The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), the only self-regulatory organisation for financial technology/fintech (SRO-FT) companies, is aiming to secure membership from at least 75 per cent of players across all key fintech categories within the next three years, according to a senior executive. The total number of members in the organisation has increased to 110, up from around 60 when it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an SRO-FT in August.
In the first phase, most of the outdated regulations in the state and central Acts will be removed. Further, compliances with regard to annual inspections, licence renewal, and storage of multiple data will be eased.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the BPSL case exposes deep flaws in the IBC's institutional framework and raises concern about judicial overreach, notes Rajeswari Sengupta.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has asked at least 10 general and life insurance companies to submit a detailed road map for their listing strategies by the end of this month, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter. "The regulator met four life and six general insurers last month and asked them to provide their listing strategies by the end of February," said one of the sources.
The draft digital personal data protection (DPDP) rules, which require banks to obtain explicit consent from their customers before using their data for purposes beyond the original intent, although is being followed in spirit, leaves no room for regulatory arbitrage, experts said. They said that the potential business impact is difficult to assess at this stage, but the formalisation of these rules will mean banks now need to establish clear data processing agreements with third-party entities to ensure compliance.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the release of the next tranche of its bailout programme and warned that tensions with India could heighten risks to the scheme's fiscal, external, and reform goals, according to a media report on Sunday.
Rediff.com, one of India's pioneering internet companies, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr Vishal Mehta as its new Chairman and Managing Director. This key leadership change follows Infibeam Avenues Ltd's acquisition of a majority stake in Rediff.com.
With regulatory uncertainties clouding the future of online pharmacies, deals in the space are showing signs of slowdown, as also fresh investment from private-equity (PE) firms and venture capitalists (VCs). The data from Venture Intelligence shows so far in 2023 (as of June 13) there has been one deal with PE-VC funding. In 2022 there were four, a sharp fall from the 12, totalling $1,520 million, the sector had attracted in 2021.
Ministry mulls graded funding for sports federations
Under its new chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has gravitated towards greater transparency and ease of doing business, setting an objective of "effective and optimum" regulation. On Monday, during its first board meeting under Pandey, the regulator has decided to constitute a high-level committee (HLC) to review conflicts of interest and unveiled initiatives to simplify regulatory processes.
The Sebi board on Wednesday approved a series of measures, including stricter regulatory norms for SME IPOs, a comprehensive overhaul of investment banking regulations, and an expanded definition of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI). Also, the board approved reforms to boost ease of doing business for Debenture Trustees, ESG rating providers, InvITs, REITs, and SM REITs.
Currently there are 26 licensed players in the P2P lending sector but only 10-11 are actively operating.
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including two microfinance institutions (MFIs), from sanctioning and disbursing loans for charging exorbitant interest rates to the borrowers. These four entities are Asirvad Microfinance, Arohan Financial Services (also an MFI), DMI Finance, which provides personal, consumption, and micro, small and medium enterprises loans, and Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal's Navi Finserv, which offers home and personal loans. The ban will take effect on October 21 to "facilitate closure of transactions in the pipeline", the regulator said in a statement.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
JM Financial on Friday said the Reserve Bank of India has lifted restrictions imposed on its subsidiary JM Financial Products Ltd with regard to financing against shares and debentures. "We wish to inform you that the RBI, vide its letter dated October 18, 2024, has lifted the restrictions imposed by it on the company (JM Financial Products Ltd) through its order dated March 5, 2024," JM Financial said in a regulatory filing.
The US wants India to recognise internationally accredited labs, harmonise labelling requirements and the validity period of test reports and certification with global practices, and eliminate retesting requirements.
Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 93 lakh on Axis Bank for various violations, including those related to KYC guidelines. The central bank has also slapped a fine of Rs 90 lakh on IDBI Bank. A monetary penalty of Rs 93 lakh has been imposed on Axis Bank for non-compliance of certain directions issued by RBI, the regulator said in a release.
Since India relies heavily on specialised imported fasteners for critical applications in industries, such as automobiles, aerospace, electronics, and defence, their sudden unavailability will jeopardise production.
While advancements in biotechnology hold immense promise for health and innovation, they also come with significant risks if misused.
Budget 2025-26 delivers a carefully calibrated strategy-stimulating demand and investment while keeping fiscal discipline intact. In an environment marked by global trade disruptions, and a softening in urban consumption, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken a measured approach.
"It has been decided that for all foreign banks operating in India, the CEO would be responsible for effective oversight of regulatory and statutory compliance as also the audit process and the compliance thereof in respect of all operations in India," the RBI said in a notification.
