Sebi initiates probe into alleged corporate governance breaches at ICICI
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has initiated an enquiry into the controversial Rs 32.5-billion loan sanctioned to the Videocon group by ICICI Bank, to check for possible lapses in disclosure and corporate governance norms. According to sources, the regulator has sought documents from the private sector lender on decisions of its board of directors on the loan. Sebi wants to know if the board was aware about the conflict of interest involving its managing director and chief executive officer, Chanda Kochhar.
Definition tweaked, startups can seek exemption from angel tax
The government has refined the definition of startup and put in place a mechanism for such companies to secure exemption from the so-called ‘angel tax’ with retrospective effect and avail tax incentives under its startup policy. Experts, however, said availing exemption may not be easy given the conditions imposed. Startups with total investment including funding from angel investors up to Rs 10 crore can seek approval from an eight-member government board for exemption from tax under Section 56 of the income-tax law, the government said in a notification issued on Thursday.
Verdict on SC/ST law caused ‘great damage’, says Govt
Seeking recall of a judgment that diluted provisions of the anti-atrocities law against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has resulted into “great damage” to the country and the same can be corrected by revoking the changes made to the Act. The March 20 judgment “dealing with an issue of very sensitive nature caused a lot of commotion, anger, unease and a sense of disharmony…the confusion created by this judgment may have to be corrected by reviewing it and recalling the directions,” attorney general KK Venugopal said.
Indian banks need to improve risk management, governance practices: S&P
Global credit agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said the Indian banks need to improve risk management and governance practices in the light of troubles faced by the two private lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.”As a number of banks in India confront serious governance and risk issues, the ‘tone at the top’ is crucial. Leadership groups in Indian banks need to ensure that they enhance the risk culture, reputation, and financial strength of banks,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Michael Puli.
Sebi issues more disclosure norms for merged mutual fund schemes
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tightened norms pertaining to disclosure of performance track record of merged mutual fund (MF) schemes. The market regulator on Thursday issued a circular for standardizing performance disclosures following a merger of schemes. Currently, due to lack of formal guidelines some fund houses use a weighted average of the performance of the schemes involved, while others only show the performance of the surviving schemes, the regulator said.
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