The Reserve Bank on Monday superseded the boards of Srei Infrastructure Finance as well as Srei Equipment Finance, citing concerns over governance and payment defaults, and decided to refer the two NBFCs for resolution under the insolvency law. This is only the second time in as many years that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is referring entities for the resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) after taking first ever such step in the case of DHFL back in 2019. Superseding the boards of the crisis-hit Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL), the RBI has appointed Rajneesh Sharma, former Chief General Manager of Bank of Baroda as the administrator to manage the affairs of the two companies.
Following the CLB nod, the company can also publish the June 2010 quarterly numbers with the September quarter results.
Superseding the boards of two non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in the Srei group will neither create liquidity challenges for sound entities, nor build systemic crises because the markets have factored in the problems with the Kolkata-based firms. Such regulatory steps will help in making the NBFC space more robust, bankers and market experts said. The action should have begun earlier because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had done a special audit last financial year and asked the group to make provisions for assets considered stressed, analysts said.
The central government is looking to strengthen the boards of public sector banks (PSBs) by specifying terms of office and conditions of service for whole-time directors, and also seeking disclosures from all directors about interests in other companies. Through the Banking Laws Amendment Bill, the government is likely to introduce conditions for disqualification of whole-time and independent directors which are not specified in the current legislation. The Centre is seeking to introduce fresh changes that are aimed at strengthening the boards of PSBs, and holding their directors accountable, an official said.
Edtech major Think and Learn, which operates under Byju's brand name, is learnt to have received a commitment of $300 million from investors for its ongoing rights issue which will close by the end of February, sources aware of the development said. Byju's floated a rights issue in January to raise $200 million at an enterprise valuation in the range of $220-250 million which is a 99 per cent reduction in its peak valuation of $22 billion. Sources also shared that Byju's has offered miffed investors to appoint two independent directors to enhance transparency but only after the rights issue and declaring its financial results for the 2023 fiscal.
In a boost to the embattled Adani Group, Mauritian Financial Services Minister Mahen Kumar Seeruttun has told the nation's Parliament that Hindenburg Research's allegations of the presence of 'shell' companies in the Island nation are 'false and baseless' and that Mauritius was in compliance with OECD-mandated tax rules. US short seller Hindenburg on January 24 alleged that billionaire Gautam Adani used shell companies based in Mauritius to manipulate stock prices of his Indian-listed companies.
Coffee Day Global Ltd (CDGL) and its financial creditor IndusInd Bank have reached a settlement, following which NCLAT has set aside an insolvency order against the company which owns and operates coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day. Counsel representing CDGL and IndusInd bank on Wednesday informed the Chennai bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) about the settlement and sought permission to withdraw insolvency litigations. A two-member bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Shreesha Merla took their submissions on record and set aside the order admitting CDGL to insolvency.
Proliferation of home chargers of around 7 KWh and above, which take six to seven hours to fully charge a car depending on the model, bring running costs down by a third or so. That, coupled with the increasing range of modern electric cars, can lead to a massive increase in sales.
The corporate affairs ministry has asked its field officers to expedite the inspection of the books of Byju's and submit the report, a senior official said on Monday as trouble continues to brew at the edtech firm. The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, will decide the further course of action after receiving the report from its regional office. In July 2023, the ministry had asked the office of the regional director in Hyderabad to conduct an inspection of the company Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, which is registered in Bengaluru.
Uber has rolled out the 'women rider preference' feature, an industry-first initiative that allows women drivers to choose to accept only women riders.
Students from de-notified tribes, nomadic tribes and semi-nomadic tribes will receive coaching fees of up to 1,20,000 and additional benefits for preparing for entrance examinations such as JEE, NEET, CLAT and the NDA.
JM Financial Consultants, Arpwood Capital and Alvarez & Marsal will advise the board going forward
With the Company Law Board rejection both the applications filed by Ketan Parekh group of companies on the stock market scam of 2001.
User protection and a proposal for a licensing framework for companies seeking to operate in the cryptocurrency area will be part of an upcoming consultation paper on the sector, said a senior industry executive. Even as specific regulations around crypto are yet to take shape, companies are setting up baseline user protection processes, including a redressal mechanism, fraud detection, regular filing of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), among others.
Byju's first came on board with the BCCI back in 2019 when mobile manufacturer Oppo transferred the sponsorship rights to the online tutorial firm.
Insurance sector regulator IRDAI has given conditional approval to Hinduja Group firm IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) for the takeover of debt-ridden Reliance Capital. "We are happy to acknowledge the receipt of approval from IRDAI yesterday (May 10, 2024) on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya. "The approval is subject to certain 'regulatory, statutory, and judicial' clearances/compliances," an IIHL spokesperson said in a statement.
Go First CEO Kaushik Khona on Wednesday described the NCLT's decision to admit the airline's plea for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings as a "landmark judgement" that is very timely and effective for its revival. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has appointed Abhliash Lal as interim resolution professional (IRP) to run the debt-ridden company. Besides, the tribunal has imposed a moratorium on the company and has suspended its board of directors.
