The Union Public Service Commission entrance and Common Admission Test are completely different from each other and require different approaches, says rediffGURU Mayank Chandel.
Prosus NV, which owns PayU, has terminated a $4.7 billion (about Rs 38,400 crore) deal to acquire Indian payments firm BillDesk, saying certain conditions precedent were not met. Prosus, the global investment arm of South African multinational Nasper, had on August 31 last year announced acquisition of BillDesk in an all-cash deal to expand its footprint in India's booming fintech sector under the umbrella of its payment gateway PayU.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has named Ravneet Kaur, a Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1988 batch, as chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Kaur will hold the post for five years or until attaining the age of 65. She is the second woman to serve in an 'economic regulator' role after Madhabi Puri Buch, who was appointed chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year and the first woman to head the country's chief national competition regulator.
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
The Competition Commission has disposed of a complaint alleging unfair business practices by Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd and certain other related entities, saying that the allegations are devoid of requisite evidence. The complaint was filed by All India Online Vendors Association against Amazon Seller Services, Amazon Wholesale India, Amazon Retail India, Cloudtail India and Prione Business Services. The association comprises more than 2,000 sellers across the country, with its members selling various products on e-commerce marketplaces.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said it has approved Reliance Retail Venture's acquisition of German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) while Metro Cash & Carry India is engaged in the wholesale operations in India. In December last year, it was announced that RRVL had signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in the company for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore.
The Union Health Ministry on June 22 postponed the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held on June 23, as a "precautionary measure" in the wake of allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams.
The government has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies, including SFIO, CCI and NIA, a move that will expedite nailing of law-breakers. The finance ministry notified changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on November 22. Through the notification, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which deals primarily with cases of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, would be able to share data with a total of 25 agencies, including the 10 specified earlier.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Wednesday directed Google to pay 10 per cent of the Rs 1,337.76-crore penalty imposed on the tech giant by fair trade regulator CCI. A two-member bench, however, declined to grant any immediate stay the operations of Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalty and said it would pass any order after hearing out other parties. The appellate tribunal has issued notices to CCI and directed to list the matter on February 13, for hearing over interim stay.
In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday underlined the need for collaboration between the Centre and states to take up the next-generation reforms covering land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. As far as revenue share goes, the government has projected to give about 32.5 per cent of central taxes to states during FY25, against the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of 41 per cent, according to the Union Budget estimate.
The Asian Boxing Confederation last month decided to stay with the IBA.
Slapped with a second hefty fine for anti-competitive practices, Google India on Wednesday said it remains committed to users and developers and is reviewing the antitrust body's order to evaluate next steps. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday slapped a Rs 936 crore fine on Google for "abusing" its dominant position on its Android mobile app store and ordered it not to prevent app developers from using third-party billing or payment processing services in India. That penalty came just days after a Rs 1,337.76 crore fine was imposed on it for abusing the dominant position of its Android smartphone operating system. Commenting on Tuesday's CCI order, a Google India spokesperson said Indian app developers have benefited from the technology, security, consumer protection, choice and flexibility that Android and Google Play provide.
Appellate tribunal NCLAT on Monday stayed the Rs 200 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission on Maruti Suzuki but directed the car maker to deposit 10 per cent of the total amount within three weeks. The amount has to be deposited with the Registrar of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). A three-member NCLAT bench stayed the demand notice issued on October 27 to the car maker, subject to the condition of depositing 10 per cent of the penalty amount.
In its second ruling against Google in less than a week, the Competition Commission on Tuesday slapped a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on the internet major for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday allowed the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Culver Max Entertainment (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India). This order by the Mumbai bench, headed by H V Subba Rao and Madhu Sinha, will pave the way for the creation of a $10-billion media company, the biggest in the country. The tribunal also dismissed all objections regarding the merger.
Google has termed as "tainted" the investigations done against it by CCI, contending that the two informants on whose complaint the fair trade regulator has initiated the enquiry were working at the same office that was investigating the tech major. This was "against the principles of natural justice", Google said in the petition filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), adding the Competition Commission of India (CCI) should have refrained from initiating an investigation based on a complaint filed by their own employees. "At the very least, the Commission could have debarred the Informants from working in the DG office while the investigation was ongoing, to ensure that the investigating officer was able to impartially assess the case without any influence, such that no concerns could arise on the independence of the investigation," said Google.
In order to reduce government litigations, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST Council has fixed a monetary limit for filing appeals by the tax department before the various appellate authorities. It has recommended a monetary limit of Rs 20 lakh for GST Appellate Tribunal, Rs 1 crore for the High Court and Rs 2 crore for the Supreme Court for filing of appeals by the department before these legal forums, she said after the 53rd GST Council meeting held in New Delhi.
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Narsingh Pancham Yadav was elected chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India's Athletes' Commission in Varanasi on Wednesday, completing a process that was mandated by the sport's world governing body.
Google has approached the appellate tribunal NCLAT challenging the CCI's order on unfair business practices in Android mobile device ecosystem, the company spokesperson said on Friday. The Competition Commission in October slapped a steep penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on internet giant Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in relation to Android mobile devices and ordered the internet major to cease and desist from various unfair business practices. A Google spokesperson told PTI: "We have decided to appeal the CCI's decision on Android as we believe it presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android's security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices."
