INDIA ASKS BUSINESSES TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE
The Central government on
Wednesday introduced new guidelines in line with the United Nations Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, which urge companies to be responsible
and sustainable. The National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct urge
businesses to conduct and govern themselves with integrity in a manner that is
ethical, transparent and accountable. According to these guidelines, businesses
should provide goods and services in a manner that is sustainable and safe.
They should respect and promote the well-being of all employees, including
those in their value chains. The guidelines say that businesses should respect
the interests of and be responsive to all their stakeholders. They should
respect and promote human rights. Businesses should respect and make efforts to
protect and restore the environment. While engaging in influencing public and
regulatory policy, they should do so in a manner that is responsible and
transparent. Businesses should promote inclusive growth and equitable
development. They should engage with and provide value to their consumers in a
responsible manner, the guidelines say. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is
also in the process of developing a national action plan on business and human
rights in consultation with various ministries and state governments by 2020.
According to an official statement, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has for
long been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct
by companies. As a first step towards mainstreaming the concept of business
responsibility, the Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility
were issued in 2009. They were revised as National Voluntary Guidelines on
Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business in 2011 after
extensive consultations with business, academia and civil society
organisations. The guidelines were made based on India's socio-cultural context
and priorities as well as global best practices. Some of these include the
thrust of Companies Act 2013 on businesses to be more mindful of their
stakeholders. In 2012, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
through its listing regulations mandated top 100 listed entities by market
capitalisation to file business responsibility reports from an environmental,
social and governance perspective. This was extended to the top 500 companies
in 2015-16. Non-financial reporting is increasingly forming the basis for
enhancing investor confidence in businesses and increasing their
creditworthiness.
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SEBI TIGHTENS SCREWS ON LISTED COS CONTINUING WITH DIRECTORS
AGED OVER 75
More than 110 top listed
companies may have to change their board composition or seek shareholder
approval if they want to continue to have one or more persons aged 75 years or
more as a non-executive director on their board. From April 1, listed companies
may no longer be able to continue having directors aged 75 years and above, per
a SEBI order, unless they pass a special resolution and seek shareholder
permission. If shareholders reject any such proposal, it could impact some
family-run companies that have founding promoters as non-executive board
members and continue having them till their demise. Shareholder advisory
experts say companies are rushing to pass special resolutions and take
shareholder approval for their continuance. Data provided by Prime Database, a
market and company data tracking website, show that some prominent companies,
including Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Lupin, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter
& Gamble, DLF, Kesoram Industries, Berger Paints, Emami, Glenmark, Apollo
Hospitals and Century Textiles, have at least one board member aged over 75. Some
of these companies may have already taken shareholders approval for the continuance
of such directors. Any company that desires to continue such non-executive
board members will have to take shareholder permission via a special resolution
and even record the reason for such an act, a SEBI notification says. There is
no law which says that companies cannot have board members aged 75 years or
above. Only, SEBI has mandated that a special resolution needs to be passed and
shareholder permission sought which many companies are doing already. The SEBI
rule is to ensure that people don’t continue on company boards perpetually
without seeking permission, said JN Gupta. Section 161 of the Companies Act,
2013, states that a person can be appointed as an additional director in any
board meeting and can be regularised as a director in the next annual general
meeting (AGM) with the approval of shareholders. For the same, SEBI requires a
‘prior’ special resolution while the Companies Act, 2013, allows such an
approval to be taken in next AGM.
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HOW WILL YOU PAY RS 3,500 CR TO DAIICHI SANKYO: SC ASKS SINGH
BROTHERS
The Supreme Court Thursday
asked former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh to apprise
it how they propose to comply with the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award passed
against them by a Singapore tribunal. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan
Googi asked the Singh brothers, who were present in the court, to consult their
financial and legal advisors and give a concrete plan on how they will comply
with the tribunal's order. It is not about individual honour but it doesn't
look good for the country's honour. You were the flag bearers of the pharmacare
industry and it doesn't look good that you are appearing in court, the bench
also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna said. The bench asked
the Singh brothers to appear before it on March 28 and submit the plan, saying
hopefully it will be the last time you are appearing in the court.
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NCLT GIVES 1 YEAR TIME TO ARCELORMITTAL FOR SEEKING APPROVALS
The NCLT while approving
ArcelorMittal’s resolution plan has made some observations on the treatment of
creditors and statutory concessions The order disposes of several applications,
most of which deal with claims made by various creditors. Among them, Standard
Chartered Bank, a dissenting financial creditor got some relief. It sought to
quash the resolution that approved the resolution plan, and in the alternative,
receive equitable treatment under the resolution plan. It was stated that SCB
got only 1.7% of its total dues while other financial creditors were receiving
around 92%. While the NCLT declined to quash the creditors’ committee
resolution approving the resolution plan, it ruled against this unequal
treatment of distribution amongst financial creditors and ordered a pro-rated
distribution of resolution amount between all financial creditors. The
promoters further sought to quash the resolution arguing their right to receive
a copy of the resolution plan citing a recent Supreme Court judgment. The NCLT
noted that at the time of approval of the resolution, the NCLAT direction was
in place which was, in fact, the opposite, as it did not require suspended
management to access the resolution plan. The Bench further noted that, the
promoters had anyway offered for settlement and were evidently well aware of
the contents of the approved resolution plan. In such a case, it rejected the
plea for remitting the case back to the creditors. The approved resolution plan
further sought various exemptions such as stamp duty, fees, transfer charges,
transfer premium etc. The NCLT held that it is not in a position to grant these
exemptions and that the resolution applicant will have to make appropriate
submissions to the respective departments of the government. The NCLT provided
a time frame of 1 year to the resolution applicant to obtain various approvals
and exemptions. It also found that those parts of the resolution plan which are
severable in this regard will be severed if unsuccessful.
