Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

04.06.2024

Insurance

Insurance claims relating to Cyclone Remal and subsequent heavy rains/floods

MANU/IRDA/0028/2024

1. The Cyclone Remal and subsequent heavy rains/floods (May 2024) have caused widespread loss to human lives, property (homes and businesses) and infrastructure in various states.

2. All Insurance Companies are advised to mobilise all resources to ensure immediate service response including outsourced functions such as Surveyors, Loss Adjustors and Investigators. Specifically:

a. Nominate a Senior Executive to act as the Nodal Claims Officer overseeing the claims response. The Nodal Officer appointment should be communicated to the Chief Secretary concerned of the State immediately.

b. Districts reporting large numbers of claims may be overseen by a designated District Claims Service Head.

c. The contact particulars of the State / District heads should be published on the Insurer website and necessary publicity may be also given in the press.

d. All Insurers should also activate, publish 24x7 helplines to respond / assist Claimants and launch extensive awareness campaign duly highlighting the measures taken.

e. Special Claims Desks at District level with adequate delegated Claims Settlement Authorities are recommended to be set up for affected areas to facilitate speedy processing of claims and settlements including release of on- account interim payments to assist early reinstatement of property/ businesses.

f. It needs to be ensured that all claims are surveyed immediately and claim payments/ on account payments are disbursed at the earliest.

g. Adequate number of Surveyors and Loss Adjustors be immediately engaged and if needed, resources from neighbouring States may be also deployed.

h. Insurers shall encourage Policyholders to use electronic communication wherever possible for correspondence while initiating the claim and filing all the relevant documents. Efforts shall be made to ensure that digital processes are resorted to the extent possible for assessment of claims.

i. Insurers are also expected to review and streamline processing of claims by ensuring only such documentation necessary to substantiate claim quantum, to ensure expeditious final settlement.

j. With regard to claims involving loss of life, where difficulty is experienced in obtaining a death certificate due to non-recovery of body etc., if the details of the Insured matches with the details of the deceased published by State/Central Government or appropriate/Govt. authorities., the claim may be considered without insisting for death certificate.

3. All Insurers (General, Life and Standalone Health Insurers) are advised to submit information related to the Cyclone/flood claims to the IRDAI in the format attached on a weekly basis at nl-catastrophe@irdai.gov.in by General and Health Insurers and at life@irdai.gov.in by Life Insurers.

Tags : Claims Cyclone Remal Loss

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Press Information Bureau

04.06.2024

MRTP/ Competition Laws

CCI approves combination involving acquisition by IRB Infrastructure Trust in Meerut Budaun Expressway Limited

MANU/PIBU/0415/2024

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed combination involving acquisition by IRB Infrastructure Trust in Meerut Budaun Expressway Limited.

Anahera Investment Pte. Ltd. (Anahera), Bricklayers Investment Pte. Ltd. (Bricklayers), Chiswick Investment Pte. Ltd. (Chiswick), Stretford End Investment Pte. Ltd. (Stretford), and Dagenham Investment Pte. Ltd. (Dagenham), are collectively referred to as "GIC Unitholders". GIC Unitholders are wholly-owned subsidiaries of GIC Infra Holdings Pte. Ltd. (GIC Infra) which, in turn, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GIC (Ventures) Pte. Ltd. (GIC Ventures). Each of the GIC Unitholders are special purpose vehicles organized as a private limited company in Singapore that is a part of a group of investment holding companies managed by GIC Special Investments Private Limited (GICSI) (GIC Group).

IRB Infrastructure Trust (InvIT) is a private trust registered as an infrastructure investment trust with the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014. The units of the InvIT are listed on the National Stock Exchange. InvIT forms a part of each of IRB and GIC Group. The InvIT holds a portfolio of toll road assets, operated and maintained pursuant to concessions awarded by the National Highways Authority of India and certain state concessioning authorities.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (IRB), the sponsor and the project manager of the InvIT, is engaged in construction works in engineering, procurement and construction contracts, and providing operation and maintenance services, across three modes of Roads and Highways concessions it operates: (a) Build, Operate, and Transfer, (b) Hybrid Annuity Model; and (c) Toll-Operate- Transfer. The equity shares of IRB are listed on the BSE Limited and the NSE.

Meerut Budaun Expressway Limited (MBEL) is a special purpose vehicle which has been incorporated for the development of package I of the Ganga Expressway, i.e., the project involving building, operation and transfer of a six-lane greenfield expressway corridor of 129.7 km between Meerut and Budaun in Uttar Pradesh.

By way of the proposed transaction, the Acquirers, inter alia, contemplate the following:

a. Step 1: Proposed subscription of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of MBEL by each of IRB and Anahera, respectively (NCD Subscription). In the event that the Parties are unable to complete the NCD Subscription for any reason, the InvIT proposes to subscribe to such NCDs of MBEL (Alternate InvIT NCD Subscription).

b. Step 2: Proposed fresh issuance of units by the InvIT to its existing unitholders (i.e., each of IRB and one or more of the GIC Unitholders in the InvIT) (Trust Unit Issue).

c. Step 3: Proposed acquisition of equity shares of MBEL and NCDs of MBEL by the InvIT (MBEL Acquisition). (Proposed Combination).

