The Delhi high court on Wednesday allowed Chinese smartphone maker Vivo to operate its various bank accounts frozen by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering probe subject to furnishing of a bank guarantee of Rs 950 crore within a week with the agency. Justice Yashwant Varma also directed the company to give details to ED about its remittances and issued notice to the investigating agency on Vivo's plea seeking quashing of the order freezing its various bank accounts. ED contended that presently the proceeds of crime have been quantified to Rs 1200 crore.
In a major announcement for domestic long distance (STD) operators, the government on Friday reduced the performance bank guarantee deposit by 50 per cent to Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million).
The panel also recommended deduction of bank guarantee of four mines, including one given jointly to the world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal and GVK Powers, an official statement said.
Ministry returns guarantee saying new price has not been notified and RIL would have to submit surety as and when it is announced.
Insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT on Tuesday upheld the resolution plan of grounded carrier Jet Airways and approved the transfer of its ownership to Jalan Kalrock Consortium. The NCLAT bench has directed the Jet Airways monitoring committee to complete the transfer of ownership within 90 days. Besides, it has also directed the lenders of Jet Airways to adjust the Rs 150 crore paid by the consortium as performance bank guarantee.
Mauritius-based Hinduja group firm IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL) has informed the administrator of Reliance Capital that it is ready with its equity contribution of Rs 2,750 crore in cash to acquire the bankrupt firm, but it wants certain conditions to be met in accordance with the resolution plan before transferring the amount. IIHL has also filed an application with the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking directions for the administrator and the committee of creditors (CoC) to complete all pending activities to close the transaction and not let the lenders invoke the bank guarantees provided by the firm earlier.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Jalan-Kalrock consortium, the new owners of the cash-strapped Jet Airways, to deposit Rs 150 crore in SBI's escrow account by January 31, saying failure to do so will mean that the consortium is not in compliance with the terms of the resolution plan for reviving the airline. The top court, meanwhile, also refused to allow the separate plea of the Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association seeking payment of provident fund and gratuity dues, observing if additional money is awarded, the resolution plan will become "unworkable". The consortium, as per the lawyers for the workmen, has to pay over Rs 200 crore towards dues on account of PF and gratuity.
Edtech company Byju's, which was once India's most valuable start-up worth an estimated $22 billion, will face insolvency proceedings for failure to pay Rs 158.9 crore to cricket board BCCI. The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday allowed bankruptcy proceedings against the firm and appointed an interim resolution professional, suspending the company's board of directors and freezing its assets.
Edtech company Byju's parent Think & Learn will challenge the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT's) order on insolvency proceedings and may approach the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in the next few days, a source claimed. With the NCLT appointing Pankaj Srivastava as the interim resolution professional (IRP), time is running out for Byju's as the committee of creditors (CoC) begins to be formed.
The government on Friday approved an electric-vehicle policy, under which duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like US-based Tesla. According to an official statement, the companies setting up manufacturing facilities for e-vehicles will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs duty. The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers, it added.
The high court also directed that engineers involved in shoddy constructions using public money be brought to book.
The CBI has registered an FIR against an officer of Punjab National Bank (PNB), now suspended, for allegedly cheating the state-run lender to the tune of Rs 168.59 crore through 34 fake bank guarantees, officials said Thursday. Nearly four years after LoU (letter of undertaking) scam allegedly perpetrated by uncle-nephew duo of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi bled the PNB to the tune of about Rs 13,000 crore, bank official Priya Ranjan Kumar followed similar modus operandi to issue 34 fake bank guarantees without making any entries in its core banking system Finacle, according to the CBI FIR. "As per the interim investigation report dated November 27, 2022, it emerges that the fraud has been perpetrated by the bank staff in collusion with some unknown persons through illegal and unauthorized usage of the bank's systems.
If Tesla comes in, India's position as a manufacturing hub will rise many notches, as it will become only the second country, after China, to have both Apple as well as Tesla.
The creditors of the grounded carrier Jet Airways on Wednesday raised questions over the source of Rs 200 crore deposited by the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium before the insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT and said it does not align with the resolution plan. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, representing lenders including SBI and other banks, told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that there are apprehensions about the source of funds, which deposited money for Jalan-Kalrock Consortium's (JKC). "The payment is not compliant with the resolution plan as it mandates that the money is to be paid through JKC," ASG submitted before a three-member NCLAT bench headed by chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan.
Low cost airline SpiceJet and Swiss firm Credit Suisse AG on Thursday told the Supreme Court they have resolved their financial dispute. The apex court then permitted SpiceJet to withdraw its appeal against a Madras high court verdict ordering that the airline be wound up on account of alleged non-payment of dues to Credit Suisse AG. "There is a settlement which has taken place on May 23, 2022 as per the consent terms.
Based on discussions with stakeholders, the ministry is proposing to allocate Rs 26,400 crore for FAME-III subsidy alone with electric two wheelers getting around Rs 8,158 crore, electric buses Rs 9,600 crore and electric three-wheelers Rs 4,100 crore, according to sources in the know. Along with some other components like setting up an innovation fund and money for testing , the total allocation could cross Rs 33,000 crore, estimates suggest.
The BCCI top brass deliberated on the two subjects for more than an hour in the emergent meeting of the Apex Council on Monday.
Investors may have to wait a little longer for Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based block mechanism in the secondary market even as the market regulator has set the effective launch date as January 1, 2024. Several brokerage firms said they may take a few months more to implement it. Investors will be able to register for this facility only if the stock broker has opted for the UPI block facility.