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RBI DEFENDS FEB 12 CIRCULAR IN SC, SAYS NO PLAN SUBMITTED BY
COMPANIES YET
Reiterating its stand on
the February 12 circular, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that
the stressed accounts which were affected had not yet come up with a resolution
plan, despite ample time having been given to them. In its submissions before
the Supreme Court (SC), the regulator said that if the companies were ready
with a plan they should place it before the court. Let them place the plan
before the court. The banks are here and they can consider it. We can give
15-30 days the counsel appearing for RBI said. The banking sector regulator was
responding to the power and sugar companies’ allegations that the February 12
circular was based on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach without considering the
specific problems of the sector. The 180-day deadline, the RBI counsel said,
had passed in September and yet no resolution plan had come from them. The
debtors could have not been given infinite timelines, the RBI counsel said. There
is no distinction between the kinds of debtors, the reasons for non-payment of
the debt, or consideration for external factors influencing the sector, senior
advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. In its submissions on Tuesday, RBI rejected
this allegation and said that neither it nor the banks took such an approach.
They instead took note of the individual problems of the companies under each
sector and decide accordingly, the RBI counsel said. If they had reached an
agreement with the banks, as they claim, they could have approached the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and informed it that they were confident
of finding a way. It would have been up to the NCLT to decide on that, the RBI
counsel said. Some of the power and sugar companies who have challenged the
circular have alleged that they had almost completed the negotiation with the
banks when the RBI circular came which forced the banks to withdraw from the
table. The court is hearing these petitions by dividing them into three
categories. There are some companies that have challenged the validity of the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The second group of companies have challenged
the constitutional validity of the circular, and the third group, which
consists mostly of power companies, have sought temporary relief from the
circular only for themselves.
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REFUSE TO BELIEVE RCOM WILL LET ANIL AMBANI GO TO JAIL, SAYS
SBI
State Bank of India, the
main lender to debt laden Reliance Communications (RCom), told an appellate
tribunal Wednesday that it refused to believe that the telco will let its
chairman Anil Ambani go to jail contempt of court and will ultimately pay
Ericsson by the March 19 deadline, even without the income tax refunds. Arguing
for SBI in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), senior counsel
NK Kaul reiterated that RCom had no right to have its dues paid by the Rs260
crore public money held in the trust and retention account and argued that the
118 crores for payments to Ericsson had already come from related companies and
other sources. RCom needs to pay Ericsson Rs 453 crore - out of its Rs 571
crore dues - by March 19, else its chairman Anil Ambani will go to jail for
three months. RCom has already paid Rs 118 crore. I refuse to believe that the
chairman of this company will be allowed to go behind bars and they will not
pay up the money. said Kaul. When the two-member bench led by Justice SJ
Mukhopadhaya quizzed Kapil Sibal, senior counsel for RCom, on how the telco
would raise the remainder of the dues to Ericsson if the tax refund of Rs 260
crore was released, Sibal said, We will see what we can borrow from the bank or
something like that. RCom moved NCLAT, seeking directions to the 37 lenders
including lead lender SBI, to release Rs260 crore that has been refunded by the
IT department directly to Ericsson. Lenders have refused to do so, saying
public money can’t be used to settle payment to a private party. NCLAT has
warned that it would order a revival of insolvency proceedings in the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against RCom if Ericsson wasn’t paid on time. If
the logical order is that (there be) a revival of insolvency proceedings, then
so be it, Kaul said. NCLAT Wednesday reserved its order. Let it go for
insolvency. So far as banks are concerned. we can't do anything for sale (to
Jio). We don't have a buyer available with us. The other telecom operators who
had bid, there was difference of more than 70% between the bid of RJio and the
other mobile telecom operators, said a counsel for some RCom lenders, who did
not wish to be named.
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NCLAT RESERVES ORDER ON RCOM PLEA TO RELEASE FUNDS TO CLEAR
ERICSSON DUES
The National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal on Wednesday reserved its order on a petition by Reliance
Communications which has approached the tribunal seeking the release of income
tax refunds to clear dues of Ericsson. Lenders of RCom have opposed the plea.
After hearing both the sides, the NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson S J
Mukhopadhyay reserved the order in the case. Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal
appearing for Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications appealed for payment to
be made to Ericsson from the trust and retention account held by SBI under
which assets of telecom firm have been mortgaged. Senior lawyer Neeraj Kishan
Kaul appearing for SBI argued for rejection of the RCom's appeal, contending
that it will lead to outgo of public money for settling payment of a private
party. He said that RCom asset monetisation deal failed because Reliance Jio
refused to take responsibility of past dues of the Anil Ambani-led firm before
the DoT and hence it is not liable to make payment on behalf of RCom. RCom has
been asked by both the Supreme Court and the NCLAT to pay Rs 550 crore to
Ericsson. The company has paid Rs 118 crore to Ericsson and if it fails to pay
the rest of the amount then RCom group Chairman Anil Ambani may have to face
jail term for the contempt of court order.
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NCLAT RESERVES VERDICT ON RCOM PLEA TO USE TAX REFUNDS WORTH
RS 260 CR
The National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a plea moved by
Reliance Communications (RCom) to release tax refunds worth nearly Rs 260 crore
held in a trust and retention account with the lenders of the company. Nearly
40 lenders of the company, including the State Bank of India (SBI) have opposed
RCom’s plan to use this money to pay off Ericsson contending that the funds for
paying the latter must come from a different source. The banks are trustees of
the account. On Wednesday, SBI reiterated that it held the first right over the
tax refunds which had come into the account. The joint lenders's forum led by
SBI had on Tuesday also said that they should not be blamed for failing to
recover Rs 37,000 crore from the sale of assets of RCom. It failed because Jio
declined to pay RCom’s past debts, Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul appearing
to SBI had said, adding it was up to RCom to make provisions to pay Ericsson,
whether the deal happened or not. The hearing in NCLAT on Wednesday saw heated
arguments between the senior counsels for RCom and SBI. RCom alleged that SBI
had approached the SC with a plea that the hearings be transferred from NCLAT
since the appellate tribunal was misinterpreting the directions given by the
top court in the matter. The bank, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for
RCom said, went to SC without informing it first. SBI, however, said that it
had approached the top court just to protect its rights in case the NCLAT order
in the plea moved by RCom went against it. RCom wanted to use the tax refunds
of nearly Rs 260 crore parked in the retention and trust account, to pay off
Ericsson India as a part of the total payment of Rs 550 crore that it has to
make to the latter. The payment by RCom to Ericsson has to be made as part of
the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) orders in which it had held Ambani guilty of
contempt of court.
