Turnaround king: IDBI Bank’s M K Jain named new RBI deputy governor
IDBI Bank managing director M K Jain will be the fourth deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, filling the vacancy after S S Mundra retired on July 31 last year. His term is three years. He is expected to be put in charge of banking supervision, among other duties. In which case, he will have his hands full. The Basel-III norms took effect on May 17 and Jain will have to lead banks in implementation on the new requirements on liquidity. In the medium to long term, he will have to grapple with bad debts of the banking system and guide on corrective action. Transmission of rate changes by RBI is another policy challenge.
Delisting norms: Sebi provides relaxations for insolvent firms
Sebi has relaxed requirements to comply with delisting norms for companies facing insolvency proceedings provided the resolution plan lays down the procedure for delisting that particular entity from the exchanges. The move is expected to provide succor for various listed companies that have been referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). More than 750 entities, including many listed firms, are facing insolvency proceedings.
GST likely to get centralized AAR for uniform rulings
India is looking at creating a centralized Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) for the goods and services tax (GST) after divergent rulings on identical issues fuelled confusion over applicability and the rate of tax. A recent case in point being the divergent rulings by Karnataka and Maharashtra AARs on the issue of solar projects. “We are looking at an issue based central authority with officials from states and the Centre,” a top government official told ET. “If more than one appeal is filed on the same issue in different jurisdictions it can be taken up by this body.”
SEBI moves to ease corporate insolvency resolution process
Corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) in India will get a boost with SEBI now amending its ‘Takeover Code’ to remove capital infusion hurdles in companies with approved resolution plans under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The latest change will enable acquirers of shares under approved resolution plan to go beyond the maximum permissible non-public shareholding, that is, 75 per cent. The SEBI move is expected to smoothen the implementation of successful resolution plans, say corporate observers.
32 auditors at listed firms have resigned in last 5 months
In the past one month, fifteen auditors have resigned prematurely, besides increasing audit qualifications. The total number of exits, so far, in this calendar year stands at a staggering 32. According to data from Prime Database, a primary market tracker, between January and May, 32 auditors have resigned midterm, while for 2017-18 the number of exits stood at 36. The number of exits in 2016-17 was at 18. The reasons behind the auditor exits have ranged from lack of adequate information on the company’s businesses, revenues, tax observations to ‘mutual exits’.
UltraTech Cement wins copyright infringement case against Everest
UltraTech Cement Ltd has successfully secured its brand in a case of copyright infringement, winning a lawsuit against a firm selling cement brands resembling its own. Billionaire Aditya Birla-owned UltraTech Cement had moved the Bombay high court on 21 March against Everest Industries, which was using the marks “Ultratruf” and “A One Ultratruf” that were deceptively similar to its own registered mark “UltraTech”. In intellectual property rights law, this is called passing-off—making a false representation that is likely to induce a person to believe that the goods or services are those of another.
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