TDP MP SEEKS RELAXATION OF AGE CAP NORM IN APPOINTMENT OF
DIRECTORS
Kanakamedala Ravindra
Kumar, a Rajya Sabha MP belonging to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Andra
Pradesh, has written to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) seeking
relaxation of SEBI norms with regard to appointment of directors aged 75 years
and above. Kumar has said that SEBI’s diktat was in contradiction to the
Companies Act 2013 and may lead to additional cost burden for companies to call
for special shareholder meeting just to pass a single resolution. From April 1,
listed companies may no longer be able to continue having directors aged 75
years and above, according to a SEBI order, unless they pass a special
resolution and seek shareholder permission. Citing costs involved for companies
in organising special shareholder meet for a single resolution to follow SEBI’s
deadline, Kumar has requested the MCA that instead SEBI should allow
continuation of directors aged 75 years and above up to the next shareholder
meet when a resolution can be passed. Also, Kumar argues that SEBI’s new norms
are contradictory to the Companies Act 2013 in the sense that if a board wants
to appoint a new director who has attained 75 years of age as an additional
director, then no prior special resolution is required under Section 161 but
new SEBI norms make it mandatory to pass special resolution.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AT ONLY 3%, CORPORATE INDIA IS STILL STRUGGLING TO BRING WOMEN
TO THE TOP
Despite all the talk
around gender diversity and affirmative action, corporate India has failed to
bring more women into leadership positions in recent times. Out of every 100
CEOs and managing directors of companies listed on the National Stock Exchange,
only about three are women, and this has been the case since 2014, show data.
Out of 1,814 chief executives and MDs of NSE-listed companies, only 67, or
3.69% are women as of March 6, 2019, as per latest data from Prime Database.
This shows that the percentage of women CEOs/MDs has remained almost stagnant
since March 2014 when out of 1,249 CEOs/MDs, 40, or 3.2%, were women. If the numbers
(women CEOs) haven’t changed, it is obvious that despite the stated intent to
improve diversity and create opportunities for women at all levels, action has
not matched the talk, said Vinita Bali. Clearly, a lot more needs to be done if
we believe in equity and merit. Bali, however, pointed out that gender
diversity initiatives take time to reflect at the top of a company. It is also
important to remember that the CEOs/MDs of today are the result of decisions
and actions taken more than five years ago, she told. Their numbers can only
increase if the supply of COOs, CFOs, CMOs, CIOs, etc., increases. If that
pipeline is not increasing, we will never find enough CEO material at the top.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, said two-way efforts are needed to create more women CEOs
– firstly, women need to push themselves to take up leadership roles (they are
usually not confident enough) and secondly men must not overlook women. The top
talent in India is naturally skewed towards choosing men as CEOs and MDs,
Mazumdar-Shaw told. There is an opportunity and need for women to play
leadership roles and we (India Inc) need to work seriously over next five to 10
years to ensure this. Globally, too, men are on the driver’s seat in most
multinationals. There were just 24, or 4.8%, women among CEOs of companies that
made up the 2018 Fortune 500 list. This was a 25% fall from 2017 when women
were at the helm of 32, or 6.4%, companies in the Fortune 500 list. It is a
long road ahead to bring more women to the top, but some experts feel that
India Inc is on the right path. Historically, the representation of women in
the workforce has been low in India, but as more women enter workforce, more
and more will start climbing the corporate ladder, said Pranav Haldea. This may
eventually result in high representation of women as CEOs. Some others feel
gender diversity suffers as one climbs to the top. This is a classic pyramid
issue, said Suchi Mukherjee. While at the entry levels women are much better
represented, by the time one gets to the senior levels, it thins out to the
point that merely 3% make it as CEOs as in the case of India. Even among
Fortune 500 companies only 5% women make it as CEOs, she said. Women in
corporates need more mentors, especially male mentors as this gives them both
perspective and sponsorship to the extent that is needed internally, Mukherjee
said. Debashis Chatterjee said women are not active in peer group networking a
skill needed to rise to the top. There is also a learned helplessness among
some very talented women who become vulnerable to competing demands from
family, fear of failure and risk aversion, he said. Falguni Nayar, is much more
positive about gender diversity, saying it’s only a matter of time before women
occupied a lot more CEO/MD positions. If you see how organisations are evolving
now, if you fast forward another 5-10 years, the pace of change will be much
faster than what has happened in the past, said Nayar. Navnit Singh, said
companies have not spent enough time in the last decade to give opportunities
at senior levels to women, but it is improving.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NCLAT STAYS DOT SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE TO RCOM; NEXT HEARING ON
APRIL 8
The National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday stayed until further orders any action by
the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the two show-cause notices it had
issued to Reliance Communications (RCom). The DoT had issued these show cause
notices to RCom on March 14 and March 15. A two-member bench headed by
Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya also stayed the operation of a DoT letter
of March 20 in which it had asked Axis Bank to encash a bank guarantee of Rs
2,000 crore given by the Anil Ambani group firm. In the first show cause
notice, the DoT had sought to know as to why the bank guarantees submitted by
debt-laden telecom service provider should not be invoked by the government. In
the second show-case notice, the telecom department had sought to know as to
why RCom’s spectrum licence should not be cancelled for failing to pay spectrum
fees on time. RCom had approached the NCLAT pleading that the show-cause
notices issued by the DoT and the letter written to Axis Bank were in violation
of the appellate tribunal’s February 4 order. On February 4, the NCLAT had said
that until further orders of from the appellate tribunal or the Supreme Court,
no one would sell, alienate, or create third-party rights over RCom's assets. On
Tuesday, while staying DoT action on the two show-cause notices and the letter,
the NCLAT also impleaded the telecom department as the respondent along with
Axis Bank. The two member bench said it would like to hear the DoT on April 8,
the next date of hearing, before deciding on the matter.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NCLT ADMITS REVISED BID FOR JYOTI STRUCTURES; DBS TO MOVE SC
The Mumbai bench of the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Tuesday accepted the amended resolution
plan for Jyoti Structures, following an order to this effect by the appellate
tribunal, a move opposed by DBS Bank saying it will move the Supreme Court.