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BABA RAMDEV'S PATANJALI RAISES BID VALUE TO RS 4,350 CR TO
TAKE OVER RUCHI SOYA
Baba Ramdev's Patanjali
Ayurved has increased its bid value by around Rs 200 crore to Rs 4,350 crore
for bankruptcy-bound Ruchi Soya, and the revised offer is likely to be considered
by lenders soon. We are ready to bail out Ruchi Soya which has biggest
infrastructure for soyabean. It's a national asset, S K Tijarawala said. He
said the decision has been taken in the interest of all the stakeholders
including farmers and consumers. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) could meet
next week to consider the revised offer of Patanjali, sources said.
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NCLT RAISES SUSPICION OVER WITHDRAWAL OF INSOLVENCY PROCEEDING
AGAINST STERLING BIOTECH
The Mumbai bench of the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has raised suspicion over the manner in
which the insolvency proceedings against Streling Biotech have been withdrawn.
In an observation made yesterday, NCLT has asked the central government to look
into the matter and see if it wants to make any representation against the
withdrawal before the tribunal could pass any further order. The NCLT has
questioned the manner in which withdrawal of the insolvency proceeding was
carried out. It says while the promoters of the group -- Nitin Sandesara,
Chairman and Managing Director and Chetan Sandesara, Joint Managing Director --
are absconding and government agencies like Enforcement Directorate, CBI and
other agencies have failed to track them down, yet the lenders accepted the
proposal of one-time settlement from the promoters. That is not all, observed
the NCLT. The proposal of one-time settlement (OTS) came from a person named
Farhad Daruwalla on behalf of Sandesara Group. However, it is not mentioned in
the OTS proposal if the Sandesaras authorised the said person to submit the
one-time settlement proposal. The tribunal also pointed out when the resolution
to withdraw the insolvency proceeding was cleared by the committee of creditors
(CoC), the insolvency resolution professional (IRP) had asked the CoC for
details of the OTS proposal, sources of funds of the debtor (for one-time
settlement) and if the proposal met the RBI norms. The CoC led by Andhra Bank
(which initiated the insolvency proceedings against Sterling Biotech) said that
the details would be directly given to the NCLT and did not submit any details
with the IRP. It is to be mentioned here that the resolution to withdraw the insolvency
proceeding against Sterling Biotech could not get the mandatory 90 per cent CoC
votes during the 13th meeting of CoC on February 27 this year. After that, the
IRP put the resolution proposal from ACG Associated Capsules Pvt Ltd for vote,
which was also rejected by 93 per cent CoC votes. Then the IRP put the proposal
for liquidation, which was again rejected by the CoC. When a fresh proposal for
withdrawal was brought by Andhra Bank, it was finally accepted by the CoC by 90
per cent votes. It is to be noted here that the Enforcement Directorate has
filed a prosecution complaint against Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and two
of their associates --Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel -- in a money laundering
case involving bank fraud of Rs 8,100 crore. Investigation in ED revealed that
the promoters of Sterling group laundered the proceeds of crime through various
layers and routed the funds outside India. They incorporated more than 100
entities abroad in various countries including UAE, USA, UK, BVI, Mauritius,
Barbados, Nigeria etc. Their main entities outside India include Richmond
Overseas, Sunshine Trust Corporation, SEEPCO BVI, SEEPCO Nigeria, Atlantic Blue
Water Services Pvt Ltd. etc.
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LIQUIDATOR OPPOSES BANKS-PLEA TO SELL CONFISCATED VIJAY MALLYA
PROPERTIES
The official liquidator
appointed by the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday opposed a plea by banks to
restore the confiscated properties of fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya
to them. A consortium of banks led by State Bank had filed an application
before the special court of MS Azmi to liquidate Mallya's assets so that they
can recover Rs 6,203.35 crore with annual interest at 11.5 percent payable
since 2013. Official liquidator said, at present there are several creditors,
including workmen and financial institutions, other than the applicant the
bank, who also have legitimate claim on these properties. These properties officially
belong to United Breweries Holdings, which Mallya sold to the British liquor
giant Diageo. These properties, both movable and immovable, are valued at over
Rs 5,000 crore. The official liquidator further said it would be in public
interest that these properties are restored to him so that the interest of all
creditors, including the applicant banks, can be safeguarded. The restoration
of these properties to the official liquidator would ensure that the claims of
all creditors are accessed and distributed in a fair and transparent manner in
accordance with the law under the supervision of the Karnataka HC, he said. The
liquidator was appointed to take over UBHL, after a single-judge bench of the
Karnataka HC had passed an order to wind up the company in 2017. Meanwhile, the
court the adjourned the hearing on a plea to confiscate Mallya's properties to
April 8, after a few non-original applicants raised objections that their plea
challenging the order of the PMLA court to declare Mallya a fugitive economic
offender is pending before the High Court.
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‘AUDITORS NOW HAVE DUAL RESPONSIBILITY’
N.A. Charantimath has said
that with the formation of the new regulatory authority, NAFRA, there was now
dual responsibility on auditors now. Mr. Charantimath said that the Union
government has set up a regulatory authority called National Financial
Reporting Authority of India (NAFRA) in addition to ICAI which continues to
regulate work done by ICAI members. Now, with the setting up of the new
regulator, the area of operation is bifurcated. While financial reporting of
listed companies is vested with NAFRA, the functioning of other entities is
vested with ICAI Consequently, there is dual responsibility on auditors, he
said. He highlighted the necessity of statutory audit of banks in the
background of frauds, misrepresentation, increasing number of NPAs (Non
Performing Assets). Mr. Charantimath said that ICAI had been very vigilant
regulator of the accounting profession and it was one among the unique
authorities in the world.
