NCLT to pronounce Essar Steel’s insolvency order on Wednesday
AHMEDABAD: National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad will pronounce its order on Wednesday on petitions filed by State Bank of India (SBI) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) for initiating of insolvency proceeding under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against the steel major, Essar Steel.
After losing an intense legal battle at Gujarat High Court, Essar Steel is again back at NCLT, where SBI and SCB is fighting to ensure admission of their insolvency application against Essar Steel and simultaneously appointment of their interim resolution professional (IRP) under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
Source: Economics Times
Sebi forms panel to review norms on insider trading, unfair trade practices
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has formed a committee to review norms pertaining to Prevention of Insider Trading (PIT) 2015, and Prevention of Fraud and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) 2003. The committee on fair market conduct, headed by T.K. Viswanathan, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha and former law secretary, will suggest norms to align insider trading with the recently amended Companies Act and will also for the first time address the manipulation and surveillance issues arising out of high-frequency or algorithmic trades.
Monetary policy review: All eyes on RBI today
The six-member monetary policy committee might cut rates in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) monetary policy review to be announced on Wednesday. The members, including RBI Governor Urjit Patel and Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, are deliberating on a host of issues before taking a call on rates. The following set of data, which shows slowing credit growth as well as a ultra-low inflation on the back of falling growth, would be discussed minutely. In the past, the members have cited stickiness in core inflation as reasons behind holding rates. Core inflation has shown some moderation, but the headline inflation has fallen sharply. Since the policy is data driven, economists argue that a case for cutting rate is strong. While the repo rate is currently at 6.25 per cent, most economists expect the rate to be down at 5.75 per cent by the end of the calendar year. Anup Roy presents the macro picture.
Amid right to privacy debate, new data protection law on the anvil, says govt
Even as the Supreme Court’s Constitution bench hears key arguments on whether the right to privacy is a fundamental right, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has appointed an expert group headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna to draft a data protection legislation. Data protection and privacy are related issues and the case being heard by the Supreme Court has significantly dwelt on the former. The case was prompted by several other cases on the universality, applicability, and legality of Aadhaar, the unique ID number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
SoftBank Vision Fund in talks to invest $2 billion in Flipkart
SoftBank Vision Fund, the $100-billion fund floated by SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son to invest in technology companies, is in talks with India’s largest e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart, to invest $2 billion. Discussions between the two firms kicked off as soon as the deal to merge SoftBank-backed Snapdeal with Flipkart fell through on Monday. Softbank’s offer to Flipkart is very similar to what was on the table but without Snapdeal, according to sources.
Paytm to launch messaging service to counter Facebook’s WhatsApp: Sources
India’s leading digital payments firm Paytm plans to launch a messaging service to rival Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp by the end of this month, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. SoftBank and Alibaba-backed Paytm is seeking to attract people in India to use the new messaging service embedded in its app, which many already use to buy everything from food to plane tickets.
Flipkart-eBay India merger done; sellers can now take products global
Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce marketplace said it will begin offering the global inventory of eBay to Indian consumers while taking the products of thousands of sellers in the country to eBay’s customers globally. This comes after Flipkart completed the takeover of the India operations of eBay.
BookMyShow acquires video platform Nfusion
New Delhi, Aug 1 () Online entertainment ticketing company BookMyShow (BMS) today said it has acquired video-on- demand platform Nfusion for an undisclosed amount, a move that will help the Mumbai-based firm enhance its audio streaming offerings. Without disclosing the financial details of the transaction, BMS said it acquired Nfusion in an all-cash deal. “We are excited to foray into audio entertainment through our offering ‘Jukebox’. (its online audio entertainment offering), which uses Nfusion’s technology,” BookMyShow Director Parikshit Dar told. Nfusion was set up in the Middle East in 2009 by Shoaib GM Khan, Sivagurunathan S and Prabhakar Reddy. The HD video- on-demand platform allowed users to stream videos online.
Aadhaar impact: Govt working on a law to protect personal data
The government was planning a law to protect data and had set up a committee that would come out with suggestions to ensure that personal information was protected, the Supreme Court was told on Tuesday. Retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna-led 10-member panel had been tasked with drafting the law on data protection, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta said in the court during a hearing on the constitutional status of the right to privacy. “The committee will identify key data protection issues in India and recommend measures of addressing them,” the law officer said.
Jharkhand govt clears bill to ban conversions
The Jharkhand cabinet approved on Tuesday the draft of a bill that will ban religious conversion by force or allurement. The Jharkhand Religious Independence Bill, 2017, was approved at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by chief minister Raghubar Das. “Anyone found violating the provisions of the bill will be liable for three years’ imprisonment or Rs 50,000 fine or both (sic),” cabinet coordination secretary Surendra Singh Meena told reporters.
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