Jyoti Structures, which owes Rs 7,010.55 crore and interest to the lenders, is
among the first 12 large accounts referred to NCLTs by the Reserve Bank in June
2017. The sole bidder Sharad Sanghi, who heads the software firm Netmagic,
Monday submitted a revised bid as per an order of the National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) last week. In the amended bid, Sanghi will pay Rs
3,965 crore in 12 years against the original bid of 15 years. As per this first
bid, the company has a liquidation value of just Rs 1,112.52 crore, leaving the
bankers with a 43 percent haircut. However, DBS Bank, which is the first
charge-holder in the case, opposed the NCLT move and said it will challenge the
same in the Supreme Court. The bank is peeved by the fact that the amended plan
does not distinguish between the first charge-holder and the second charge
holder. The company owes Rs 53.77 crore to DBS Bank. It cannot noted that last
week the NCLAT had set aside an NCLT Mumbai bench's July 31, 2018 order to
liquidate Jyoti Structures, and asked the bench to consider the Rs 4,000-crore
resolution plan submitted by Sanghi and others. The case is remitted to the
Mumbai NCLT to approve the revised resolution plan, said the NCLAT order. It
can be noted NCLT Mumbai on July 31,2018, rejected the Sanghi's resolution plan
and ordered liquidation of the company which owes Rs 7,010.55 crore to the
lenders. According to the Rs 3,965.06-crore resolution plan by Sanghi, who is the
managing director and chief executive of IT solutions provider Netmagic, along
with others, Rs 50 crore would be paid upfront, followed by Rs 75 crore over
the next 12 months and the remaining in staggered payments over the next in 15
years. Under the revised plan, he would pay the remaining amount in 12 years.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INVESTORS MOVE SEBI TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR COMPULSORY DEMAT
SHARES
With just five days left
for investors holding physical shares to convert those into demat form, an
online survey of 10,000 investors showed that three of the four polled want
Sebi to extend the deadline by another three months, till June 30.
Interestingly, about one in every five persons polled said they were not ever
aware of the Sebi mandate on this issue. The survey by LocalCircles, a
communities-based portal that takes up citizens’ causes related to governance
and utilities also pointed out several reasons for delay in conversion of
shares into demat form which include rejection by registers due to petty
reasons, delays by courts in clearing succession cases, delayed communication
from companies, etc. Some investors also said that companies should also take
up some responsibility for this Sebi-mandated compulsory conversion that, as of
now, puts the whole onus on investors. On Tuesday, LocalCircles also sent the
survey results and its recommendations to Sebi for consideration. It also requested
the regulator to extend the deadline till June 30 The survey showed that 59% of
those polled said their family will not be able to meet the March 31 deadline
while 17% said yes and 24% said they did not have any shares in physical form.
On the question of facing difficulties in getting physical shares converted
into demat form, 39% said they faced some problems like opening of demat
account, or with the broker, the company or had succession issues pending in
courts while as many as 22% said they were unaware about this issue till
recently and 11% said they did not face any difficulties during the conversion
process.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
VALIDITY OF NCLT & NCLAT UNDER COMPANIES ACT 2013 TO BE
EXAMINED BY SC CONSTITUTION BENCH
The Supreme Court
Constitution Bench hear the petition filed by Madras Bar Association
challenging the creation of National Company Law Tribunal and National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal under the Companies Act 2013. The constitutional
validity of Chapter XXVII comprising Sections 407 to 434 of the Companies Act
2013 which constitute NCLT and NCLAT is the issue before the five judges' bench
will examine. According to the petitioner, the creation of NCLT and NCLAT
impinges on the basic structure of constitution by affecting judicial
independence. It argues that the members of these Tribunals, which are to
exercise powers otherwise enjoyed by the High Courts, can be easily removed by
the central executive and therefore judicial independence is heavily
compromised. This issue was referred to larger bench by a three judges' bench
of Justices T S Thakur(later CJI), R F Nariman and P C Pant on February 18,
2015, expressing that substantial points of law involving interpretation of
constitution falls for determination. That bench also noted that a similar
challenge by Madras Bar Association against National Tax Tribunal was dealt
with by a constitution bench. Accepting that challenge, a Constitution Bench
had declared National Tax Tribunal unconstitutional on September 25, 2014.. The
National Tax Tribunal judgment authored by Justice Nariman and Justice Chelameshwar
dealt in detail with the emergence of tribunalization in India and how the
judicial power of courts has been curbed by transferring cases to tribunals
under direct supervision of the executive. The judgment also dealt in detail
Article 323A & 323B along with the doctrine of separation of powers.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NCLT ADMITS BANK OF INDIA’S INSOLVENCY PLEA AGAINST SHRENUJ
& CO
Shrenuj & Co, the
century-old diamond house that had the late Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur as
its brand ambassador during its heydays, has been admitted into bankruptcy
court The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency petition
filed by Bank of India against the company forRs 226 crore of loans The
state-owned lender represented a consortium of 17 banks and financial
institutions. NCLT also directed a probe into claims by the company that the
bank had misappropriated or lost its diamonds kept as security due to fraud or
gross negligence. The financial creditor, along with other members of the
consortium, is jointly and severally liable to pay an amount of Rs 1,561.87
crore to the corporate debtor, against the value of the company’s stock,
Shrenuj told the NCLT. The corporate debtor claims Rs 5,000 crore as damages
for loss of business, profit and goodwill. The Mumbai bench of NCLT, while
passing an order admitting Shrenuj, appointed Hiten Mukundbhai Parikh as
interim resolution professional and asked him to inform the Enforcement
Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, the Income Tax Department and the
Serious Fraud Investigation Office to look into the matter. The lenders denied
any misappropriation, tampering with or replacement of the diamonds. There has
been a default in repayment and the same has been admitted to some extent, the
lenders informed the court. Shrawat said the corporate debtor should be put
under insolvency proceedings and simultaneously an investigation be carried out
so that the interests of all stakeholders can be watched and protected.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NCLT RESERVES ORDER IN STERLING BIOTECH OVER SETTLEMENT ISSUE
Attempt to withdraw the
insolvency proceedings against Sterling Biotech by committee of creditors did
not materialize and the National Company Law Tribunal reserved its order in the
matter and listed the matter for hearing on April 26. The bench presided over
by V.P.Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy questioned the motive of the bankers who
have accepted the one time settlement offer by the committee of creditors
because granting the plea that the bankers have made would mean the absconding
promoter of the company would get back the company with a clean balance sheet.