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FIRMS RUSH TO MEET SEBI’S RULES ON INSIDER TRADING
Listed firms are rushing
to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s latest insider
trading regulations ahead of the March 31 deadline. The regulator had asked
companies to frame their insider trading rules in the new financial year
starting April 1. Pursuant to Sebi’s notification on December 31, 2018, various
new compliance requirements have been imposed on listed companies and
intermediaries. Sebi has asked listed companies to have in place a policy and
procedure for conducting inquiry in case of any leak of unpublished price
sensitive information (UPSI), which was not a mandatory requirement earlier,
said Tomu Francis. Similarly, it has asked companies to frame a policy
pertaining to whistle-blowers for reporting any violations pertaining to
insider trading by designated employees, he added. Regulation prohibits an
insider from trading in securities while in possession of UPSI. The amendment
has added an explanation to the clause which says that all trades undertaken
while in possession of UPSI will be presumed to be ‘motivated’ by UPSI. Tomu
said, Over the last few weeks, we have been helping many such entities in
enhancing their internal frameworks in terms of insider trading regulations as
the same is being viewed very seriously by both listed companies and other
market intermediaries. Companies need to frame a policy on what constitutes
legitimate purpose as part of the Code of Practices and Procedures for Fair
Disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information. Changes have been made
to the requirements of companies’ code of conduct such as inclusion of
promoters and members of the promoter group to the class of designated
employees.
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SEBI ACTION LIKELY ON AMCS THAT MISSED MARCH 12 CROSSHOLDING
DEADLINE
Companies that have failed
to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) 10 per
cent cross-shareholding norm for asset management companies (AMCs) may now face
the consequences. Sources said the market regulator might issue strictures
against the firms as well as principal shareholders who have missed the March
12 deadline for reducing the stake to 10 per cent. Under the cross-shareholding
norms, a single entity cannot hold more than 10 per cent in more than one AMC.
The rules are to prevent potential conflict of interest and strengthen the
governance structure of mutual funds. UTI AMC is among the mutual fund houses
in violation of the norms. The UTI sponsors are learnt to have sought time for
extending the deadline, which has been refused by the regulator. The sponsors
also said to have approached the Department of Investment and Public Asset
Management (Dipam) to intervene but even then they have not get any further
extension. The issue is tricky as it involves state-run firms so the regulator
has to take its move accordingly.
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RBI RELAXES NORMS FOR TRADE CREDIT
The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Wednesday relaxed norms for imports of capital and non-capital goods by
raising the trade credit limit to USD 150 million under the automatic route.
Announcing the modified revised framework for 'Trade Credit Policy', the RBI,
however, reduced the all-inclusive cost (all-in-cost) for overseas loans to
benchmark rate plus 250 basis points from the earlier 350 bps. According to the
revised framework, TCs up to USD 150 million or equivalent per import
transaction for oil and gas refining & marketing, airline and shipping
companies can be availed under the automatic route. For others, the limit is up
to USD 50 million or equivalent per import transaction.
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SEBI TELLS PE AND VC FUNDS: NO SIDE DEALS WITH BIG INVESTORS
In the club of big boys
some investors are more equal than others The norm — though a given in the world
of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds — is under the scrutiny
of the capital markets regulator. The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) is asking these funds, which raise money from the rich and ultra-rich,
to stop discriminating between investors and refrain from adding clauses in the
investment documents that seem to favour certain investors. Since alternative
investment funds or AIFs in regulatory parlance is a pooled vehicle, Sebi
believes that all investors in each class should enjoy uniform terms. But fund
managers argue that it may be simplistic to equate PE and VC funds with mutual
funds which attract retail investors. Sebi has been raising an issue with
discretionary terms being offered to some outside investors who co-invest. While
the regulator has its concerns, the industry is trying to put across the
message that these funds effectively raise money through private placement from
sophisticated investors and special rights are given to bring large investors
on board. The practice also helps to split the risk instead of letting risk
concentrate within a fund, said Siddharth Shah. Indeed, ‘side letters’ to cover
some of the differential terms are almost a norm for PE funds globally and,
fund managers think, that if participating investors are aware of the existence
of such rights, the funds should have the flexibility to negotiate certain
commercial terms with large investors as long as the fiduciary duty to each
investor remains intact. The regulator, though in a separate context, is also
insisting on certain uniformity in the fund document.
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RBI, CID WARN OF FRAUDS USING REMOTE ACCESS APP
The criminal investigation
department (CID) of the city police and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have
cautioned citizens about a new mode of online fraud conmen making fraudulent
transactions by misusing the ‘AnyDesk’ app. The cyber crime police have filed
30 cases of such a fraud in the past two months. The app, downloaded over a
million times, is being misused to enable a user to remotely take control of
another computer system or mobile phone. In February, the cyber security and IT
examination cell of the RBI issued an alert to banks, describing the modus
operandi of the fraud and asked banks to create customer awareness about it. The
Bengaluru City Police, on behalf of the cybercrime division of the CID, has
posted a warning about the app on its Facebook page. The post says lots of
cases of the app being misused have been reported and advises users to instead
use apps that generate a new user ID and password for every session. An
official from the cyber crime police station said when a user searches for the
contact of customer care of any firm via a search engine, he/she finds a
contact number which is not the correct number. Conmen upload their own
numbers, which are displayed in the search results. When users calls the
number, the conman asks them to download the AnyDesk app and share a nine-digit
code. This grants them access of the user’s phone or computer. Once the conman
has remote access, he uses the UPI payment apps installed on the victim’s phone
to transfer money to his/ her own account. The conman still needs the one-time-password
(OTP) to complete the transaction, which the user provides him, still under the
impression that the conman is a customer care personnel. Other apps can also be
used to defraud people with a similar modus operandi. Some cases of frauds
using MYSMS app have also been reported in the city. The app enables a user to
read and send SMS texts from a computer or tablet connected to a phone.
