
due to global politics rather than security concerns. Read indicated that there
is a need for evidence-based facts for decision making with respect to choosing
venders. He also said the decision of Vodafone to stop using Huawei equipment
and adopting Nokia solution in Germany was only a business decision and it
should not be misread.
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JIO IS
GOING TO PINCH MUKESH AMBANI'S DEEP POCKET REALLY HARD
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India’s most
profitable wireless carrier, could lose as much as $2.1 billion this fiscal
year when costs such as handset subsidies are included, said Chris Lane and
Samuel Chen. That would be a bigger deficit than those of its larger rivals
Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., even though the company known as Jio
will probably overcome them over the next 12 months in terms of service revenue
and subscribers, the analysts wrote in a note to clients dated February 26. The
fiscal year of Jio’s parent, Reliance Industries ends March 31. Jio, part of
the group controlled by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, introduced a
free-for-life call service and a price war in one of the world’s most crowded
mobile markets. That push, which has included offering low-cost phones, has
resulted in net handset subsidies likely totaling Rs 7,200 crore and total
invested capital of Rs 2.6 lakh crore, Bernstein estimates. The phone subsidies
are carried by a separate unit, Reliance Retail Ltd., and so aren’t visible on
Jio’s profit and loss statement, according to Lane and Chen. Jio also uses
non-standard depreciation metrics in its accounting, they said. Ambani’s
wireless phone business, which he has said may conduct an initial public
offering, has reported consecutive quarterly profits. To make a positive return
on investment, the carrier will have to reduce handset subsidies and increase
revenue from users, according to Bernstein.
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JET WILL
RE-EMERGE AS A ROBUST AIRLINE: GOYAL, ETIHAD CEO IN JOINT MESSAGE
Jet Airways and Etihad Airways are working
together on a resolution plan to make the airline robust and viable, the two
airlines said in a joint statement on Monday. The communication comes in the
backdrop of lessor actions to ground planes and threats from a section of
pilots to stop flying over salary delays. Jet Airways, its principal
shareholders, including Etihad Airways, and key financial stakeholders are working
towards the finalisation and subsequent implementation of the bank-led
provisional resolution plan (BLPRP) to ensure the carrier emerges as a
financially strong and resilient airline. The approval of the BLPRP by the
board of directors of Jet Airways last week was an important step in this
direction, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and Etihad’s Chief Executive
Officer Tony Douglas said in a joint statement. We are confident that once the
BLPRP is finalised and implemented, Jet Airways will re-emerge as a viable and
robust airline to reclaim its rightful place as the airline of first choice for
its customers, it said.
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AMAZON
STEPS UP DIVERSITY HIRING, ADDS EX-PEPSICO CEO INDRA NOOYI TO BOARD
In what appears to be Amazon's effort in
increasing gender diversity among directors, the technology giant on Monday
appointed former PepsiCo chief executive officer (CEO) Indra Nooyi to its
board. According to the company's regulatory filing, Nooyi will also join the
audit committee of the board reported Reuters. On February 25, 2019, the Board
of Directors of Amazon.com, Inc. (the Company) elected Indra K Nooyi as a
director of the company, and also appointed her to the audit committee of the
board, Amazon wrote in an 8-K SEC regulatory filing. Nooyi's appointment comes
soon after Amazon added former Starbucks chief operating officer Rosaling
Brewer to its board earlier this month, the second African-American to serve on
its board. The company now has five women — Nooyi, Brewer, Jamie Gorelick,
Judith McGrath and Patricia Stonesifer — on its 11-member board.
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EVERY
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM KASHMIR TO KANYAKUMARI WILL BE THROWN OUT: AMIT SHAH
BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday sounded the
election bugle and said the party would ensure that every illegal immigrant
from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is thrown out of the country following the Assam
model. BJP chief spoke about various issues, including the resolve of the Modi
government to fight militancy saying the BJP government has zero-tolerance on
terrorism. He also talked about discrimination of Ladakh and Jammu divisions by
the previous regimes and said chowkidar, in an apparent reference to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, ensured that funds meant for these regions are spent
for development.
