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The capital markets regulator’s decision to exclude certain violations, including insider trading, from its consent mechanism has led to an unexpected surge in the   number of pending cases and a steep fall in incomes from out-of-court settlement processes.  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is now saddled with an uphill task of clearing 7,000 cases after the decision to exclude insider-trading, front-  running, violating open-offer norms, and fraudulent and unfair trade practices from the scope of consent mechanism, a window available to settle disputes, by paying a   fee. Cases outside the scope of the consent mechanism are mostly settled through orders either under adjudication proceedings or as per section 11 of the Sebi Act, which   typically includes prohibitive orders such as debarment from the market or certain securities. Two people with direct knowledge of the status of cases pending with the regulator confirmed this, adding t...

The government is holding consultations with the Reserve Bank of India to prepare guidelines for the proposed fund being set up to provide guarantee to lower-rated bonds issued by infrastructure companies and bolster their ratings. “We expect that the guidelines will be finalised shortly and the proposed special purpose vehicle (SPV) will soon commence operations. Already, in-principal approvals have come from all participants,“ said a finance ministry official. The proposed firm may be called National Infrastructure Credit Enhancement. The SPV will be set up by the state-run India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL), and the other contributors are Life Insurance Corp, General Insurance Corp, and State Bank of India, the country's largest bank. Power Finance Corp and Punjab National Bank will also participate in the structure, which will provide credit enhancement to infrastructure projects. According to RBI data, more than 85% of corporate bond issuance in India ...

The government has extended the startups intellectual property protection (SIPP) scheme foraperiod of three years till March 2020 to help budding entrepreneurs protect   their patents, trademark and designs. Running onapilot basis initially, the scheme was in force till March 31 this year. It is now being "extended further foraperiod of three years", the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion said. It is crucial for startups to protect their intellectual property rights (IPRs) in this highly competitive world, it added. The Business Standard New Delhi, 25th April 2017

About 40 million subscribers of the Employees´ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can now make down payment and pay the equated monthly instalments from their EPF   accounts to buy houses. The subscribers will be able to withdraw up to 90 per cent of their accumulations in their PF account to purchase homes. The EPFO has amended the scheme by insertinganew paragraph —68 BD —to the EPF Scheme, 1952 Over four crore subscribers of the retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can now make down payment and pay EMIs from their EPF accounts to   buy homes. The subscribers of the EPFO will be able to withdraw up to 90 per cent of their accumulations in their PF account for purchasing homes. The EPFO has amended the scheme by insertinganew paragraph —68 BD —to the Employees´ Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme, 1952, to enableasubscriber to make down payment to  buy homes and pay EMIs through the EPF account,asenior official said. The official sai...

The Bihar Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2017, was passed by the bicameral state legislature on Monday, making Bihar the second state after Telangana to adopt the   new tax reforms.   With the lone exception of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), all the political parties backed the Bills associated with the GST.  Bihar was also the second state in the country, after Assam, to rectify the constitutional amendment Bill.  The Bill, along with five others, was tabled in a special session of the state legislature on Monday.    Terming the tax reform as pro-poor and a development-booster, Commercial Tax Minister Vijayendra Yadav said  GST is the need of the hour. Crediting Chief Minister  Nitish Kumar for the smooth passage of the Bill, the minister said  Kumar had been a strong supporter of the new tax regime since the time it was conceptualised.    The Business Standard New Delhi, 25th April 2017