SBI Life Insurance reported a weak performance in Q2FY25. The annual premium equivalent or APE grew 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 5,390 crore. For the first half of financial year 2025 (H1FY25), it grew 9 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 9,030 crore.
All GST anti-profiteering complaints would be dealt with by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from December 1 as the extended tenure of National Anti-profiteering Authority ends this month, an official said on Tuesday. A notification in this regard is expected to be issued by the finance ministry later this month, the official added. The National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) was set up in November 2017 under Section 171A of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law to check unfair profiteering activities by registered suppliers.
Competition Commission has approved Tata Group's proposed acquisition of debt-laden Air India as well as its two subsidiaries. The Rs 18,000 crore-deal that includes the winning bidder Talace taking over Rs 15,300 crore-worth debt, is a major step in the government's efforts over the years to revive the ailing airline. Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, emerged as the winning bidder in October.
The 'top leadership' of the National Testing Agency is under the scanner over alleged irregularities in competitive exams National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and National Eligibility Test, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday even as he denied any paper leak in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission NET, which was postponed a day ago.
The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday approved with certain conditions the mega-merger deal between media groups Sony and Zee. In a tweet, the watchdog said it has cleared the deal with certain modifications. The proposed merger was announced in September last year. CCI said it has approved the "amalgamation of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CME), with certain modifications".
The automotive business includes vehicle manufacturing plants of Ford India in Chennai and Sanand.
The notification of the Act comes just a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was asked when the legislation would be implemented. The minister had said the law ministry was framing the rules.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday flagged concerns about possible cartelisation in markets and stressed on the need to look into the causes of short supply of commodities. Speaking at the 13th annual day function of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the minister also said that the regulator needs to have a "proactive understanding" of mergers and acquisitions. "Cartelisation is going to be a challenge...," the minister said.
In a significant development, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday suspended its more than two-year-old approval for Amazon's deal to acquire stake in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd and also imposed a Rs 202 crore penalty on the e-commerce major for certain contraventions. This comes amid a bitter legal battle between Amazon and Future Group over the latter's proposed Rs 24,713 crore-deal with Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL). Against this backdrop, Future Group had complained to the CCI.
As the market buzzes with news of Cipla promoters exiting the business through a stake sale and Ahmedabad-based Mehta family-led Torrent Pharmaceuticals racing to acquire its rival, Cipla, an analysis reveals that if the deal were to go through, both companies might need to divest as many as 15 brands to comply with Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms. A recent analysis by Bernstein shows that Cipla and Torrent share a presence in 332 products (based on product and molecule data from market research firm IQVIA). Bernstein analysts Nithya Balasubramanian and Parth Shah noted that, while this may appear as a high number, a significant portion of these products lack significance.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday granted its approval for the acquisition of 100 per cent equity of indiaideas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments. The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity share capital of India Ideas Ltd (IIL) by PayU India. In a tweet on Monday, CCI said it approved, "acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments."
Paris 2024 opening ceremony to start at 7.30 p.m. local time
CCI has accused realty player DLF of preparing one-sided agreement with home buyers
The mutual fund industry's QAAUM (Quarterly Average Assets Under Management) was up 37 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) (9 per cent Q-o-Q) to hit Rs 59 trillion (end Q1FY25). The equity segment grew 55 per cent Y-o-Y and equity formed 56 per cent of total AUM, up 49 per cent in Q1FY24. Sequentially, AUM grew by Rs 5 trillion.
The Competition Commission of India has approved Tatas' proposal to acquire up to 64.3 per cent stake in BigBasket, a deal that will provide the diversified group a strong foothold in the fast-growing online grocery market.
Fair trade regulator CCI on Thursday alleged that Google has created a digital data hegemony and called for a market space with "free, fair and open competition". Concluding the arguments of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) before the appellate tribunal NCLAT in the Google matter, Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman said a market with greater freedom for all players would be in total sync with principles of free competition rather than the 'walled garden' approach of the internet major. On October 20 last year, the CCI slapped a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices.
With the Supreme Court turning down Google's plea for a stay on the CCI order, the tech giant on Friday said it is reviewing the details of the decision which is limited to interim relief and did not decide the merits of the appeal. The company said it remains committed to users and partners and "will cooperate with the CCI on the way forward in parallel with our appeal." In a setback to Google, the Supreme Court on Thursday endorsed the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) declining to grant an interim stay on the imposition of Rs 1,337 crore penalty on the US tech major by the competition regulator for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile device ecosystem.
The Competition Commission has approved Reliance's proposed acquisition of retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing businesses of Future Group. The Rs 24,713 crore deal that would boost Reliance Industries' fast growing retail business was announced in August. In a tweet on Friday, the regulator said it has approved "acquisition of retail, wholesale, logistics & warehousing businesses of Future Group by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited and Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited".
'The whole narrative will change from TV is dying to TV-plus-digital is the future.'
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday night announced the new dates of cancelled and postponed examinations, including the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test, amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in their conduct.