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RBI TO USE NEW TOOL FOR LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT
The Reserve Bank of India
is using a new tool to enhance liquidity in the system through which it would
buy as much as $5 billion from the banks in a swap deal that could inject
nearly 35,000 crores into the system. Banks would be required to park dollar
funds with RBI with a deal to buy it back from the RBI after three years. The
auction for this first of its kind US dollar buy/sell swap auction will take
place on March 26. This is the first time the central bank is using a foreign
exchange auction to augment banking liquidity after generally using bond
purchases for the same all these years. RBI has infused more than Rs 2.36 lakh
crore through such purchases so far this fiscal. In order to meet the durable liquidity
needs of the system, the Reserve Bank has decided to augment its liquidity
management toolkit and inject Rupee liquidity for longer duration through
long-term foreign exchange buy/sell swap in terms of its extant Liquidity
Management Framework. The US dollar amount mobilized through this auction would
also reflect in RBI’s foreign exchange reserves for the tenor of the swap while
also reflecting in RBI’s forward liabilities, RBI said. Minimum bid size for
the auction is set at $25 million and banks will be allowed to submit multiple
bids. However, the aggregate amount of bids submitted by single eligible entity
should not exceed the notified amount of auction.
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BANK CUSTOMERS WOULD SHARE MORE DATA FOR BENEFITS: REPORT
Most consumers worldwide
would share more personal data with banks and insurers in exchange for cheaper
services despite privacy concerns, according to an Accenture Plc study released
on Thursday. Six in 10 consumers polled by the management consultancy, one of
the world's largest, said they would share data such as lifestyle habits if
they received benefits ranging from gym membership discounts to offers based on
their location. Among 47,000 consumers surveyed across 28 countries, 81 percent
said they would be willing to share more data with banks for faster loan
approvals, while 79 percent would provide personal information to their insurer
if it would reduce the odds of injury or loss. While eager to share more, 75
percent of respondents said they were very cautious about privacy. Rising costs
were cited as the top reason for leaving a financial institution, followed by
data security breaches. Large financial firms have been seeking to tap into
their vast troves of customer data to offer more personalized services, even as
technology companies face growing public scrutiny over how they handle such
information. But banks have been relatively slow in making headway, partly because
they often store the information in various systems. More than 30 percent of
respondents trust their bank more than a year ago, partly because of strong
industry oversight, Holley said. People have been trained that the regulations
are looking out for them.
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FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY TO BECOME DEBT-FREE
Imagine falling into a
debt trap, exhausting all your sources of funding, and finding yourself at a
dead end. In such situations, your only recourse may be filing for bankruptcy.
Though Indian laws have the provision wherein individuals can file for
bankruptcy, the process is not as streamlined as it is for corporate entities
under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Though the IBC has rules for
individual bankruptcy too, they have not been notified yet. We tell you how the
current bankruptcy law works and how can it change to your advantage under IBC.
If you live in Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, you will be governed by the
Presidency Towns Insolvency Act, 1909; for all other places in India, you will
be governed by the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920. Both laws are similar and
eventually are meant to be replaced by the IBC. Under the Provincial Insolvency
Act, you can file for bankruptcy if you are unable to repay a debt greater than
₹500. Until the decision on the application is taken, an
interim receiver takes possession of the property of the debtor. If the
application is admitted, the court can apply a stay on any legal proceedings
against the property or assets of the debtor. In other words, you can get a
stay order against further recovery efforts by your creditors. Once your
application is admitted, your property vests with the receiver appointed by the
court. This official then distributes your assets among the creditors, unless a
compromise proposed by you has been accepted by your creditors and the court.
Once this process is completed, you will be discharged from bankruptcy by the
court, giving you the opportunity to build your life and finances afresh,
without being hounded by your previous creditors. While the insolvency
proceedings are pending before the court, you can apply for a minimum
maintenance amount for your own and your family’s survival. However, until you
are discharged from bankruptcy, multiple restrictions apply to you. An
undischarged insolvent under the current law cannot act as a director in a
company, be a public servant, be elected or sit or vote as a member of any
local authority, etc. Once she is discharged, any disqualifications and
restrictions are removed, said Satija. Remember that the procedure does not
discharge you from all debts, said L. Vishwanathan. An order of discharge by
the court (which may be conditional) releases the insolvent from all debts
except those specified under relevant statutes such as any debt due to the
government, any debt incurred by means of any fraud or fraudulent breach of
trust, debt in respect of which the insolvent has obtained forbearance by any
fraud and liability to pay maintenance, he said. There are no prisons for debtors
in India and any such imprisonment will be unconstitutional. However, you can
go to prison if you commit any fraud relating to the debts you owe. IBC for
individuals will bring in two important changes to the bankruptcy process. One,
the process will become more timebound than what the current laws provide. Two,
it will provide for an automatic moratorium or stay on debt recovery efforts,
once you file an insolvency application before the adjudicating authority under
IBC. Under the current laws, the grant of a stay is at the discretion of the
court. With rising non-performing assets in the corporate sector, banks are
increasingly turning their attention to retail lending. According to Reserve
Bank of India data, personal loans given out by Indian banks have surged from ₹10
trillion in January 2014 to ₹21 trillion in January 2019. As Indian households take more
debt, case of delinquencies and bankruptcies are also set to grow, making an
effective bankruptcy law particularly important. A smooth and quick bankruptcy
process can help thousands of borrowers repair and rebuild their financial
lives.
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MARKET REGULATOR SEBI PLUGS CRITICAL LOOPHOLE IN NEW DELISTING
REGULATIONS
The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has plugged a critical loophole in the new
delisting regulations. On Wednesday, the market regulator amended delisting
regulations to allow acquirers to make a ‘counter-offer’, in case price discovered
through reverse book building (RBB) was not acceptable to them. According to
Sebi regulations, public announcement of a counter-offer by acquirer through
stock exchanges should be made within two working days from the date of closure
of the bidding process. Moreover, the public announcement regarding the counter
offer should be published in the same newspapers where the original reverse
book building announcement was made within four working days from the closure
of the reverse book building process. The shareholders should be given the
option to withdraw the shares tendered within ten working days from the
counteroffer announcement. The letter of offer for the counter offer should be
dispatched within four days of the closure of reverse book building, and the
counter offer should be opened within seven working days from the date of
public announcement of the counteroffer, Sebi said in a circular. The
counter-offer bidding will be open for five working days. And payment of
consideration and return of equity shares should be made within ten working
days from the closing of the counteroffer. The loophole in regulations came to
light during the delisting bid in Linde India. Delisting regulations have a
provision for promoters or acquirers to make a counter offer if they can’t
accept the discovered price. This must be done within two days of the
determination of the discovered price. However, there were no operational
guidelines for this, said experts.
