Govt orders probe into 16 cos for illegal deposits: Jaitley
August 26, 2015
The government has ordered probe against as many as 16 firms, including Saradha Housing, in the current fiscal (2015-16) for allegedly being involved in illegal deposit-taking activities, Parliament was told today. The other firms under the scanner are Ambujaatripuri and Artha groups of companies, Ultra Tie-up, Grand Vyapaar and Saphire Infradevelopers, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. From 2012-13 till so far in 2015-16, the ministry has ordered investigation into the business activities of 145 companies, of which West Bengal accounts for the most. In many of these cases where probe has been completed, Jaitley said “diversion of funds so collected and/or default by the companies in repayment of such deposits has
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Sebi warns firms against fraudulent NCD, NPS issues
August 26, 2015
Concerned over a large number of unlisted firms fraudulently raising money from the public, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday warned such companies and their directors of “stringent action” and asked investors not to be lured by such schemes. The warning comes amid a continuing crackdown by Sebi against various unlisted companies that have lured retail investors by issuing securities such as non-convertible debentures/non-convertible preference shares, in the garb of private placement. The regulator said it had taken action against 112 such entities since January 2013 for issuance of non-convertible preference shares (NPS) or non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to public without complying with regulations. Such securities were issued without complying with the prescribed Companies Act and Sebi
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BSE proposes delisting over 1,000 stocks suspended for 7 years
August 10, 2015
In a major clean-up exercise, top exchange BSE has proposed delisting more than 1,000 companies from its platform as trading in their shares have remained suspended for more than seven years for various penal reasons. A proposal in this regard has been set by Asia’s oldest bourse, which today completed its 140 years of operations, to the capital markets regulator SEBI wherein BSE has stated that the shares of these companies can be suspended after giving their shareholders sufficient opportunity to exit. Sources said the regulator is fundamentally in favour of delisting those companies who have not shown any interest in getting their suspension revoked by complying with the listing agreement requirements, but it wants to ensure that the interest
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NPS gets cracking
August 10, 2015
You can now withdraw from your NPS corpus. But there are strings attached You can now withdraw from your NPS corpus. But there are strings attached. A big grouse you would have had with the retirement product — national pension system (NPS) — has recently been addressed. Now, early withdrawal from the scheme has been made a bit simpler by the regulator. Just as with the employee provident fund, where you are allowed to withdraw from your corpus for certain pressing reasons, the NPS too now allows you to take a portion of your amount out if you are in need. There has also been a modification to provide flexibility in withdrawing the corpus after retirement, with a provision to
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RBI’s role needs to change: Draft Indian Financial Code prises open the black box of monetary policy making
August 10, 2015
Financial sector regulation in India has developed in an ad hoc manner in response to evolving requirements. Consequently, it suffers from substantial prudential weaknesses and regulatory arbitrage that makes for heightened risks for both investors and financial consumers. By putting together a modern law for governing the complex financial sector, the draft Indian Financial Code (IFC) represents a quantum jump forward. When enacted, IFC will replace 19 extant laws, some of which, like the RBI Act and Insurance Act, date back to 1934 and 1938 respectively. IFC should therefore be made effective sooner rather than later. It should certainly not be allowed to flounder on the specious grounds of its impact on RBI autonomy. It is, therefore, indeed a pity
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