Securities and Exchange Board of India

09.12.2021

Capital Market

Transaction in Corporate Bonds through Request for Quote platform by Portfolio Management Services

MANU/SIPM/0018/2021

1. In order to enhance transparency pertaining to debt investments by Portfolio Management Services (PMS) in Corporate Bonds (CBs) and to increase liquidity on exchange platform, it is decided as under:

i. On a monthly basis, PMS shall undertake at least 10% of their total secondary market trades by value in CBs in that month by placing/seeking quotes through one to-one (OTO) or one-to-many (OTM) mode on the Request for Quote platform of stock exchanges (RFQ).

ii. In order to ensure compliance with the abovementioned 10 percent requirement, PMS shall consider the trades executed by value through OTO or OTM mode of RFQ with respect to the total secondary market trades in CBs, during the current month and immediate preceding two months on a rolling basis.

iii. All transactions in CBs wherein PMS is on both sides of the trade shall be executed through RFQ in OTO mode. However, any transaction entered by PMS in CBs in OTM mode which gets executed with another PMS, shall be counted in OTM mode.

iv. PMS are permitted to accept the Contract Note from the stock brokers for transactions carried out in OTO and OTM modes of RFQ.

2. The above shall come into force with effect from April 1, 2022. Accordingly, from the month of April 2022, PMS shall ensure that at least 10% (by value) of their secondary market trades in CBs in current month and immediate preceding two months (i.e. February 2022, March 2022 and April 2022) are executed by placing / seeking quotes through OTO or OTM mode of RFQ. Further, for the month of May 2022, the secondary market trades executed in CBs in the months of March 2022, April 2022 and May 2022 shall be considered for the purpose of aforesaid calculation.

3. This circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.

Tags : Transaction Corporate Bonds Management Services

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Press Information Bureau

09.12.2021

Commercial

Promotion of MSMES

MANU/PIBU/4899/2021

As informed by Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), as part of the 'Start-up India' initiatives the Government has provisioned the following financial assistance and incentives for start-ups across the country including in the state of Tamilnadu:

i. Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)

ii. Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) Scheme

iii. Ease of Procurement

iv. Income Tax Exemption for 3 years

v. Exemption for the Purpose Of Clause (VII)(b) of Sub-section (2) of Section 56 of the Act

vi. National Start-up Awards

As informed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), SIDBI has entered into a collaboration with Google India Private Limited (GIPL) on November 18, 2021, for having a pilot social impact lending programme with a corpus of approx. Rs. 110 crore (equivalent to USD $15 million) targeted at Micro enterprises with a turnover upto Rs. 5.00 crore.

As informed by SIDBI, the following programmes were launched by SIDBI to help and revive the MSME sector across the country including the State of Tamil nadu:

Special Liquidity Facility for MSMEs:- In April 2020, RBI provided special refinance facilities for a total amount of Rs. 50,000 crore to NABARD, SIDBI and NHB to enable them to meet sectoral credit needs, of which SIDBI received Rs. 15,000 crore to continue lending to MSMEs.

In April 2021, another tranche of Rs. 15,000 crore was granted by RBI to meet the funding requirements of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in FY 2022.

Initiatives under Direct Finance: - Direct Lending operations of the Bank primarily focuses on ensuring uninterrupted flow of credit to MSMEs, especially to those engaged in fighting the pandemic.

Cluster Development: - The Bank has launched SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF) of Rs. 6,990 crore to support the State Governments / State Government sponsored Organizations to attend to cluster development from both soft and hard infrastructure.

Financing micro-entrepreneurs:- The b PRAYAAS Initiative of the Bank is aimed to facilitate access to low-cost finance for micro-entrepreneurs/ micro-enterprises, in the "Missing Middle Segment" by providing loans ranging from Rs. 0.50 lakh to Rs. 5.00 lakh at a cheaper rate through Partner Institutions.