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DEATHS
MOUNT TO 150 IN INDIA’S SECOND TOXIC LIQUOR TRAGEDY THIS MONTH
At least 150 people have died from drinking
toxic bootleg liquor in a northeastern state of India, the second such tragedy
in the country this month, with many more hospitalised as authorities try to
pinpoint the source and round up perpetrators. The figure is based on reports
from three hospitals in the eastern part of the state, Assam. Authorities had
estimated the number of dead at 84 on Saturday. We have still more than 170
people admitted in hospitals with new patients being brought in from nearby
areas. Some developed complications two days after consuming the liquor,
Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told. The Assam liquor tragedy
comes almost two weeks after more than 100 people died from drinking tainted
alcohol in two northern Indian states, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, in the
worst such case in the country since 2011.
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UNION
HOME MINISTER TO INAUGURATE AND LAY FOUNDATION STONE OF VARIOUS RESIDENTIAL AND
OFFICE BUILDINGS
Rajnath Singh will inaugurate 29
infrastructure projects (both residential and non-residential buildings) of Central
Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, NDRF & SSB), Delhi Police and
Central Police Organizations (Land Ports Authority of India and Central
Forensic Science Laboratories) at a function on today. These projects have been
constructed at various locations across the Country at a total cost of
Rs.1,714.97 crore. The projects involve 53 non-residential buildings and 4,723
residential quarters.
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CIPAM
INVITES ENTRIES FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMPETITION
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management
(CIPAM), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, in
collaboration with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India, has launched the second edition
of ‘IPrism’ an Intellectual Property (IP) competition for students of schools,
polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities. Aiming to foster a culture
of innovation and creativity in the younger generation, the competition will provide
young creators an opportunity to see their creations recognized on a national platform.
This year, entries are invited on IP in Daily Life in two categories – film
making and comic book making. The film making competition will accept entries
of 60 second long animated/film videos, while the comic book making encourages
participants to narrate a story in comic strips under 5 pages. Cash prizes
worth more than Rs. 2 lakh will be given to the winning teams besides a special
trophy of recognition for the school/institute/college that the students
represent. The last date for receiving entries is May 30, 2019.
www.iprism.co.in may be accessed for complete details and regular updates on
the competition. CIPAM on Twitter at @CIPAM_India or Facebook at CIPAM Indiamay
also be followed.
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FAGMIL
SIGNS MOU WITH HIMACHAL PRADESH GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH RS. 605 CRORES
Under its diversification programme, FCI
Aravali Gypsum and Minerals India Limited (FAGMIL) has taken up a project to
establish a white cement plant near village Nohra Dhar in Sirmour district,
Himachal Pradesh, at a project cost of approximately Rs. 605 crores. It will be
the 4th white cement plant in the country. The installed capacity of the plant
would be 0.3 million tonnes per annum and it will generate the direct
employment of approximately150 persons. The plant is expected to be commenced
by the year 2022. It will prove to be a milestone for the development of the
Sirmour District. FAGMIL is Miniratna-II Company having its registered office
at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) has 15 operating gypsum mines in Rajasthan. It started
its operations from 01-04-2003 and during the last 15 years, it has increased
its net worth by 3248%.
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NITIN
GADKARI LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR ROAD PROJECT IN PHAGWARA
Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for
an elevated structure and vehicular underpass (VUP) on NH-44 at Phagwara City
in Kapurthala district of Punjab. The length of this six lane project is 2.555
Kms, and approximate cost is Rs 165 crore. This project will bring safety and
convenience to local road users It will also reduce road accidents and
pollution by easing road congestion. Nitin Gadkari said that corruption free,
transparent and good quality work is the focus of his Ministry, and to get
contracts for any road no one has to come to Delhi as the whole system is
online. He said that projects worth Rs One lakh crore are underway in Punjab at
present which include road projects of Rs 60 thousand crore and irrigation
projects of Rs 40 thousand crore. Shri Gadkari said that the government is
emphasizing on concrete roads as their life span is better. The Minister said,
the elevated structure and vehicular underpass at Phagwara was a long pending
demand of the people of the area, which has been fulfilled. He said, work on
the project will start next month and will be completed in a year’s time.
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DATA
IMPERIALISM BY COMPANIES NOT ACCEPTABLE: RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD
People want sanctity of their data. I
understand that some degree of automatic movement of data is integral to the
digital landscape but should a new data imperialism come is a larger question.
