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Price Waterhouse banned from audit for 2 years The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) late on Wednesday banned Price Waterhouse (PW) from providing audit services to listed companies and market intermediaries for two years in the Satyam fraud case. Two PW partners have been banned for three years. The regulator also imposed a disgorgement of Rs 130.9 million on Price Waterhouse, and two of its chartered accountants —S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri.The three entities also have to pay 12 per cent interest on the disgorgement amount since January 7, 2009, in 45 days from the date of the order. Further, it said that no listed company or intermediary registered with Sebi to be engaged with any audit firm associated with the PW network for issuing any certificate with respect to compliance of statutory obligations which Sebi is competent to administer and enforce, under various laws for a period of two years. These entities have been charged under Sebi´s prohibitio...

Govt relaxes FDI norms for AI, retail Foreign Airlines can buy up to 49% stake in Air India & 100% FDI for single-brand retail via automatic route Just days ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to showcase India´s potential before global chief executive officers and political leaders, the Union Cabinet has relaxed rules for attracting foreign investments across sectors such as aviation, retail, and construction. This is the fourth time in the past three years that the government is tweaking the foreign direct investment (FDI) rulebook.In a significant step, the Cabinet on Wednesday permitted FDI in stateowned carrier Air India, which is up for disinvestment.Foreign airlines or any other foreign investor can now put in up to 49 per cent in Air India, thereby making it easier for the government to divest its holding in the airline. The government is expected to invite expression of interest for Air India after the Union Budget...

World Bank pegs India´s GDP growth higher than FY18 Advance Estimates The World Bank has pegged India´s economic growth at 6.7 per cent in 201718, slightly higher than 6.5 per cent estimated by the statistics office.For the next financial year, the growth would accelerate to 7.3 per cent, overtaking China´s at 6.4 per cent in 2018, the multilateral agency said. In its 2018 Global Economics Prospect, the World Bank projected India´s economic growth to be 7.5 per cent in the two years each after 201819. In these two years, China´s growth rate will drop to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.The Central Statistics Office on Friday came out with Advance Estimates which showed that India´s gross domestic product (GDP) growth would fall to 6.5 per cent in 201718, the lowest in the Modi government´s first four years. But, the World Bank said India was estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 201718, despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST). In...

Sebi team working on relaxation for IBC firms Easing of delisting rules and exemption from public shareholding norms among key proposals Market regulator Sebi has formed a team to look into securities law changes, after advent of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The team will collect inputs from all stakeholders and examine feasible proposals. The final report is expected by March. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has formed a team to look into securities law changes, after advent of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The team will collect inputs from stakeholders and examine feasibility of proposals. Sources said doing away with the tedious reverse book building process (RBB) for delisting of IBC companies, exemption from minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms and relaxation from some compliance requirements will be among the recommendations considered. The final report is expected by March. The move comes after Sebi, the markets regulator, rece...

FDI relaxation for real estate brokerages to boost investment: Experts The government's decision to allow 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under automatic route in the real-estate broking services is expected to boost the segment as this would enable international brokerage companies to invest in Indian counterparts and also set up their own subsidiaries here. The move, according to experts, would help in formalizing the largely unorganized segment, create more jobs and offer professional services to property buyers."The Cabinet, through an amendment to the FDI policy has clarified that Real Estate broking services would not be classified as Real Estate business. Accordingly, companies undertaking such activities are eligible for 100% FDI under automatic route. This is a welcome clarification especially given the number of startups in this space offering innovative broking products," said Bhairav Dalal, Partner - Real Estate Tax, PwC India. According to ANAR...