Category: Uncategorized
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Relaxation in Short Selling Norms
SEBI has introduced changes to the securities lending and borrowing (SLB) framework which may help uplift the market for short sales. The contract tenure for SLB has now been increased to 12 months. The Economic Times notes the rationale: SLB was introduced in April 2008, starting with a contract tenure of seven days. With hardly…
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Internal Audits for Credit Rating Agencies
The role of credit rating agencies has been the subject-matter of discussion ever since the sub-prime crisis erupted, and the industry has been subjected increased scrutiny and regulation. However, much of that has not affected India, and there has been no serious overhaul of the system regulating rating agencies in India. SEBI, in its recent…
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Rationalizing the Absence of an Indian SWF
Nearly two years ago, we had debated (here and here) the pros and cons of India’s establishment of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), when that topic was the flavour of the day. Since then, the global financial crisis and receding stock markets at least partially eclipsed the increasing appeal of SWFs. Nevertheless they continue to…
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MCA 2009
The previous post highlighted some of the key developments in corporate law and related aspects last year. Since then, I came across a year-end review published by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that details the progress it made last year. While there have been several steps towards easing the procedures for doing business, the…
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The Year That Was: A Round-up of 2009
The year began amid serious efforts by governments across the world to battle the fallout of the financial crisis. Although India escaped relatively unscathed from the direct effects of the crisis, it had experienced flight of capital from the country. While 2009 saw investors flocking back and aiding the recovery of the stock markets, India…
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Compensating Investors: IPO Irregularities
SEBI has recently published a report by the Justice D.P. Wadhwa Committee in connection with irregularities in various IPOs in 2005. The report itself was, however, submitted by the Committee to SEBI as early as December 2007. In those IPOs, certain applications were made by certain persons using fictitious demat and bank accounts in the…
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DIPP issues draft “Master Press Note”
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has issued a draft Press Note dated 24th December 2010 (“PN”) that is similar to the Master Circulars that we have on FEMA issued by the Reserve Bank of India. This 66 page Press Note is only a draft and comments are invited by 31st January 2010 after…
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The RTI and Income Tax Returns
The recent decision of the Central Information Commission in the Escorts case, has led to many raised eyebrows. In sum, the CIC held in Mr. Rakesh Gupta v. Public Information Officers (Decision No. CIC/LS/A/2009/000647/SG/5887, available here), that the information submitted to the Income Tax Department by a company cannot be personal information, and even personal…