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SEBI REVISES DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR SIGNIFICANT
BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Market regulator Sebi has
revised the disclosure requirements for significant beneficial ownership for
various listed entities. The move comes weeks after the corporate affairs
ministry amended the rules pertaining to significant beneficial ownership under
the Companies Act, 2013. In December 2018, Sebi issued a circular wherein
entities were asked to make disclosures about significant beneficial owners in
a prescribed format. On Tuesday, the markets regulator said the circular is
being modified following the amendment of Companies (Significant Beneficial
Owners) Rules by the ministry last month. Apart from providing more clear
definitions for determining whether an individual or an entity has significant
beneficial ownership, corporates will be required to provide the details in a
more elaborate manner to the ministry.
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STERLING BIOTECH: NCLT SLAMS ANDHRA BANK FOR SUBMITTING OTS
PROPOSAL
Coming down heavily on
Andhra Bank for not sharing details of its proposal with the resolution
professional and submitting one time settlement (OTS) proposal by Sandesara
group for defaulting Sterling Biotech Ltd, the National Company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) has issued notice to government before passing further orders. In a
strongly-worded order, the Mumbai bench says, OTS proposal is from Mr Farhad
Daruwalla, who has signed on behalf of Sandesara group. It is not mentioned in
the OTS proposal whether Farhad Daruwalla has been authorised by the corporate
debtor to submit OTS proposal. It is also important to point out that the
corporate debtor is Sterling Biotech and no proceedings under Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been initiated against Sandesara group. How the
proposal submitted by Sandesara group is accepted by the financial creditors
creates suspicion when the promoter and director is absconder and Enforcement
Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is searching them. In
this background, before passing any further order, we would like to issue
notice to the central government through regional director of ministry of
corporate affairs (MCA), ED, income tax authorities, CBT, SEBI and RBI, so that
if they want to make any representation, they can make the same before passing
any further order on the miscellaneous application for withdrawal, it added. In
a regulatory filing, Sterling Biotech had stated, The committee of creditors
has approved the withdrawal of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process-
CIRP of the company with requisite majority. When the RP asked the CoC for
further directions, during the 14th meeting, it was revealed that Andhra Bank
on 5 March 2019 had submitted a fresh proposal for withdrawal of CIRP of
Sterling Biotech. When asked to share details of its proposal, a representative
of Andhra Bank told the RP that to refer documents submitted to NCLT on 26
February 2019. A representative of Andhra Bank further informed the RP that
should the NCLT seek information pertaining to the OTS offer including sources
of funds, timeframe for payments to each lender, compliance with RBI norms and
whether the interest of all stakeholders and CoC members have been provided for
under the OTS offer, the applicant Andhra Bank and CoC will address all such
queries posed by the NCLT directly and not with the RP, the NCLT bench
observed. NCLT said, It is pertinent to mention that the promoters of Sterling
Biotech are absconder and we often get the news from the newspaper that various
government agencies like ED, CBI and other agencies are unable to trach the
promoters of Sterling Biotech. Next hearing in this case is scheduled on 26
March 2019.
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RBI TO PERMIT ONE-TIME RESTRUCTURING OF EXISTING LOANS TO
MSMES
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has decided to permit a one-time restructuring of existing loans to
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that are in default but ‘Standard’
as on January 1, 2019 without an asset classification downgrade. This was
decided in a programme that was organized with RBI, nationalized banks and
industries associations on restructuring of advances to MSMEs by MSME-DI. Recently
RBI has issued guidelines on restructuring of advances to MSMEs. The objective
is to facilitate meaningful restructuring of MSMEs accounts that have become
stressed. The main objective is to solve the problems of stressed MSMEs. He
said, RBI is in forefront to support MSMEs from demand as well as supply side. To
be eligible for the restructuring scheme, the aggregate exposure including
non-fund based facilities of banks and NBFs to a borrower should not exceed Rs
250 million as on January 1, 2019 and restructuring is to be implemented by
March 31, 2020.
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KOTAK VS RBI: READY TO CAP PROMOTER VOTING RIGHTS AT 20%, BANK
TELLS COURT
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd on
Tuesday told the Bombay high court that its promoters are ready to give an
undertaking to cap their voting rights at 20% despite holding a 30% stake in
the private lender to allay concerns of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
concentration of power. Kotak Mahindra Bank moved the Bombay high court after
RBI rejected its proposal to issue perpetual non-convertible preference shares
in August to comply with rules concerning promoter shareholding. Billionaire
founder Uday Kotak, who holds about 30% of the bank, has been asked by RBI to
lower his stake to 20% by the end of December 2018 and to 15% by March 2020. While
the next hearing on the case has been scheduled for 1 April, RBI’s senior
counsel Venkatesh Dhond sought a week’s time to file an affidavit in response
to the bank’s writ petition. The case, being heard by a two-judge bench of
Justices B.P. Dharmadhikari and Sarang V. Kotwal, is being closely watched as
it is the first time that a bank has moved court on a RBI directive. The court
observed that the matter is not so simple that interim relief can be provided
and declined to grant a stay on the deadline set by RBI.
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IPO MARKET SEES GREEN SHOOTS, BUT REVIVAL UNLIKELY UNTIL
ELECTIONS
Indian firms are returning
to equity markets to raise funds with two companies opening subscriptions for
initial public offerings (IPOs) this month, but sentiment is expected to remain
cautious ahead of national election starting in April. While investor sentiment
for equities has picked up amid renewed hopes for a second term for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's government, analysts expect the primary market for
equity issues to only gather pace after election results. When the outcome of
the elections is clear and if the global scenario keeps improving, then we
should have a good year for IPOs, said Varun Khandelwal. Embassy Office Parks
REIT's IPO consisting of a fresh issue worth up to ₹5,250
crore ($754.15 million), India's first real estate investment trust listing,
will open on March 18, the company said on Tuesday. Stock exchange data showed net
foreign portfolio inflows into Indian equities hit a 15-month high of $2.42
billion in February, a big swing from 2018's net outflows of $4.4 billion.