But, Section 29 A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy code says that the promoters of
the debt ridden company which is facing insolvency proceeding cannot bid for
the company. But if the withdrawal application is accepted by the tribunal
under section 12 A, which states that a withdrawal application may be approved
by the NCLT after 90 per cent of the CoC by vote share approves of it, then it
will essentially mean that the promoters will shrug off their liabilities, get
their company back and pay a fraction of the amount they owe to the banks and
the banks will have to take a large haircut on their exposure. The tribunal had
sought the views of Ministry of Corporate Affairs(MCA), Income Tax department,
Enforcement Directorate, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) and CBI on the matter. Out of all the concerned authorities
who were asked to give their views, ED and Sebi replied. ED said, it is in the
process of declaring the promoter of the debt ridden company – Nitin Sandesara
– as a fugitive economic offender and they have already attached Rs 4700 crore
worth of properties of the promoters. Moreover, ED reply stated that they can
also attach the entire one time settlement money the bankers are expecting to
get out of the settlement deal as the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act
supersedes all other acts. The tribunal has again asked the MCA to give their
views on the matter as most of the banks involved in the case are state owned
banks in which government has the majority shareholding.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO TAKERS FOR JOB OF INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR IN IL&FS
COMPANIES
The position of
independent director in IL&FS and its group companies, once a prized job
for retired bureaucrats and top corporate executives, has lost its shine — as
many as 77 positions are vacant and there are few takers. So dire is the
sitaition that the revamped board chaired by Uday Kotak has appealed to the
Mumbai bench of the National Company law Tribunal (NCLT) to exempt it from
making these appointments. Most of these positions fell vacant after a slew of
resignations by directors following the IL&FS debt default crisis in
September 2018. In some cases, directors were not replaced after their term got
over. The new IL&FS board has got few takers for these positions. Caught in
a bind with overall debt in excess of Rs 90,000 crore, the directors have in
their petition to NCLT dated March 15, 2019, said: Given the financial
condition of IL&FS Group and the situation prevailing across the group, the
newly appointed directors are unable to find independent directors to be
appointed on the board of directors of its Group Companies. Under the
circumstances it is just necessary, convenient and in the interests of justice
that this Hon’ble Tribunal be pleased to dispense with the requirement for
appointing independent directors on the board of companies where such
independent directors are required. Since several of these companies need to
have at least one woman director, too, the board has also sought exemption from
appointing women directors citing the reason stated above.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SC ASKS EX-RANBAXY PROMOTERS TO APPRISE HOW THEY'LL COMPLY
WITH RS 3500 CR ARBITRAL AWARD
The Supreme Court Thursday
asked former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh to submit a
concrete plan for paying Rs 3,500 crore to Daiichi Sankyo as directed by a
Singapore tribunal. The top court asked the Singh brothers to consult their
accountants as also financial and legal advisors and apprise it by March 28.
The Japanese firm has filed a contempt plea against the Singh brothers, saying
that it was promised some shares of Fortis Healthcare by them and sought the
recovery of Rs 3,500 crore as directed by the tribunal. It is not about
individual's honour but it doesn't look good for the country's honour. You (Singh
brothers) were the flag bearers of the pharmacare industry and it doesn't look
good that you are appearing in court. Pay your debts and come out of this, said
the bench, also comprising justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna. It asked
them 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.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
REGULATORY BOARD FOR GOLD GETS FINANCE MINISTRY NOD, BALL IN
PMO COURT
The finance ministry has
given its nod to set up a precious metals’ board to bring clarity on how the
new comprehensive gold policy will be implemented. The proposed board, to be
known as the Precious Metals Board of India, will be the regulatory body for
gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other commodities the government
notifies. During a meeting of government officials and industry stakeholders in
New Delhi, the plan to set up the board was finalised and a proposal on this
will be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office in a day or two, said a source. The
board is expected to have a chairman, two whole-time members, two part-time
members from the finance ministry and one member each from the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the commerce ministry and the warehouse regulator.