Virtual Ecosystem:- The Udyamimitra Portal of the Bank is a universal digital platform that aims to provide end-to-end solutions for not only credit delivery, but also a host of credit-plus services by way of handholding support to the MSMEs.

Implementing PMSVA Nidhi:- The Scheme was announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India to facilitate working capital loan up to Rs. 10,000 to provide financial aid to Street vendors during the situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital Lending to MSMEs:- PSBLoansin59minutes is the first contact less lending platform for MSMEs developed under consortium of PSBs led by SIDBI.

Swavalamban Connect Kendra (SCKs):- The Bank under its umbrella program "Mission Swavalamban" has initiated setting up of 100 SCKs in 100 districts across 5 states viz., U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha & Telangana.

Swavalamban Crisis Responsive Fund (SCRF):- The Bank has set up SCRF with the support of FCDO, Govt. of United Kingdom, to support free on boarding of MSMEs on the TReDS platform.

The Ministry of MSME implements various schemes and programmes for the growth and development of MSME Sector in the country including Tamil Nadu. These schemes and programmes include Prime Minister's Employment Generation programme (PMEGP), Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises, Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP).

Tags : Promotion MSMES Incentives

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Reserve Bank of India

07.12.2021

Banking

Reserve Bank of India retains the Advisory Committee of Reliance Capital Ltd.

MANU/RPRL/0221/2021

It may be recalled that, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 45-IE (5) (a) of the RBI Act, 1934, the Reserve Bank had, on November 30, 2021, constituted a three-member Advisory Committee to assist Shri Nageswara Rao Y, Administrator of Reliance Capital Ltd. (RCL) in discharge of his duties. The members of the Committee are:

a. Shri Sanjeev Nautiyal, ex-DMD, State Bank of India

b. Shri Srinivasan Varadarajan, ex-DMD, Axis Bank

c. Shri Praveen P Kadle, ex-MD & CEO, Tata Capital Limited

Upon admission of the petition for insolvency resolution process by the Mumbai Bench of the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal in respect of RCL vide order dated December 06, 2021, the Reserve Bank has decided that the above mentioned three-member Committee shall continue as the Advisory Committee under Rule 5 (c) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2019. The Advisory Committee shall advise the Administrator in the operations of RCL during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

Tags : Retaining Advisory Committee

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Press Information Bureau

07.12.2021

Civil

Draft Notaries (Amendment) Bill issued for stakeholders' consultation

MANU/PIBU/4807/2021

To give opportunity to young eligible legal practitioners aspiring to serve as Notary Public, the draft Bill proposes to restrict the renewal of certificates of practice of Notaries up to two terms.

The Notaries Act, 1952 was enacted by the Parliament to regulate the profession of Notaries. The provisions of the Notaries Act, 1952 and Rules framed thereunder empower the Central Government as well as State Governments to appoint Notaries who possess the prescribed qualifications.

In terms of existing provisions of the Notaries Act, 1952 and Rules framed thereunder, the number of terms of renewal of certificates of practice of a Notary is unrestricted after the initial appointment. There are fixed number of Notaries who are appointed by the Central as well as State Governments as reflected in the Schedule to the Notaries Rules, 1956. Further, these Notaries are appointed in a particular area, keeping in view the commercial importance and requirement of Notaries in that particular area, to avoid flooding of Notaries.

It is felt that an opportunity needs to be given to young eligible legal practitioners who are aspiring to serve as Notary Public which may help them to build up their professional excellence by which they can provide legal services in a more effective manner.

In view of the above, it is proposed to restrict the overall term of Notaries for a period upto fifteen years (initial term of five years and two renewal terms of five years each) by curtailing renewals of unlimited terms, thus providing an opportunity for young legal professionals to serve as a Notary. The same would also lead to better development and regulation of notarial work undertaken by Notaries Public and facilitate needs of the profession.

