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Regulator names 235 firms, asks investors not to be lured by their schemes The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) on Monday warned unlisted companies and their directors who fraudulently raised money and asked investors not to be lured by their schemes. The market regulator has listed out 235 unlisted companies that have lured retail investors by issuing securities such as non- convertible debentures/ non- convertible preference shares in the garb of private placement. Orders against these firms were passed between April 2003 and May 2016. “ Companies are cautioned not to issue securities to public without complying with provisions of law. Failing which Sebi will be constraint to take stringent action against such companies and their directors,” Sebi noted. The companies against which action has been taken include Jeevan Suraksha Real Estate, Roofers Infra Projects, Shankalp Food and Beverages, Silicon Projects, Pious Agro Industries, Ravi Kiran Realty, Angela Agrotec...

The Delhi government on Monday notified the new building by-laws, giving the final nod to simplify the process of obtaining building plan certificates. With the new online application form, one will no longer have to run from one government agency to another to get approval. One needs to just fill a single online, integrated form. The new by-laws will decrease the time taken by the authorities to sanction the building plans. Now, the time limit for sanctioning a building plan is 60 days. This will come down to 30 days with the new laws. “The process is being simplified. An applicant will just have to fill one centralized online form. The application would automatically be forwarded to the agencies such as MCD, Delhi Jal Board, fire department, etc. The building certificate will be issued in 30 days,” said PWD minister Satyendar Jain. Citizens can also make single online application to concerned urban local body instead of approaching multiple agencies thereby reducing human i...

The commerce & industry ministry is working on a structured programme, with an aim to raise awareness about intellectual property rights ( IPRs) in schools and industry, and society, in general. The department of industrial policy & promotion, under the ministry, recently released the new national IPR policy with seven objectives, including creation of public awareness about economic. Business Standard New Delhi,07th June 2016

The statistics department will shortly release the supply use table ( SUT) to clear GDP data discrepancies, blamed for pushing up economic growth to close to eight per cent in the March quarter of 2015- 16, by this month- end. However, the provisional estimates of GDP data, like the one which was released in May for 2015- 16, would always show discrepancies in the expenditure side of the data. “ There are ways to eliminate discrepancies as well. We are working on it. We will probably release SUT once it is finalised,” Chief Statistician TCA Anant said. The supply use tables are like input output matrix but cover larger data than the latter. It would cover both services as well as manufacturing, unlike input output matrix which cover only factory production. The supply table describes the supply of goods and services, which are either produced in the domestic industry or imported. The use table shows where and how goods and services are used in the economy. Sources said a couple o...

Noting that Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s ( EPFO) investments in exchange traded funds ( ETFs) have given good returns during March and April this year, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said these investments would be increased and the quantum for the coming year would be decided soon. Observing that good investments should dispel apprehensions about EPFO funds being invested in ETFs, he said the labour ministry would deliberate on it after his return from the International Labour Conference in Geneva, three days from today. The corpus fund available with EPFO presently is Rs.7,53,000 crore. Replying to a query, he expressed hope the EPF interest rate of 8.8 per cent ( for 2015- 16) would not come down next year. Business Standard New Delhi, 07th June 2016

India jumped 13 positions and was placed second in retail potential in the 2016 Global Retail Development Index ( GRDI), released by AT Kearney, a Chicago- based consultancy. The country was ranked 15 in the previous year. The report profiled 30 developing countries. However, a Geofin Comtrade spokesperson said, “ GCL is not aware of the proposed forensic audit. It has not received such intimation. Since GCL did not have any code modifications whatsoever in its back- office, besides all records standing reconciled with exchange trade files and neither having acted as a C& F agent, it is not possible for GCL to thereby comment on unsubstantiated news. GCL had filed a summary suit at the Bombay High Court against NSEL in July 2015, for its claim of margin and membership deposits. In that suit too, GCL relied upon the exchange acknowledged obligations.” Business Standard has reviewed a copy of Sebi’s letter to auditors. It has asked them to audit brokerages with respect to a sle...

There is near unanimity that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) won’t touch its key policy rate on Tuesday. However, the market would still examine the central bank’s guidance on a few key issues, including any hint of further accommodation at a time when the US Federal Reserve is set to tighten its monetary policy further and Britain is to decide whether it would be a good idea to stick with the European Union. All the 10 economis  polled by Business Standard last week expected RBI to keep its policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. Even as not expected in the policy statement, the market would still want to get a hint of whether RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan would get a second term in the central bank. If not clarified, the post- policy press conference and the analysts call would be monitored closely, say bond and currency market participants. Rupee has been choppy in the past few weeks after news about powerful leaders in the government rooting for Rajan’s ouster started flo...