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SEBI UNLIKELY TO REDUCE DERIVATIVE TRADING MARGINS UNTIL
ELECTIONS 2019
The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is reviewing higher derivative trading margins
after receiving representations from brokers but is unlikely to reduce them
until the Lok Sabha elections are over since it expects high volatility during
the period, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. As part of its
attempts to reduce excess speculation, the market regulator on 17 December
nearly doubled exposure-based margin in equity derivatives. The margin was
earlier 3% of the contract value for index options and index futures, and 5%
for stock futures and stock options. Under the revised framework, it is 11% for
Nifty futures and 9% for Nifty options including upfront- and exposure-based
margins. Sebi has agreed to review the margin requirements considering the
broker representations which claimed that these were too high and could bring
trading to a standstill. But it is not in favour of any revision before
elections as it anticipates huge volatility as India goes through the rounds of
elections. These higher margins will help in better risk management, said the
first of the two people quoted above, both of whom spoke under condition of
anonymity.
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SEBI SLAPS RS 5 CRORE FINE ON PROMOTERS OF NAKODA LTD
Sebi has slapped Rs 5
crore fine on the promoters of Nakoda Ltd for failure to comply with its order
passed more than five years ago wherein the entities were directed to make an
open offer. In 2011, the collective shareholding of the company's promoter
entities rose from 50.23 per cent to 62.93 per cent. Since the increase in
stake was more than 5 per cent, a public announcement of open offer was to be
made under Sebi norms but the entities failed to do so. Then in 2013, the
watchdog directed the entities to make an open offer and the ruling was also
upheld by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in 2017. On Wednesday, Sebi
said that till date the promoter entities have not complied with the order
passed in 2013.
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CCI CLEARS RADIANT LIFE CARE-MAX HEALTHCARE MERGER
The Competition Commission
of India (CCI) has cleared the purposed deal between KKR-backed Radiant Life
Care and Max Healthcare. The companies announced the proposed merger in a joint
statement in December 2018. The combined entity will be valued at Rs 7,242
crore, according to the statement. In a tweet on Tuesday, the fair trade
regulator said it approves proposed combination of Max Healthcare Institute
Limited, Radiant Life Care Private Limited and Kayak Investments Holding
Private Limited (affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc.). In a separate tweet, CCI
said it has approved the acquisition of additional shares by Mitsui in IHH
Healthcare Berhad. The acquisition of shares will be by way of shares purchase
from Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Further, the CCI in another tweet said it
approves acquisition by CK Holdings of automotive components business of Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles N.V.
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HDFC BANK CROSSES ₹6 TRILLION MARKET CAP MARK
AS SHARES HIT RECORD HIGH
India's most valued lender
HDFC Bank Ltd crossed the ₹6 trillion market capitalisation for the first time on
Wednesday, making it only the country's third firm to achieve the milestone.
Intra-day, the stock touched a fresh record high of ₹2,233
on the BSE, up 2.87% from its previous close. The scrip closed at ₹2,226.10
on the BSE, up 2.56%, with a market capitalisation of ₹6.06
trillion. The Sensex rose 0.58% to end at 37,752.17 points.
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ICEX TURNOVER JUMPS 5-FOLD IN SIX MONTHS TO ₹5,332 CRORE
The Anil Ambani-controlled
Indian Commodity Exchange has recorded a five-fold increase in turnover to ₹5,332
crore in the last six months, largely due to robust trading in diamond
contracts. The largest commodity exchange in diamond futures trading has seen a
steady increase in turnover from ₹1,090 crore logged last
September to a high of ₹5,332 crore in February. Nearly 85 per cent of the turnover
generated in February was attributed to trading in diamond futures contracts,
which were launched on the platform in August 2017. Traded only on ICEX, the
diamond contract provides a hedging tool for exporters. Turnover of the diamond
futures contract on the exchange increased over 14 times in the last six months
to ₹4,531.50 crore in February from about ₹318
crore. Though exports of cut and polished diamonds from India suffered due to
various issues in the industry, they have picked up pace in the last few
months, rising 10 per cent to ₹1.37 lakh crore ($19 billion) in the first 10 months of this
fiscal year.
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BHARTI AIRTEL TO TRANSFER MOST OF ITS INFRATEL STAKE TO UNIT
Bharti Infratel said on
Tuesday its majority shareholder Bharti Airtel will lower its direct stake in
the telecom tower company by more than a half. Airtel’s unit Nettle
Infrastructure Investments will buy up to 32% stake in Bharti Infratel by March
18, Infratel said in an exchange filing. Airtel will own an 18.3% stake in
Infratel after the transfer, down from its current stake of 50.33%. Whenever
Airtel transfers stake to Nettle Infrastructure, (eventually) they will sell
the stake to a third party. This will help them raise money, said a
Mumbai-based an analyst, who did not want to be named.
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ANOTHER ROUND OF JOB LOSS LOOMS FOR MID-LEVEL IT EMPLOYEES
Mid-level IT employees in
the software services sector could be staring at another round of job losses as
Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes over their roles, especially in the area of
project management. In the $167-billion Indian IT industry, project managers
constitute 5-7 per cent of the 3.8-million workforce. Though all of them may
not be rendered redundant, a large chunk of them might struggle to retain their
jobs because of the increasing role played by AI. Project managers play a key
role as they are in charge of a specific project or projects within an
organisation. Typically, their job entails ensuring that projects are completed
on time, carrying out analyses across a range of projects from maintenance to
application development, giving updates on the status of projects, and sharing
insights on the number of people required for the project and other factors
such as kind of expertise needed, explained AV Sridhar. The top five software
majors — TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro and Cognizant — work on 9,000–12,000
projects. While companies do not provide granular data on how many project
mangers are deployed for each of these projects, industry watchers believe a
project typically requires between three and seven such managers depending on
the complexity and the value. According to FITE data, around 60,000 employees
in the technology sector were forcibly asked to leave in 2017.
