Blog Posts
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More Controversy over Forex Derivatives
[Posted by V. Niranjan] Over the past two years, forex derivatives have generated substantial legal controversy in India, perhaps because of the relatively recent rise in the use of these instruments in India. We have discussed the challenge to the legality of derivatives as wagering agreements, their regulation, taxability and other related issues. The latest…
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SEBI’s Order on ULIPs: A Misfired Shot? – Part II
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (This is in continuation of Abhishek Tripathi’s previous post, and it examines the regulation of ULIPs in the backdrop of the reasoning adopted by courts in the Commonwealth) Insurance Act regulates companies engaged in any class of insurance business, and requires such companies to register themselves with the IRDA prior to…
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SEBI’s Order on ULIPs: A Misfired Shot? – Part I
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The ULIP controversy has stirred an intense debate on the nature of instrument that it represents and consequently as to which regulator has purview over it. Jayant Thakur has previously analyzed the outcome of SEBI’s order in detail (here and here). Going by the developments following SEBI’s order, the legal issues…
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FDI Policy – Static or Dynamic?
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Earlier this month, we had briefly discussed the Consolidated FDI Policy issued by the Government. The policy, which is meant to be exhaustive, would be subject to review every six months, with the first review due on September 30, 2010. The Business Standard has an incisive editorial about certain intervening events…
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SEBI suspends its ULIPs order – BUT ONLY PARTLY!
[Posted by Jayant Thakur] See my immediately preceding post on SEBI’s order prohibiting specified insurance companies essentially from (i) starting new ULIP schemes and raising monies thereon and (ii) accepting further monies from existing ULIP schemes (and of course from doing incidental acts like issuing offer documents, etc.). Readers, I am sure, are too well…
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SEC’s Restrictions on Short Selling in Melting Scrip
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The following post has been contributed by Ravichandra S. Hegde of J. Sagar Associates) The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in February 2010 has amended Rule 201 of the SHO Regulations[1] framed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) restricting abusive short sale in the falling scrip thereby retaining investor…
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SEBI bans ULIPs – but what about other similar “insurance” products?
[Posted by Jayant Thakur] SEBI has rightly banned ULIPs by its recent Order. It was also the next logical and even bold step to deal with this product that is aggressively and misleadingly sold by several unscrupulous agents under the head-buried-firmly-in-sand attitude of several insurance companies. But what about other products including endowment policies which…
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NLSIR Corporate Law and Corporate Governance Symposium: April 10 and 11, 2010
[Posted by V. Niranjan] The NLSIR Symposium, scheduled for 10 and 11 April at the NLS campus in Bangalore, will feature several important topics that we have discussed on the blog, including corporate governance, independent directors, tax planning, tax avoidance and adjudication of company disputes. The schedule for the symposium is indicated below. Readers interested…
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A Rather Elusive Form of the Statutory Corporation
[Posted by V. Niranjan] Any discussion of the difference between a company and a statutory corporation seems, at first sight, unnecessary. It is, after all, settled law that a statutory corporation is an entity created by a statute, while a company is an entity that is governed by the provisions of a statute. This distinction,…