India maintains "high" import duties on a wide range of American goods such as agricultural items, drug formulations, and alcoholic beverages, besides imposing non-tariif barriers, a US report has said. A day before announcing reciprocal tariffs, the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on March 31.
If you are a budding developer and interested in Web3, chances are that you will be headed to one of India's largest-ever meetings of Web3 developers, being held by Polygon, a Web3 platform. The company's ongoing "Web3: Made in India Tour" is expected to see close to 4,000 developers coming together at the inaugural Polygon Connect event in Bengaluru on December 1. The event highlights the growing dominance of Web3 developers from India, as well as the sector's rising interest to investors, who continue to invest in startups despite a funds crunch.
'We never waste a crisis. There will be learning and the supervisory tools will get better with each episode.'
Market regulator Sebi has warned Ola Electric Mobility for violating listing norms by sharing store expansion plans on social media before informing stock exchanges, according to a regulatory filing by the company. In a letter to the company by Sebi, shared on BSE by Ola Electric Mobility, the market regulator took exception to the dissemination of information regarding plans for a four-fold expansion of the company-owned store network by December 20, 2024.
Markets regulator Sebi has notified a stricter regulatory framework for small and medium enterprise (SME) IPOs by introducing a profitability requirement and capping a 20 per cent limit on offer-for-sale (OFS). The reforms aim to provide SMEs with a sound track record an opportunity to raise funds from the public while protecting investor interests. This move follows a rise in SME issues, which has driven significant investor participation.
Seeking prompt removal of identifiable references of the deceased from all social media platforms, the IT ministry warned that failure to comply with the apex court's order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action.
The scale of illegal gambling and betting in India is staggering, with 1.6 billion visits recorded between October and December 2024 across four analysed platforms -- Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet, and Battery Bet.
Stock exchanges have intensified vigil on Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) listings by mandating more comprehensive financial disclosures and enhanced monitoring of utilisation of issue proceeds from investment bankers, amid rising instances of dubious practices. Bourses - responsible for vetting initial public offering (IPO) documents and granting approvals to SMEs - have tightened norms in recent weeks with further measures planned for new filings to safeguard investor interests, sources said.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
The Supreme Court on Friday closed the proceedings in a habeas corpus petition filed by a man who had alleged that his two daughters were held captive inside the premises of spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation at Coimbatore.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have proposed the Finance Ministry their plan to raise Rs 54,800 crore through Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) and Tier-2 bonds in the current financial year (FY25), 37 per cent more than the Rs 39,880 crore raised in FY24
At a time when the role of corporate boards is once again under the scanner, independent directors on the Paytm Payments Bank board have indicated that red flags were raised over regulatory issues but they may have been late in doing so. "As independent directors, we asked questions and monitored responses to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many changes were made on compliances. "Obviously, in retrospect, it was not found to be enough," said one of the independent directors on the condition of anonymity.
Sebi on Wednesday approved measures to strengthen the framework for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), including having an independent valuation of their investments and introducing a comprehensive certification requirement for key investment teams of AIF managers. To improve governance and transparency to investors with respect to transactions involving conflict of interest, the regulator also approved that there should be a mandate for obtaining approval of 75 per cent of investors by value for buying or selling of investments potentially involving conflict of interest. The proposals pertaining to valuation of investments, dematerialisation of units, certification requirement for key employees of investment manager, transactions with associates and option to sell unliquidated investments to a new scheme of AIFs were approved by the Sebi's board on Wednesday.
'The increase in the limit for TDS on interest to Rs 1 lakh will ensure greater cash flow in the hands of senior citizens.'
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the finance ministry, highlighting concern over fund utilisation and fund accumulation by quick commerce companies and deep discounting of goods on their platforms. According to a recent letter seen by Business Standard, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) noted that its analysis indicated that approximately 80 per cent of these funds were directed toward customer acquisition strategies instead of creating cutting-edge innovations or sustainable growth models for the retail sector.
Following a review of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, certain issues -- including high non-performing asset levels, significantly high balances in escrow accounts, and non-compliance with net owned fund and disclosure requirements -- came to the RBI's attention.
The Karnataka government is planning to levy a fee of 1-2 per cent on aggregator platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Flipkart, Amazon, Uber, etc., a government source said on Friday, adding that an announcement in this regard could come following a sub-committee meeting next week. "There is a sub-committee meeting scheduled in the coming week.
Udaan, India's largest business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company, has received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its internal corporate restructuring plan, according to sources. By consolidating into a single entity, the restructuring will enhance Udaan's agility and pave the way for various financing options, including the ability to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in India by 2026, according to people familiar with the matter.