The plan to constitute such a board was under consideration for long. The
finance ministry had set up a high-level panel to discuss its formation The
panel included representatives from Sebi, Bureau of Indian Standards or BIS,
the India Gold Policy Center (set up by IIM-A), bourses and the World Gold
Council. Its first meeting was held on December 27. A panel headed by NITI Ayog
member Ramesh Chand on spot and futures trading had proposed a separate
regulator for spot trading. Another NITI Ayog panel on gold policy had also
proposed the setting up of a gold board but as an advisory body. The proposed
body is likely to be formed on the lines of the Ramesh Chand Committee. The
board will be set up after passing an Act in Parliament. Till that happens, a
transitory arrangement will be made by the ministry and the board may work as a
division of the Union Ministry of Finance. In the past, regulators like the
Forward Markets Commission, Controller of Capital Issues and even Sebi were set
up under the jurisdiction of their respective ministries. Initially, the board
will start preparing a road map for implementing the gold policy. It will be
deciding details for launching gold contracts on the proposed spot exchange and
modalities for setting up the exchange. It will even take a call on regulating
bullion refineries and vault service providers. Bullion banking will be another
area in which the board will decide details, said the source. Bullion banking
is to introduce financial instruments and link them with gold. The board will
be subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General or CAG and the
board’s decisions can be challenged in the Supreme Court.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
COPS MIFFED WITH SEBI'S INACTION IN DABBA TRADING CRACKDOWN
The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has gone on a campaign overdrive to curb ‘dabba
trading’ but the police says that the regulator's hesitance in filing a case in
several cases is letting violators get off the hook Sources close to the Mumbai
police department told that cops are unhappy with SEBI for not registering a
police complaint even as the regulator sends them details about illegal hoax
trading that takes place in the city as well as in several hubs around the
country. In 'dabba trading', traders bet on movements of stock prices through
cash. This system works entirely on trust; traders are often allowed to invest
without having adequate collateral, and trades are typically cash-settled --
meaning if a trader buys a stock for Rs 100 and sells it for Rs 110, he simply
gets Rs 10 after the position is squared off. Since the system works outside
the formal stock exchange system, there are few transaction costs and zero
taxes to be paid. In the absence of regulation, defaults also take place,
sometimes resulting in players having to resort to pressure tactics and
extortion to recover money. SEBI has taken action against such activity which
is prevalent in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Nagpur and Sri Ganganagar
in Rajasthan. But a source in the police department says that sometimes the action
is not enough SEBI sends details of dabba trading in intervals with specific
information about location and traders profiles. However, when we ask the
regulator to register a formal complaint with us, it backs off. The lack of a
formal complaint means police are often unable to make a strong case when the
matter reaches court. It makes the case weak in trial court, another source
said. When the regulator itself files a complaint, it will make for a strong
case.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SEBI FINES 5 ENTITIES RS 28 LAKH FOR FRAUDULENT TRADE
Capital markets regulator
Sebi imposed a total fine of Rs 28 lakh on five entities for fraudulent and
manipulative trading in illiquid stock options segment on the BSE. After
observing a large-scale reversal of trades in the illiquid stock options
segment, Sebi conducted a probe from April 2014 to September 2015 and found
that 81.38 per cent of the trades executed in stock options were non-genuine,
which led to the creation of artificial volume. The regulator noted that the
five entities were among those that executed reversal of trades.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SEBI PANEL LIKELY TO SUGGEST BRINGING ON PAR FPI, FDI CAPS
A Securities and Exchange
Board of India (Sebi) panel headed by former Reserve Bank of India deputy
governor HR Khan is set to recommend liberalisation of investment caps for
foreign portfolio investors. At present, foreigners can own up to 24 per cent
in a listed Indian company with any further increase requiring approval from
the firm’s board. The panel is considering to propose removal of the 24 per
cent restriction and making the different sectoral caps under foreign direct
investment (FDI) rules as the new ceiling. This will give companies room to
raise money from foreign investors while improving India’s weightage on the
MSCI Index. The committee is expected to submit its recommendations to Sebi in
April. Basically, we are only flipping around the current regime that requires
each company to separately pass resolutions to increase FPI limits up to the
sectoral caps to one where less-prepared companies can resolve to reduce the
FPI limits from the sectoral caps to the level they choose, said Manish
Chokhani, director of Enam Holdings. FDI caps in different sectors vary from 49
per cent to 100 per cent. The committee thinks if a company is not comfortable,
it can pass a board resolution to bring down such caps, the person said. The panel
is also likely to propose harmonisation of rules for FPI and FDI when it comes
to usage of funds. Existing rules don’t allow investors to use FPI money for
FDI investments. Every time an investor makes an FDI investment, he has to get
money from abroad. Several big investors have asked regulators to allow them to
use existing FPI money for FDI investments.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA TO SET UP GOLD BOARD FOR SPOT EXCHANGES
A gold board will be created
by an act of Parliament to, among other things, regulate gold spot exchanges,
said two persons aware of the development, after a meeting between Pahle India
Foundation — a not-for-profit policy think-tank founded by Rajiv Kumar. Spot
exchanges are a part of a comprehensive gold policy announced by FM Arun
Jaitley in the Union Budget for FY19. The policy aims at making gold an asset
class. Spot exchanges will help in this by creating greater transparency in
pricing and quality of gold. The Indian gold market is largely unorganised,
where customers don’t always get the best of pricing and quality. Regulated
spot exchanges will make the trade more transparent and benefit the customer,
apart from facilitating creation of an Indian quality standard for gold. This
will ensure recycled gold refined finds its way to the exchanges and reduce
imports of the metal, said one of the persons.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SEBI IMPOSES RS 20 LAKH FINE ON SYBLY INDUSTRIES MD FOR GDR
MANIPULATION
Sebi on Monday slapped a
Rs 20 lakh fine on managing director of Sybly Industries in a matter related to
manipulation in issuance of global depository receipts (GDR). The ruling came
after the regulator conducted a probe to investigate irregularities in the
company's allotment of 1.51 million GDR amounting to USD 6.99 million on the
Luxembourg Stock Exchange in June 2008. Sebi noted that entire 1.51 million GDR
were subscribed by only one entity, Vintage FZE (now known as Alta Vista International
FZE). The subscription amount for GDR was paid by Vintage after obtaining loan
from European American Investment Bank (EURAM). It was observed that directors
of Sybly in its board meeting in March 2008 passed a board resolution that
authorised EURAM Bank to use Sybly's GDR proceeds as security in connection
with the loan. Further, the Sebi said the GDR issue will not have been
subscribed if the Sybly had not given such security towards the loan taken by
Vintage. Besides, the company made misleading announcements that the GDR was
successful whereas there was only one subscriber, the regulator noted. It said
that the managing director by approving the board resolution in the board
meeting and by subsequently executing the pledge agreement has acted as a party
to the fraudulent scheme and violated PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and
Unfair Trade Practices) norms.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO BUYBACK FROM MINDTREE: BOARD
Mindtree board on Tuesday
has decided not to proceed with a buyback of equity shares of the company hours
after L&T posted its open offer to buy Mindtree shares. The Mindtree board
has invited views from the directors on the unsolicited offer made by L&T
for the equity shares of the Company, Mindtree said in a statement to BSE.