The panel suggests the government be authorised to raise the thresholds, which trigger applicability of Corporate Social Responsibility provisions.
'Studying was never an important part of our life, surviving was.'
Two days after the termination of the merger agreement by Sony Group, Zee Entertainment on Wednesday hit back by filing a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking a direction to implement the merger scheme. Besides, it has also initiated appropriate legal actions to contest the claims of $90 million (Rs 748.5 crore) filed by Sony Group before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), according to a regulatory update by Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL).
Following a deadly stampede at New Delhi Railway Station that claimed 18 lives on Saturday night, authorities have implemented stringent security measures, including prohibiting loitering on the foot overbridge. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is also monitoring trains heading towards Prayagraj and deploying additional personnel to manage crowds. CCTV surveillance has been enhanced, and announcements are being made to guide commuters and prevent panic. The stampede occurred due to a mix-up in train announcements, leading to a surge of passengers rushing towards platform 16 via a narrow stairway.
More than 60 per cent of shareholders of edutech Byju's on Friday voted for removal of founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, but the company dug in its heels, calling the voting done in the absence of founders as "invalid". Prosus - one of the six investors who had called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) - in a statement said "shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote.
A consortium of shareholders with over 30 per cent stake in cash-strapped Byju's might approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking a management change, if the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for Friday failed to yield an 'amicable settlement' or faced further delays, sources said. Earlier this month, these shareholders had issued a notice calling for an EGM to address "persistent issues", including a change in management. They will vote for a revamp of the existing board, an exercise which would include asking Byju Raveendran to step down as chief executive officer (CEO) and relinquish his operational role, according to sources.
Three leading domestic voting advisory firms are not on the same page over the proposed demerger and separate listing of ITC's hotel business, ITC Hotels. Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has recommended a vote "against" the resolution, while InGovern and Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) have advised their clients to vote in favour. Voting on the resolution is currently underway.
'Despite the animosity shown by some of the investors in pursuing uncalled for legal actions, we continue to show good faith towards all our shareholders.'
"If HR isn't responsive, it's critical to keep records of all interactions -- e-mails, dates and any conversations you had. If HR fails to help, escalate the matter to higher management or the internal complaints committee," says Smita Shetty Kapoor.
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 United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
With billionaire Gautam Adani charged in the United States with alleged bribery and fraud, the Congress on Thursday said it 'vindicates' its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various 'scams' involving his conglomerate.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday questioned market regulator Sebi's credibility on completing its investigation within a stipulated time in the Zee Entertainment Enterprises' (ZEEL) matter. SAT was hearing Zee's plea against Sebi's order baring Zee Entertainment Enterprises' Punit Goenka and Subhash Chandra from holding any key managerial positions in the company and other organisations for allegedly siphoning off funds of the media firm. "There is no certainty that these eight months won't be extended. ...past record of Sebi is that they have always extended it (investigation).
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday said it will auction 27 properties of Rose Valley group of companies on November 25 at a reserve price of Rs 63.26 crore in a bid to recover money raised by the firm from the public through illicit schemes. The properties to go under the hammer include flats, buildings, land parcels and hotels located in West Bengal and Bihar, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a notice. The e-auction will be conducted on November 25 between 11 am to 1 pm.
Three financial institutions--IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and IL&FS Ltd--that have lent money to Maytas Infra informed the Company Law Board on Friday that they are not interested in board membership in the Hyderabad-based firm.
The merger of ZEE Entertainment and Sony has reached an advanced stage of completion, and the issues faced by promoters with Sebi should not become a problem for the company, debarred ZEEL MD Punit Goenka has said in a letter to employees, according to sources. Goenka, who along with his father Subhas Chandra, was denied any interim relief against a Sebi order that barred them from holding the position of director or key managerial post in any listed company, in the letter ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) staff asserted that the merger of Culver Max (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India) is at a very important juncture. With the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) restricting him from holding a directorial or key managerial position in a listed company, Goenka told the employees that the ZEEL board has constituted an interim committee of senior executives to ensure smooth operations and day-to-day functioning.
The National Company Law Tribunal has admitted an Indusind Bank plea for insolvency proceedings against Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL). The division bench of judicial member H V Subba Rao and technical member Madhu Sinha on Wednesday also appointed Sanjeev Kumar Jalan as the resolution professional in the matter. The matter pertains to a default of Rs 89 crore by Zee Group's multisystem operator arm Siti Networks claimed by Indusind Bank, for which ZEEL was a guarantor.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday upheld an NCLT order allowing crisis-hit Go First's voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings. A two-member NCLAT bench asked several aircraft lessors of Go First opposing insolvency, to approach National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for any remedy. "The order dated May 10, 2023 allowing insolvency is upheld," said the NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan.
The government plans to set up a national company law tribunal in a bid to streamline liquidation proceedings of companies.
The government will "notify such countries or territories outside India to which a data fiduciary may transfer personal data", according to the draft unveiled on Friday for public feedback.
'This case is not a good example of intellectual property strategy for either sector.'
'So, we would work with our members to ensure that we as an SRO create some sort of due diligence for fintechs.'
