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Expect SMS before power outages, supply alerts & technical glitches Irked by unscheduled power cuts in your area? Soon, you will be able to track power cuts, demand-supply shortfalls and other glitches through a mobile application and a web portal. You will also get SMS and flash message alerts about these. In a novel initiative, the Union power ministry plans to roll out a nationwide SMS-cum-alert messages service to give real-time data on power cuts. Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) would develop the broadcast message service along with a mobile application and web portal. To begin with, 30 discoms across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Assam, Haryana and Karnataka have agreed, in-principle, to join the programme. The portal would have database till the last-mile transformer level and would monitor locality-wise power supply position. The data would be provided and updated in real time by the respective discoms in the states and would be synced...

Infra companies keen on investment trusts, but want more clarity Infrastructures developers such as IRB, GMR and IL&FS are keen to launch their infrastructure investment trusts after Sebi announced guidelines last week, but may hold their plans for more clarity on disclosure and accounting norms. An infrastructure investment trust (InvITs) offers an opportunity to promoters of projects to sell their stake in completed projects to the trust, which in turn can raise longterm and tax-free funds from unit holders. Markets regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued the norms for public issue of units of these InvITs which are likely to pump in liquidity into an otherwise cash-strapped infrastructure sector. "We are keen to tap this route for fundraising but until we have more clarity on accounting standards, disclosure and prospectus norms, we cannot go ahead with it. We expect Sebi to come out with guidelines on that soon so that this fund raising option can...

Sebi wants to delist 4,000 companies this fiscal The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) wants to slash the number of listed companies by more than 4,000, clamp down on algorithmic trading abuse and possibly allow investors to buy mutual funds from Amazon and Flipkart as part of an ambitious agenda for 2016-17. Bulk of the companies Sebi chief UK Sinha wants to delist are on regional stock exchanges, where there's no trading. Sebi is also targeting about 1,200 companies listed on the BSE and NSE that have been suspended for more than seven years. Sinha on Wednesday said that as part of the whittling down, promoters would be asked to give investors an exit option at a fair price to be determined by a third party. "They (such companies) are a source of nuisance, a source of mischief," he said. The stock exchanges will appoint a valuer who will determine a fair price for the shares, after which promoters and management will have to buy out investors. Those who do...

Industrial relations law stuck over trade union norms The government’s plan for an industrial relations code will see further delay as the government and trade unions are at loggerheads over the proposed tightening of norms for forming unions. According to the industrial relations Bill, only those engaged or employed in an industry can become office bearers of a trade union in the formal sector and only two outsiders can become office bearers of a trade union in the unorganised sector. The Bill also calls for disqualification of a person as an office-bearer if he or she is an office-bearer in 10 other trade unions. Trade unions say such restrictions on the presence of outsiders in unions might be a tool for the government to restrict legitimate and elected members in unions in future. “Such restrictions in the name of reforms are to dilute the rights of workers,” said A K Padmanabhan, president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions. Another issue that has become the bone of contention is the...

Govt plans GST roll-out from April 2017 The Union government is confident it would be able to garner an adequate number of votes in the Rajya Sabha to ensure the passage of the Constitution amendment Bill on goods and services tax (GST) during the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Based on this, it has already begun working on a timeline that envisages roll out of the GST regime from April 2017. Top government sources told Business Standard that all political parties other than the Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have supported the GST Bill. AIADMK leaders are understood to have indicated that their members in the Rajya Sabha would not come in the way of the passage of the Constitution amendment Bill on GST. The understanding is that AIADMK members in the Upper House would abstain at the time of voting. This is expected to help the government as the Congress, whose strength is already reduced, would be further isolated, paving the way for th...

Modi govt meets expectations of India Inc on reforms With the Narendra Modi government completing two years in office, an overwhelming majority of the 50 chief executive officers (CEOs) surveyed by this newspaper said the government has met their expectations on economic reforms. The average rating was seven out of 10. In a nationwide survey conducted by this newspaper over the past three weeks, CEOs said a number of steps taken by the government - bringing down the corporate tax rate, clearing the retrospective tax mess and a new bankruptcy law - have made it easier to do business in India. They also appreciated initiatives like Digital India and the Swachh Bharat campaign. When asked about the positives of the government, CEOs cited better foreign relations, taming inflation and bringing down corruption in governance as top achievements. "I think there are perceptible signs of improvement in the ease of doing business. We have also seen some important policy changes, like the ...