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AZIM PREMJI COMMITS ₹ 52,750 CR TO PHILANTHROPY
Azim Premji, announced on
Wednesday that he has committed 34 per cent of the shares of Wipro Ltd worth
about ₹ 52,750 crore to philanthropy by irrevocably renouncing more
of his personal assets and earmarking them to the endowment, which supports the
foundation’s philanthropic activities. In a statement, he said he has
additionally earmarked all economic benefits for philanthropic purposes, in
approximately 34 per cent of the shares in Wipro Limited with a current market
value of ₹ 52,750 crore ($ 7.5 billion) held by certain entities
controlled by him. This action is in addition to his earlier donations to
philanthropy, which included Wipro’s shares, as well as other assets owned by
him. With this action, the total value of the philanthropic endowment corpus
contributed by Premji is ₹ 1,45,000 crore ( $ 21 billion), which includes 67 per cent of
economic ownership of Wipro Limited. Azim Premji’s philanthropic activities
have an overarching vision to contribute to developing a just, equitable,
humane & sustainable society in India. To enable this vision, the Azim
Premji Foundation works directly in education and supports other
not-for-profits working in some specific areas through multi-year financial
grants , the statement said. The foundation’s extensive field work in education
has been in some of the most disadvantaged parts of India, to help contribute
to the improvement of quality and equity of the public (government) schooling
system. All this work has been in close partnership with various State
Governments. Currently this field work is spread across Karnataka, Uttarakhand,
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, along with
some work in the north-eastern states of India. The Foundation’s field strategy
focuses on creating and scaling up a network of institutions at the District
and State levels, to contribute to improvement in the school education system
on a continued and sustained basis. As part of its overall strategy, the
Foundation has also set up the Azim Premji University in Bangalore. The
University has been established with a clear social purpose of developing
outstanding professionals in the domains of education and related areas of
human development for the entire country. The University does this by offering
various kinds of degree programs, education programs, and conducting research
in various fields of human development and social importance. The initiative to
support other not-for-profits by providing multi-year grants was started in
2014 by the Foundation. This enabled the expansion of its philanthropic efforts
to domains other than education that are crucial to contributing towards its
vision. The grants support efforts of partners that directly or indirectly help
create tangible improvements in the lives of deeply disadvantaged, under-served
and marginalized sections of our society. In the last five years, these grants
have supported over 150 organizations engaged in a range of domains across
India. Over the next several years, the activities of the foundation are
expected to scale up significantly. The team driving the field work in
education is expected to grow significantly from the current 1 ,600 people,
while the University will expand to have 5 ,000 students with 400 faculty members
across multiple programs. Thereafter, another University in the northern part
of India may be set up by the foundation. Thegrant-making activities will also
continue to expand rapidly, growing three times from its current levels,
supporting good work across multiple domains of social importance in India.
Overall, this strategy and its expansion aims to contribute meaningfully to
developing a more just, equitable, humane and sustainable society in India.
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BOI TO INFUSE FUNDS INTO JET AIRWAYS ONLY IF OTHER BANKS AGREE
Bank of India (BoI) is
ready to provide emergency funding into Jet Airways but only if other lenders
also are willing to put more funds in line with their exposure. Our stand is
very clear that we are going to support (the resolution plan) unless we support
there will be value destruction. We have to protect the value we have also made
it clear that all stake holders have to pitch in we have made our mind clear,
said D Mohapatra. He did not give a direct reply when asked how much funding
the debt laden airline is looking from banks. But was clear that BoI will only
participate if others commit to put more money. In every game everybody should
be there, isn't it?, he said. The bank is still hopeful of big recoveries this
quarter led by Rs 1,800 crore from ArcelorMittal's purchase of Essar Steel.
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ZEE MAY SELL 20% STAKE TO SONY FOR ₹13,000 CRORE
Japanese electronics and
entertainment giant Sony Corp. is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Subhash
Chandra-controlled Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and form a
strategic partnership, three people aware of the discussions said. Chandra is
looking to sell 20-25% stake in the BSE-listed company that is struggling to
raise funds and pay off debt, said the people cited above, requesting
anonymity. They said the entire amount raised through the stake sale would be
used to repay promoter debt worth ₹13,000 crore. The talks
have reached the valuation stage, wherein Chandra wants to sell the stake at a
premium of about 30%, said the first of the three people cited above. The
sticking point could be the quantum of stake Chandra wants to retain in Zee. Essel
Group holds a 41.62% stake in Zee, of which more than half is pledged with
lenders, according to latest available data. He (Chandra) wants to have at
least a 20% stake in the company. He wants it. So, that depends on what price
he is getting. Almost 940 million shares are there. At ₹650
level, even if he sells 19%, he gets up to ₹13,000 crore, which will
take care of the situation, said one of the three people cited earlier, whose
bank has exposure to Zee.
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BHARTI AIRTEL ARM APPLIES FOR IN-FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY LICENCE
A Bharti Group company,
Indo Teleports, has approached the Telecom Department for in-flight
connectivity licence that allows service providers to offer connectivity and
data services to Indian and foreign airlines, sources said. Sources privy to
the development told PTI that Indo Teleports, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel,
has applied to the Telecom Department for the said licence and that the
proposal is currently under examination.
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INDIA COULD BE A $3 TRILLION DIGI ECONOMY IN THE NEXT 4-5
YEARS:RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD
India could be a $3
trillion (digital) economy in the next four to five years. That is the goal we
have set. Digital India is designed to empower ordinary Indians Our idea is to
make India the biggest manufacturing hub in electronics with 1crore employment
in the electronics sector and 35-40 lakhs in the software sector, said Prasad. Prasad
added that there was a time when India had only two companies making mobile
phones — and today, the country is home to 127 mobile manufacturers. India is
now second only to China in mobile phone manufacturing. India has become the
second largest startup movement in the world with the valuation of Unicorn is
higher than in the UK. Prasad added that the digital initiatives have empowered
nearly 1.5 crore students with e-scholarships worth 5,000. He also said that
while in November 2016, there were only 4,000 transactions per day on BHIM UPI
app, the number went up to over 2 crore transactions per day in December 2018,
which is being propelled by people living in smaller cities.
#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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