After detailed deliberation and discussion, the board, at its meeting, decided
to immediately constitute the Committee of Independent Directors (IDC) in the
interest of all stakeholders to provide their reasoned recommendation in
respect of the unsolicited offer by L&T for the consideration of the
shareholders, the statement said. All the Independent Directors will be Members
of the IDC, and the IDC has elected Apurva Purohit, Lead Independent Director,
as the Chairperson of the IDC and spokesperson. The IDC will consider and
evaluate all aspects of the unsolicited offer, taking into account all relevant
facts, circumstances, data related to the company and industry and the
interests of all stakeholders involved. Mindtree may still consider a counter
open offer to foil L&T's bid to acquire the company. However, nothing in
this regard was stated by the board.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CENTRE MUST NOT LOOK UPON THE RESERVE BANK AS A CASH COW:
EX-RBI BOARD MEMBER
The central government
being fiscally dependent on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is undesirable,
according to Dr. Indira Rajaraman. She said, The ₹68,000 crore that the RBI
has paid to the government in the form of dividend or interim dividend since
July 2018, forms 92% of the Centre’s entire income from dividends from all
public sector financial institutions. This, she added, is very bad, as it makes
the government fiscally dependent on the RBI. It means the Centre would then
look upon the RBI as a cash cow and start questioning every rupee that the
central bank spends, she said. What the central bank does is foundational for
the nation, and hence it must have the freedom to choose its areas of
expenditure, including choice of employees. They need good training,
remuneration, pension and housing. If the government constrains this, it is the
people of India who will suffer. She cited the example of China, which fully
pays for its central bank employees’ PhDs in globally-acclaimed institutions in
the West. The RBI cannot be treated on par with a department of the Government
of India. It is very separate, special said Dr. Rajaraman, who was on the
faculty of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and a member of the 13th
Finance Commission. RBI is among the leanest and most efficient organisations
in the country, with a headcount of about 15,000 executing myriad functions,
she said. The RBI’s monetary policy is formulated keeping in mind the fiscal
policy of the government, she said. So, the RBI should be free to be critical
of the government’s fiscal policy. She added that the central bank must also be
free to question the measurement of inflation. After all, the consumer price
index- based inflation is the measure by which RBI is judged. So, there should
be professional mutual respect between the government and the RBI. It was
normal for governments and central banks to differ over interest rates, where
the former would want low rates to spur growth, while the latter would be keen
to raise rates if inflation seemed dangerously high. However, what was
different in the recent outbreak of hostilities, as she called it, between the
government and the RBI was the invocation of Section 7 of the RBI Act, which
had never been invoked. Sec. 7(2) leaves us in no doubt that the functioning of
the RBI is entrusted to the central board of the bank. Clause 3 of the section
sets out the role of the Governor; it clearly states that the Governor
exercises powers vested in him by the central board.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PNB EX-CEO USHA ANANTHASUBRAMANIAN SUMMONED BY DELHI COURT IN
COMPLAINT BY RBI AFTER PNB SCAM
The Court of Metropolitan
Magistrate, Delhi has summoned former Managing Director & CEO of Punjab
National Bank Usha Ananthasubramanian and 11 other PNB officials for alleged
violations of Section 46 of the Banking Regulation Act. The summons were issued
in a complaint by the Reserve Bank of India against the backdrop of the
multi-crore PNB scam that broke in January 2018. The other proposed accused in
the case include PNB through its current Managing Director & CEO Sunil
Mehta, former Executive Director RS Sangapure and former General Managers
Rakesh Kumar and Nehal Ahad, among others. As per the order, all proposed
accused persons shall appear before the Court on May 24, 2i019. In view of the
facts stated in the complaint and documents filed on record on behalf of
complaint, case is made out for summoning of all the proposed accused persons
in respect of offences u/s 46 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949, so, they be
summoned on filing of PF/RC for NDOH i.e. 24.05.2019., the order reads.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SC TO HEAR PLEAS CHALLENGING ELECTORAL BONDS SCHEME ON APRIL 2
The Supreme Court adjourned
the hearing of a batch of petitions challenging the scheme of electoral bonds
for April 2. CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that the court will not be able to hear the
case and ordered the listing of cases before an appropriate bench on April 2.