In order to protect the interests of Notaries and to avoid any vacuum, it is proposed that those applications received for successive renewal of certificates of practice for third or more terms and whose validity expires prior to coming into force of the Notaries (Amendment) Act, 2021 will be considered for another term. Further, the certificates of practice of Notaries already renewed and issued prior to coming into force of the Notaries (Amendment) Act, 2021 shall be valid till expiry of such renewal term.

Under Section 10 of the Notaries Act, 1952, the appropriate Government is empowered to remove the name of a Notary Public from the Register of Notaries maintained by it, if a Notary has been found upon inquiry in the prescribed manner, to be guilty of such professional or other misconduct as in the opinion of the Government renders him unfit to practice as Notary. However, there is no provision in the Notaries Act for suspending the certificate of practice of Notary against whom a complaint has been received or otherwise till completion of inquiry initiated against him. Consequently, in some cases, despite complaint of prima facie gross misconduct, the notary continues to practice during pendency of inquiry proceedings.

It is therefore proposed to add provisions in the Notaries Act, 1952 empowering the appropriate Government for suspension of certificate of practice of Notary Public against whom a complaint has been received or otherwise, for professional misconduct for such period as deemed appropriate for conduct of inquiry.

It is felt that with the advent of Digitization, the records of Notary Public be also digitized and preserved in digital form, as may be prescribed under the Rules, in order to prevent misconduct in respect of notarization and safeguard the interests of general public. This will help to avoid any fraud, deceit, tampering of records and back-dating of notarization, etc. For the aforesaid purpose, provisions have also been proposed for digitization and automation of notarial work undertaken by the Notaries.

In order to achieve the said objective, it is proposed to amend the Notaries Act, 1952 The main features of the proposed Bill may be briefly summarized as under:

The draft Bill proposes to restrict the renewal of certificates of practice of Notaries up to two terms, i.e., original term of five years and two renewal terms of five years each;

Power to suspend the certificate of practice in cases of professional misconduct by the appropriate government for conduct of inquiry;

Digitization of notarial work undertaken by Notaries.

As a part of pre-legislative consultation process, a copy of the aforesaid Draft Bill has been uploaded on the website of the Department of Legal Affairs (https://legalaffairs.gov.in/) for comments/views, latest by 15.12.2021.

Tags : Draft Notaries Bill Consultation

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Ministry of Finance 

07.12.2021

Insurance

Jeevan Akshay-VII Plan of the Life Insurance Corporation of India specified as the annuity plan of the Life Insurance Corporation of India

MANU/CBDT/0147/2021

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (xii) of sub-section (2) of Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby specifies the Jeevan Akshay-VII Plan of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, as filed by that Corporation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, as the annuity plan of the Life Insurance Corporation of India for the purposes of the said clause for the assessment year 2021-22 and subsequent years.

Tags : Plan Annuity plan Life Insurance

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Ministry of Finance 

06.12.2021

Goods and Services Tax

Imposition of anti-dumping duty on specified goods at the specified rate

MANU/CUSA/0068/2021

1. Whereas in the matter of 'Certain Flat Rolled Products of Aluminium' (hereinafter referred to as the subject goods) falling under chapter heading 7606 or 7607 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Tariff Act), originating in, or exported from People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the subject country), and imported into India, the designated authority in its final findings vide notification number 6/27/2020-DGTR, dated the 7th September, 2021, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 7th September, 2021, has come to the conclusion that the-

(i) the dumping margin for the subject goods from the subject country is positive and significant;

(ii) domestic industry has suffered material injury and the injury margin is positive;

(iii) the material injury suffered by the domestic industry has been caused by the dumped imports,

and has recommended imposition of an anti-dumping duty on the imports of subject goods, originating in, or exported from the subject country and imported into India, in order to remove injury to the domestic industry.

2. The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette, and shall be payable in Indian currency.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this notification, rate of exchange applicable for the purposes of calculation of such anti-dumping duty shall be the rate which is specified in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), issued from time to time, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and the relevant date for the determination of the rate of exchange shall be the date of presentation of the bill of entry under section 46 of the said Act.

Tags : Imposition Anti-dumping duty Specified goods

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