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BOON FOR 4.5 CRORE SUBSCRIBERS - EPFO may Give Option to Raise Equity Exposure  Buoyed by higher returns on investment in equities, retirement fund body EPFO is mulling giving its subscribers an option to set aside a higher proportion of their provident fund money for this asset class.The proposal, if it goes through, will fetch higher returns to 4.5 crore EPFO subscribers in the current declining interest rate regime where returns on provident fund accumulations are bound to see a downward trend, much in sync with other small saving schemes. Currently, 15% of PF contribution is invested by EPFO in exchange-traded funds and 85% in debt instruments like government securities.This would require significant alteration in the investment pattern of EPFO notified by the finance ministry from time to time, a senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity, as the proposal is still at an initial stage. “Giving subscribers the choice of investment for their provident fund m

IBBI Relaxes Norms for Information Utilities The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has relaxed norms for information utilities, paving way for Indian companies listed on the stock exchanges to hold 100% of the paid-up equity share capital or total voting power rights in such firms.Information utilities are entities that receive and store verified financial information about borrowers and creditors. These will help establish defaults as well as verify claims expeditiously , facilitating resolution of cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 in a time bound manner.National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) is the first information utility registered in the country. IBBI has amended the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017 which also allows individuals to hold up to 51% of the paid-up equity share capital. This, however, has been limited to a period of three years. The new regulations also require that half of the directors of an information

Govt considering exemptions sought by Apple: DIPP secretary The Indian government is considering exemptions sought by Apple Inc. for setting up a unit to assemble iPhones, Ramesh Abhishek, department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) secretary, said on Thursday. Apple has asked federal government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly work in India. The Mint, New Delhi, 06th October 2017

Sebi panel for more curbs on royalty, info sharing The corporate governance panel of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has recommended more checks and balances on royalty and brand payments, related party transactions and sharing of information between the management and entities not part of the board.Among the key recommendations by the committee is one on the aspect of exchange of price sensitive information between companies and a  promoter no longer a part of the board or management The committee said a company could exchange unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) with its promoters or persons only after the entity enters in an agreement of information sharing with the designated person.These agreements would last at least one year and the company would reserve the right to terminate them. According to current norms, such information can be shared only between the board members.The information can be shared with any other person only ona “need to kno

GST COUNCIL MEETS TODAY The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its upcoming meeting on Friday, is likely to giveamajor relief to exporters as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).These segments have been affected the most by the new indirect tax regime, which has depressed the economic growth numbers in the first quarter of the current financial year because of destocking on account of uncertainties before the GST was introduced on July 1. The meeting comes after three most powerful persons in the current political dispensation —Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley —huddled together to discuss economic and political issues.Shah cut short his visit to Kerala to attend the meeting.Jaitley also skipped a World Economic Forum event in Delhi to attend the meeting. Growth declined to 5.7 per cent, the lowest in any quarter since the BJP came to power three years ago.The Council is likely to make

EPFO may Give Part Payout in MF-Like Units Dividend on equity investments may also be distributed among its 45 million subscribers Subscribers to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) may soon get part of their retirement payout in the form of units proportionate to the money the state-run pension fund invests in equities, a senior official said. EPFO invests up to 15% of its annual incremental corpus -pegged at ` . 1.4 lakh crore -in stocks through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to take advantage of higher returns from equities. The rest of the money is invested in government securities and other forms of debt. However, on retirement, the subscriber gets a consolidated sum based on interest rate decided by the EPFO's central board of trustees (CBT). If the proposal cited above is adopted, then part of this payout will be in the form of units, similar to that of a mutual fund, that can be encashed at time of exit. This would also mean that the dividend earned

DIPP approves three FDI proposals, including Wockhardt’s The commerce and industry ministry on Wednesday said it has approved three foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals, including that of Wockhardt Ltd and Coastal Local Area Bank. The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), under the commerce ministry, has also approved KPB Holdings’ proposal to issue shares to non-resident Indians (NRIs). While Coastal Local Area Bank got nod for issuance of shares to NRIs, Wockhardt Ltd got approval for issuance of employee stock option plan to NRIs. The Mint, New Delhi, 5th October 2017