And if some companies seek to unleash data imperialism that will not be
acceptable. India is too huge a country to surrender before that. The second
will be the issue of data sovereignty. It will be debated. They are welcome to
do business in India because India is a huge economy for them, a huge market
for them. But if some fake news is to be circulated and recirculated on the
question of lynching, I said you do not need to have rocket science to know why
in a particular area on a particular day at a particular time on a particular
issue, millions of circulations are being done on WhatsApp. I never want all
the sensitive dialogue between a journalist and his client on WhatsApp, a
doctor and his customer, a lawyer and his client or their family WhatsApp
groups to be disclosed. But if certain WhatsApp messages are being circulated
and recirculated, have potential to cause serious mayhem, terrorist promotion,
radical ideas’ promotion. If police acknowledges you have to find the origin of
that, I think then they need to think about it--that is how the debate is going
on. And I am very clear that there is no limitation to the innovation in
technology. Supreme Court is supreme They have done it therefore I cannot
except I can only make this comment that this case was filed before our
government came to power. One problem I hear and that is a serious problem --
after 66A judgement, when people come to me that I am being trolled on Twitter,
what should I do, a police or a businessman or now I see a boyfriend having
deserted his girlfriend earlier is trolling, perhaps adequate mechanism
presently is not available. We will have to think into it, think about it.
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TWITTER
MAY BE ASKED TO GO ‘SILENT’ 48 HOURS BEFORE POLLS
As the country gets ready for the general
elections and as the misuse of social media to influence the voting pattern weighs
heavy the government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure fair elections. The
possibility of Twitter being directed to follow the Election Commission of
India (ECI) guidelines for 48 hours — the so-called ‘silent period’ — in areas
where polls are to be conducted was raised during the meeting of the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by Member of
Parliament Anurag Thakur. At the meeting that lasted for more than three hours,
Twitter was represented by its Global Vice-President of Public Policy, Colin
Crowell, and other senior officials. Thakur read out a letter addressed to him
by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. However, a government official said the meeting
with Twitter was satisfying and the panel has asked the company to address the
issues in real-time and engage more with the ECI ahead of the general
elections. Twitter was also asked to respond in 10 days on the issues raised at
the meeting. The panel has also summoned senior officials of Facebook, WhatsApp
and Instagram for a meeting on March 6. Under Section 126(1) of the
Representation of the People Act, 1951, no person shall propagate any election
matter to the public by holding, or by arranging the holding of, any musical
concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement
with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling
area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the
conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area. The panel wants MeitY
to analyse these issues and get back.
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PARLIAMENTARY
PANEL ASKS TWITTER TO ENGAGE MORE WITH EC
A parliamentary panel on Monday asked
micro-blogging site Twitter to engage more with the Election Commission of
India (ECI) ahead of general elections and also summoned senior officials of
other social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram on March 6. This
was informed by Anurag Thakur, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Information Technology, after a nearly three-and-a-half-hour meeting with
Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter Colin Crowell and other
officials of the micro-blogging platform. The Twitter officials were told that
there should not be any international interference in the Lok Sabha polls.
Thakur said Twitter officials replied to most questions and would submit
replies to remaining queries in writing in 10 days.
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FACEBOOK
SENIOR OFFICIALS TO APPEAR BEFORE PARLIAMENTARY PANEL ON MARCH 6
Senior officials of Facebook will appear on
March 6 before a parliamentary panel to outline the specific measures
undertaken to ensure safety of users on its platform after being summoned by
the committee, sources said. The development assumes significance amid concerns
being raised over any possible misuse of social media tools to interfere in the
upcoming elections. Sources told that Joel Kaplan (Vice President - Global
Public Policy) will represent Facebook as well as its group companies -
WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook India VP and Managing Director Ajit Mohan and
Ankhi Das (Director Public, Policy and Programs India) will represent Facebook
India, they said. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to answer questions from
the honourable parliamentary committee and to outline the specific steps we
have taken to help ensure the safety of our users, a Facebook spokesperson
told. The parliamentary panel, which met officials of Twitter on Monday, asked
the micro-blogging platform to engage more with the Election Commission of
India (ECI) ahead of the general elections. Given apprehensions that social
media could be misused to interfere in the upcoming elections, the government
has been warning these platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to
influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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