The CJI indicated that the matter will be listed before another bench as the
CJI is sitting in constitution bench. The application seeking stay on the
Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 will be also be considered on that day, the CJI
said. The petitions have been filed by political party Communist Party of India
(Marxist), and NGOs Common Cause and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR),which
challenge the scheme as an obscure funding system which is unchecked by any
authority ADR has filed a stay application stating that 95% of the electoral
bonds sold so far have been in favour of one political party, that is the
current ruling party. It also stated that most of the bonds that have been
purchased since 2018 have been of the denominations of 10 lakh and 1 crores,
indicating that it is not common citizens but corporates that have been
purchasing these bonds while enjoying complete anonymity accorded by the
scheme. It sought immediate stay of the scheme stating that these electoral
bonds are being made available for a large number of days in three months
leading to general elections solely to benefit big corporate donors. The scheme
grants complete anonymity to corporate funding of political parties through
electoral bonds, and this will lead to corporate funders lobbying to influence
policy decisions, said the stay application. Electoral bonds were introduced by
amendments made through the Finance Act 2017 to the Reserve Bank of India Act
1934, Representation of Peoples Act 1951, Income Tax Act 1961 and Companies
Act.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PFC TO PAY ENTIRE RS 14,500 CR FOR REC ACQUISITION ON THURSDAY
State-owned Power Finance
Corporation (PFC) on Thursday will make the entire payment of Rs 14,500 crore
to the government for acquiring 52.63 per cent stake in REC a source said. The
entire consideration of Rs 14,500 crore for acquiring 52.63 per cent equity of
Government of India will be paid by the PFC through RTGS (real-time gross
settlement) mode on March 28, 2019, the source privy to the development told.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BUYBACK HOPES CHEER UP INVESTORS OF AILING PSUS
The government is planning
to buy back shares of loss-making public sector companies and delist them, a
move that may come as a relief to several retail investors who have been stuck
with such investments. At least half a dozen PSUs including HMT and State
Trading Corporation (STC) are likely to be delisted as they have been unable to
comply with minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms, said a top government
official. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked all
companies to comply with the public shareholding norms by October 2020. We
don’t want to seek any further extension from Sebi. In most of the companies,
we are comfortable since there is strong investor appetite, said the official
cited above. However, we want to wind up the loss-making entities from public
markets since it is difficult to find investors for divestment. The Department
of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) will prepare the roadmap to
delist these companies Several investors especially in the retail category have
been stuck with loss-making PSUs, which have been battered in recent years. For
instance, shares of HMT have fallen from their peak of Rs 104 in 2008 to Rs 20,
currently. While the government owns 94 per cent stake in the company, there are
over 18,000 retail investors who have exposure to the stock. Similarly,
investors saw bulk of their wealth erode in Metals and Minerals Trading
Corporation (MMTC) whose shares have fallen from a peak of Rs 1,1,75 in 2010 to
Rs 27. While government owns 90 per cent of stake in MMTC, there are over a
lakh retail investors who hold the state-owned entity’s shares. According to
official data, there are 89 PSUs listed on the stock exchanges. Of these 37
companies had not complied with the public shareholding norms as on December
31, 2018. The government is also planning to entrust additional
responsibilities on Dipam apart from overseeing the central government’s
divestment process. According to the official cited above, the department will
be actively involved in asset management of all the PSUs and would also look
into the sale of various government assets. There are several government assets
that come up for sale from time to time, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FUND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES THROUGH FUND MANAGERS
The Central Government has
notified that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds)
Regulations, 1996 are applicable to the sections 9 and 9A of the Income Tax
Act, 1961. With this, the Fund management activity through Fund managers
registered under SEBI Mutual Funds Regulations 1996 not to constitute business
connection in India. The government, in the year 2016, had relaxed eligibility
conditions under Section 9A of the Indian Income Tax Act (for not constituting a
business connection in India) applicable to foreign investment funds carrying
out fund management activities in India. Section 9 of the Act provides that any
income of a non-resident that arises or accrues from or through a business
connection in India is taxable in India. The term business connection under the
Indian Income Tax Act is similar to permanent establishment provisions under
tax treaties, but wider in scope. Furthermore, Sec. 9A of the Indian Income Tax
Act encapsulates safe harbour provisions whereby an eligible investment fund
shall not be regarded as having a business connection in India merely because
an eligible fund manager undertaking fund management activities on its behalf
is located in India. According to the Act, the benefits under the safe harbour
provisions are subject to compliance with certain conditions. Additionally,
these provisions are to be applied in accordance with the guidelines to be
prescribed by the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes in this respect.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
KOTAK BANK SAYS RBI CAN'T RULE ON SHAREHOLDING
Kotak Mahindra Bank has
questioned the Reserve Bank of India’s authority to seek reduction of stake by
any investor – promoter or otherwise – in a lender. The Banking Regulation Act
does not empower the RBI to require any bank to reduce any person’s
shareholding or otherwise require any person to lower their stake in a bank, it
said in a rejoinder to the central bank’s reply in the Bombay High Court.
Sections 12 and 12-B of the Banking Regulation Act form a complete code on a
matter of shareholding and voting rights in a bank and therefore circumscribe
the powers of the RBI in this regard, the bank said. India’s second-largest
private lender by market capitalisation has contested the RBI’s directive to
cut the promoters’ shareholding to 20% of paid-up capital by December 31, 2018,
and 15% by March 31, 2020. Uday Kotak, MD and promoter of the bank, held a
29.72% stake in the lender as of December 31. The RBI had rejected the bank’s proposal
in August 2018 to issue perpetual non-cumulative preference shares to lower the
promoter’s stake to 19.7%. The central bank had said the objective of reducing
the promoter shareholding was to prevent concentration of power and to make
private banks more democratic. The RBI appears to have conflated the concepts
of economic ownership and control, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in the rejoinder,
adding that this approach ignored provisions in the Act that specifically
regulate voting rights of all shareholders under section 12 (2) and deal with
the concentration of control. The bank sought to challenge the legal validity
of the RBI’s orders, saying they were issued without authority of law and it
was not the regulator’s prerogative to determine policy. In its reply in the
Bombay High Court, the central bank had alleged that by seeking relief, the
bank will make inroads into the RBI’s autonomy and assume the mantle of the
regulator. It cannot be the RBI’s case that it has unlimited and unimpeachable
powers in matters related to Indian banks and operates outside of statutory and