The Delhi high court has directed SpiceJet to deposit "forthwith" Rs 75 crore that has to be paid to media baron Kalanidhi Maran and his Kal Airways towards interest on an arbitral award of Rs 578 crore. The high court said, admittedly, there is no modification of the February 13, 2023 order passed by the Supreme Court in the case, and hence it needs to be followed. "Since the judgment debtor (SpiceJet) had failed to pay an amount of Rs 75 crores to decree holder (Maran and Kal Airways), hence in terms of para 15 (ii) of the order dated February 13, 2023 of the Supreme Court, there is no other alternative except to call upon the judgment debtors to deposit the entire outstanding amount qua interest forthwith, thus is so directed.
If they are made accountable, bad loan cases will shrink dramatically, recoveries will rise, and the NCLT process will be more manageable, asserts Debashis Basu.
Essel Mining & Industries Limited (EMIL), Adani Enterprises (AEL), and JSW Steel are looking to surrender their mines. Of these, AEL and EMIL have already notified the government.
Markets regulator Sebi on Monday barred Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) MD and CEO Punit Goenka from holding the position of a director or key managerial personnel in any listed company for siphoning off funds of the media firm. The case pertains to Chandra, who was also the chairman of ZEEL during the alleged violation, and Goenka having abused their position as directors or KMPs of a listed company for siphoning off funds for their own benefit. In its interim order, Sebi noted that Chandra and Goenka alienated the assets of ZEEL and other listed companies of Essel Group for the benefit of associate entities, which are owned and controlled by them.
The ministry also decided to dispense with the requirement of the Integrity Pact Bank Guarantee to reduce the financial burden on the Indian defence industry, a move aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday approved the transfer of ownership of bankrupt-Jet Airways to the Jalan Kalrock consortium and gave the winning bidder more time to pay the dues to the creditors. The latest rulings have come on two petitions filed by the consortium. One plea pertained to approval of transfer of ownership and the second one related to extension of time for the payment of dues to the creditors. Earlier, the tribunal had given time till November 16, 2022 for the consortium to make the payments to the creditors of the airline.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed measures mandating daily upstreaming of all investor funds from stockbrokers to clearing corporations (CCs). The step, aimed at reducing risk on client funds, will further deplete brokers' revenues as they will lose interest income with transfers being done daily. At present, stockbrokers convert the surplus funds into bank guarantees (BG) or fixed deposit (FD) receipts which earns them extra income.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday reserved its order on crisis-hit airline Go First's plea seeking voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and interim moratorium on financial obligations while aircraft lessors vehemently opposed the petition. Amid the airline facing severe financial crunch and cancelling flights, a two-member NCLT bench comprising Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Member L N Gupta heard the arguments for and against the petition for nearly four hours. As aircraft lessors opposed the plea, the counsels for Go First said the petition was not a malicious one to avoid payment of dues to its creditors but to save the company.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
This will be an upfront payment for the vaccine doses that these two companies will supply to the government.
'The CM kept his cool, but his adviser was liberal with filthy language.' Tamal Bandyopadhyay recreates the diary of a general manager in a public sector bank, providing a glimpse of how they balance their work and life.
The report noted that the 2007 UPA deal included a 15 per cent bank guarantee against advance payments.
The diamantaire's counsel said there is a vigilance manual circular that the consortium can lodge only one FIR. Each consortium member cannot lodge separate FIRs, he said.
Chinese mobile giant VIVO have pulled out of their sponsorship of this year's Indian Premier League to be staged in UAE, according to reports on Tuesday. VIVO is IPL's title sponsor paying Rs 440 crore annually for the five-year deal.
Two issues dog the sale of the national carrier. One is the $2 billion bank guarantee the winning bidder will need to furnish. The other is the nearly 5000 lawsuits filed against Air India, many of them overseas. Anjuli Bhargava reports.
The approved proposals included "procurement of night sight (image intensifier), light vehicles GS 4X4, air defence fire control radar (light) and GSAT-7B satellite," it mentioned.
Vodafone Idea on Monday paid Rs 2,500 crore to DoT and promised to pay another Rs 1,000 crore before the end of the week.
In big bang reforms, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies as well as allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route. Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said nine structural reforms for the telecom sector were approved. The definition of AGR, which had been a major reason for the stress in the sector, has been rationalised by excluding non-telecom revenue of telecom companies.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider a joint request for mediation of low-cost airline SpiceJet and media baron Kalanithi Maran and his Kal Airways for amicably settling all pending disputes between them including the row over the share-transfer issue. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices J K Maheshwari and Hima Kohli was apprised by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for SpiceJet, that there were three pending issues between the low-cost airline and Maran and out of these, one has been settled on July 29. Initially, Rohatgi sought four to six week time for settling all the issues between the parties.
The Centre has conceded most of the demands of potential buyers of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL). These include lowering the lock-in period for sale of assets to one year and allowing the new buyer to undertake the amalgamation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) into NINL. An inter-ministerial group led by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey and the core group of secretaries on divestment (CGD) headed by Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba have decided that the lock-in period can be reduced to one year from the date of completion of sale, from the earlier three years proposed by Dipam, an official in the know said.
According to one of the Kochi team co-owners, Modi had driven them to 'madness'.
Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE on Friday decided to drop Yes Bank from Futures and Options segment from May 29. The existing Futures and Options contracts across all expiries will expire on May 28.