constitutional limitations, Kotak said. Therefore, it is submitted that the RBI
ought not to conflate a challenge to its action (on the basis that they are
without authority of law) as being a challenge to its autonomy and powers, the
bank said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ICSI OPENS ITS 100TH STUDY CENTRE AT TONK
With the aim to provide
better facilities to the students, The Institute of Company Secretaries of
India opened its 100th Study Centre at Sanskriti College, Tonk, Rajasthan on
March 25, 2019. The study centre will facilitate and benefit students from the
remote villages and small towns of the area. The ICSI study centres will help
in reaching out to the unreached.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ALL IS NOT WELL: PRIVATE SECTOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE FALLS TO
LOWEST LEVEL IN 11 YEARS
The overall health of the
private sector in India seems to be in trouble with various data pointing out
towards the falling private capital expenditure. The private sector capital
expenditure in India during the last financial year 2017-18 hit its lowest
level since FY07. Private sector capex has also maintained its declining trend
since FY11, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a recent report. Private
sector capex, which peaked in FY11 at Rs 3.7 trillion, has been on a declining
trend since the past seven years. And now, during FY18, it has hit its lowest
level to Rs 1.5 trillion since FY07, declining 13 per cent on a year basis,
said the report. The declining trend can also be backed by decline in projects
sanctioned by banks and other means such as Extra Commercial Borrowing (ECB)
and equity issuance, by 10 per cent on a yearly basis to Rs 1.2 trillion, the
report added. The report lists certain reasons behind the declining private
capital expenditure which affects the overall financial health of the
companies. It includes the weak end-market demand which led to
under-utilisation of capacity, high leverage in firms in sectors like steel,
power and infrastructure, and delays in land acquisition and clearances. However,
some revival is expected on the account of increasing share of green field
projects in the last six years which shows renewed confidence in the private
companies, added the report. Corporate capex plans have fallen 44.90 per cent
from Rs 269,900 crore in FY14 to Rs 148,700 crore, said the RBI report. This
can be attributed to the economic slowdown, poor project appraisals and huge
corporate leveraging, said the report. The issue seems to be in need of urgent
attention of the policy makers to revive private investments in the Indian
economy which is holding back the development of the country.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SYNIVERSE SOUNDS OUT TELCOS ON RS 60 CRORE DUES AFTER COURT
ORDER
Syniverse Technologies
India, a mobile number portability (MNP) service provider, has reached out to
all its telco clients to hold consultations in its bid to recover some Rs 60
crore of porting fee arrears. Its move comes after the Delhi High Court
recently junked the telecom regulator’s year-old regulation slashing a key
porting levy. Back in January 2018, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(Trai) had issued a regulation slashing the per port transaction charge (PPTC)
by nearly 80% to Rs 4 from Rs 19. The regulation was challenged by MNP service
providers -- Syniverse and MNP Interconnection -- as their revenues took a hit.
We’ve shared a copy of the recent Delhi High Court judgement with all our
telecom operator clients and have sought consultations before computing the
revised porting fee invoices, Himanshu Goel, told. Syniverse, he said, respects
the Delhi High Court’s decision and will comply with court orders in
consultation with Trai and the operators.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BSNL TO HIVE OFF RS 15,000 CRORE FIBRE ASSETS INTO SEPARATE
UNIT
Cash-strapped telecom
player BSNL, which faced issues with salary payments last month, plans to hive
off its fibre assets into a separate company which is expected to have a
valuation of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore. BSNL has about eight lakh route km of
fibre infrastructure across India compared with Reliance Jio with 4.78 lakh
route km (including 178,000 route km that it acquired from Reliance
Communications) and Airtel’s 2.46 lakh route km and Vodafone Idea’s 1.56 lakh
km, according to estimates.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PHONEPE TO BECOME A SEPARATE ENTITY AS FLIPKART BOARD APPROVES
HIVE OFF PLAN
Digital payments company
PhonePe has received in-principle approval from Flipkart's board to be hived
off as a separate entity two people aware of the matter told. This will set the
stage for the Bengaluru-based PhonePe to create an independent board and raise
fresh funding from external investors. It’s not clear how much Walmart-owned
Flipkart will divest of its 100% shareholding in PhonePe but the payments firm
is looking to raise up to $1 billion in external capital, people close to the
matter said. Flipkart’s existing investors such as China’s tech giant Tencent
and the online retailer’s cofounder Binny Bansal are keen to back the payments
firm, which leverages the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system for
settlements, said the people cited above. PhonePe has held talks to raise $1
billion and has been scouting the market for a while now, said one of the
persons. But now with the Flipkart board giving it a nod to become independent,
the actual process of fund-raise will start. They are fighting a player like
Paytm, which has the backing of SoftBank, therefore they need huge sums of
capital to compete. The board approval for the plan came a few weeks ago, the
person said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
LAKSHMI MITTAL HELPS YOUNGER BROTHER PRAMOD SETTLE STC DUES
Steel magnate Lakshmi N
Mittal has helped his cash-strapped younger brother Pramod clear dues he owed
to State Trading Corporation, helping avoid legal troubles. This is the second
instance in as many weeks of wealthy siblings bailing out their brothers from a
crisis. Last week, richest Indian Mukesh Ambani helped younger brother Anil
avoid a jail term by paying of dues he owed to Swedish telecom equipment supplier
Ericsson. Pramod Kumar Mittal, 57, owner of Global Steel Holdings, thanked his
elder brother's generosity in helping him clear a significant portion of Rs
2,210 crore dues. I am very grateful to my brother Lakshmi Mittal for helping
settle the liabiilities to State Trading Corporation of India. This generosity
ensured compliance with the order from the Supreme Court, he told PTI. Mittal
brothers had split the business in 1994 with elder brother going on to head the
world's largest steel manufacturing company ArcelorMittal. Pramod Mittal's
firms Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHI) and Global Steel Philippines Inc had defaulted
on payments to STC following which the state-owned company filed various cases
against them. The two firms in a statement last Wednesday said they have
settled Rs 2,210 crore dues to STC.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAYMOND FORAYS INTO REAL ESTATE SECTOR
Textile major Raymond is
venturing into real estate development business and has started a new division
Raymond Realty to drive its growth plans in this segment. The company owns
nearly 125 acre contiguous land parcel at Thane’s Cadbury Junction and is
looking to monetize it through its new business venture. For its maiden real
estate development project, the branded apparel major has carved out a 20-acre
land parcel of the total land holding and will be developing a nearly 3 million
sq ft residential project on it. Given the historical land bank we have, we
have decided to enter into real estate development on our own. This is the best
option available with us to enhance the shareholders’ value. We are also open
to other options that would help in value creation and maximize the returns for
all stakeholders, K Mukund Raj, told. The labour union received total
compensation worth Rs 313 crore in lieu of giving its consent for real estate
development on the land that used to house Raymond’s textile unit until then.
The settlement provided clearances from the government bodies to Raymond for a
real estate project on the land that housed its flagship textile factory since
1925. As part of its first project to be spread over 20 acres, Raymond Realty
will be developing total 3,000 residential units across 10 towers. Each of
these 42-storey towers will house 2 bedroom apartments with carpet area
configuration of 510 sq ft and 630 sq ft in aspirational category. The project
will also offer around 5 acres of central landscape green area along with
hundreds of trees, Mukund Raj explained. It has already received around 450
applications for these apartments through soft launch of the project for its
employees and their families.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JOHN PLAYERS' RS 150 CRORE DEAL: WIN-WIN FOR RELIANCE RETAIL
AND ITC
Country’s largest retail
company Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) has acquired menswear brand John Players from
the largest fast moving consumer goods firm ITC Ltd – in a deal that could
prove to be beneficial for both the behemoths. John Players – a mid-segment
menswear brand launched in 2003 – is expected to help RRL in widening its
fashion and apparels portfolio. The sell-out could also improve ITC’s
non-cigarettes FMCG business margins. While the size of the deal is yet to be
declared, according to Reliance Industries – the parent firm of RRL -
acquisition will strengthen the retail arm’s readymade garments and accessories
portfolio in the fashion and lifestyle retail space. It further said that the
deal will consolidate RRL’s leadership position as India’s largest, most
profitable and fastest-growing retailer. As a part of its restructuring plan
that was due for some time – ITC has divested the John Players brand and all
required licences and intellectual properties related to it to RRL. Estimates
suggest the deal was worth Rs 150 crore. After the offloading, Abneesh Roy, estimate
that ITC will now focus on the premium end through the WLS stores that were
relaunched last month, earlier known as ITC Wills Lifestyle. The WLS chain is a
larger business contributing about Rs 500 to 550 crore a year to ITC’s total
revenue, he said. Reliance, on the other hand, that is aggressively expanding
its retail business can now sell John Players brand of apparels through all its
offline stores – some 750 retail outlets (including 65 exclusive franchise
outlets) and its online market place Ajio.com. The conglomerate has plans to
expand its Reliance Trend outlet count to 2,500 by 2024 from 557 now. It also
aims to integrate all its offline and online retail operations, including its
flagship telecom services arm Reliance Jio, in coming years.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FACEBOOK SETS UP 24X7 RESPONSE TEAM FOR ELECTIONS
Facebook is putting in
place a response team for India’s general elections for monitoring and tracking
of objectionable content in real time round the clock, a top official at the
social network said. The election response team will be based in Singapore and
will work closely with the Election Commission of India, Samidh Chakrabarti,
global director of product management for civic integrity at Facebook, told.
The work that we are doing here is so important that we actually staffed a
product team dedicated to the Indian elections over a year ago in the US,
Chakrabarti said. This is extremely unusual for a product team to have any part
of their team dedicated to a specific country, let alone a specific event in a
country. But we thought that was really important. Besides setting up the
product team, which has been working on the Indian elections for the past one
year, many of Facebook's tools and products have been revamped and localised,
keeping the Indian elections in mind, Chakrabarti said. Growing digital
literacy and new forms of civic engagement here could serve as a model for the
rest of the world, he said. He said the ‘election operation centres’ are aimed
at centralising all electionlinked issues so as to reduce the time it takes to
process and take down objectionable content. We pioneered this during the US
and Brazilian elections and in our Menlo Park headquarters we brought in a
cross functional team that can make quick decisions, Chakrabarti said. We are
extending this globally and launching new centres in Dublin besides Singapore
he said. Our new election centre in Singapore will primarily support Indian
elections so we will have engineers, data scientists, product managers,
operations specialists and policy folks all based there within the same time
zone to handle things quickly. Chakrabarti said the centres will have 24/7
response coverage with the team in Delhi getting inputs from the Election
Commission and other institutions. They will pass that along to people in
Singapore so that they can take timely action, he said. And if something
extremely complicated requires a change in product or critical decision making,
it will be passed to the operation centre in Menlo Park California, if
necessary. During the US elections, our operation centre was able resolve about
900 high priority issues. We wanted to build on this model and extend it
globally.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BATTING FOR PRIVACY: WHATSAPP MAY OPPOSE DEMAND TO TRACE
MESSAGES
Facebook is putting in
place an election response team for India's general elections for monitoring
and tracking of objectionable content in real time round the clock a top
official at the social network said. The election response team will be based
in Singapore and will work closely with the Election Commission of India,
Samidh Chakrabarti, global director of product management for civic integrity
at Facebook, told. The work that we are doing here is so important that we
actually staffed a product team dedicated to the Indian elections over a year
ago in the US, Chakrabarti said. This is extremely unusual for a product team
to have any part of their team dedicated to a specific country, let alone a
specific event in a country. But we thought that was really important. Besides setting
up the product team which has been working on the Indian elections for the past
one year, many of Facebook's tools and products have been revamped and
localised, keeping the Indian elections in mind, Chakrabarti said. Growing
digital literacy and new forms of civic engagement here could serve as a model
for the rest of the world, he said. He said the ‘election operation centres’
are aimed at centralising all election-linked issues so as to reduce the time
it takes to process and take down objectionable content. Facebook will also
next week roll out a new product called Candidate Connect, which is aimed at
helping people learn more about the candidates contesting for Lok Sabha
elections in their constituencies. Candidate Connect allows people to see short
20 second videos uploaded by candidates and cross compare them with what other
candidates have to say on the same pre-selected topic in 12 Indian languages.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
No comments:
Post a Comment