Tags : Acquisition ApprovalIRB Infrastructure

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Reserve Bank of India

04.06.2024

Banking

Reserve Bank releases deposits with Scheduled Commercial Banks - March 2024

MANU/RPRL/0372/2024

The Reserve Bank released the web publication 'Deposits with Scheduled Commercial Banks2 - March 20243' on its 'Database on Indian Economy' portal.

Scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) {including regional rural banks (RRBs)} report branch-wise data on type of deposits (current, savings and term), its institutional sector wise ownership, age wise distribution of deposits pertaining to individuals, maturity pattern of term deposits as well as number of employees in the annual 'Basic Statistical Return' (BSR) - 2 return. These data are released at disaggregated level (viz., type of deposits, population groups5, bank groups, states, districts, centres, interest rate ranges, size, original and residual maturity).

Highlights:

Bank deposits increased (y-o-y) by 13.0 per cent, net of merger (13.5 per cent including the impact of merger) during 2023-24 as compared to 10.2 per cent growth in the previous year; deposits of all population groups (viz., rural, semi-urban, urban and metropolitan) accelerated in the latest year.

Household sector6 remained the largest group of depositors with 61.1 per cent share; female depositors within this sector held 20.7 per cent of total deposits of SCBs in March 2024.

More attractive return resulted in very high share (78.5 per cent) of incremental deposits accruing under term deposits during 2023-24; term deposits bearing six per cent and above interest rate accounted for 86.6 per cent of total term deposits (outstanding) in March 2024 as compared with 61.1 per cent share one year ago and 14.4 per cent share two years ago.

Current, savings and term deposits accounted for 9.8 per cent, 30.8 per cent and 59.4 per cent, respectively, of total deposits in March 2024.

During 2023-24, 79.1 per cent of the rise in term deposits were mobilised in the maturity bucket of one to three years; this category accounted for nearly two thirds of outstanding term deposits at year-end.

Tags : Deposits Release Commercial bank

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Ministry of Commerce and Industry

03.06.2024

Customs

Relaxation in submission of 'Bill of Export' as evidence of export obligation discharge for supplies made to SEZ units in case of Advance Authorisation

MANU/DGFT/0081/2024

1. Para 4.21 (iv) of FTP specifies that the authorisation holder needs to file Bill of Export for export to SEZ unit/developer/co-developer in accordance with the procedures given in SEZ Rules. As per Para 4.24 (b) of FTP the above Para 4.21 shall apply to DFIA also.

2. In line with above FTP provision, in case of supplies made to SEZ units under Advance Authorisation/DFIA, Sl. No.2(a)(ii) of 'Guidelines for Applicants' in ANF-4F (Application for Redemption) and Sl. No.5(b) of 'Guidelines for Applicants' in ANF-4G (Application for Transferable DFIA) prescribe the following documents:

"...EP copy of the shipping bill(s) containing details of shipment effected or bill of export in case of export to SEZ..."

3. This Directorate is in receipt of representations from Industry highlighting hardships to Exporters in complying with this requirement. This issue has been examined. In exercise of powers vested with the Competent Authority in terms of Para 2.59 of the FTP, it has been decided to relax this requirement of submission of 'Bill of Export' in case of exports made to SEZ unit/developer /co-developer under Advance Authorisation/DFIA, for all such supplies made prior to 01.07.2017.

4. Accordingly, for the purpose of fulfillment of export obligation under Advance Authorizations/DFIA Schemes, in case of supplies made to SEZ unit/developer/co-developer prior to 01.07.2017, the exporter may submit the following corroborative evidence in lieu of 'Bill of Exports':

a. ARE-1 (showing the Advance Authorisation No./DFIA file No. and) duly attested by jurisdictional Central Excise/GST Authorities of AA holder/DFIA Exporter

b. Evidence of receipt of supplies by the recipient in SEZ

c. Evidence of payment made by the SEZ unit to the AA/DFIA exporter as per Para 4.21 of FTP.

5. This Policy Circular is issued with the approval of DGFT.

Tags : Relaxation Provision Bill of Export

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Securities and Exchange Board of India

03.06.2024

Capital Market

Securities and Exchange Board of India launched Saa?thi 2.0 mobile application

MANU/SPRL/0009/2024

The updated "Saa₹ thi" app introduces a user-friendly interface with comprehensive tools aimed at simplifying complex financial concepts. It includes financial calculators, and has modules that introduce and explain KYC procedures, mutual funds, ETFs, buying and selling shares on stock exchanges, investor grievances redressal mechanism, and the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. Additionally, the app features a range of videos designed to assist investors in their personal finance planning.

During the launch, Shri Ananth Narayan G, Whole Time Member, said, "In today's era, where social media sometimes provides biased or misleading information, there is a significant need for an unbiased, objective, and trusted source of investment information. The Saa₹thi app serves this purpose by empowering investors with reliable and essential insights into the securities market. This tool can be especially useful for young investors who are at the beginning of their financial journey."

He added, "The content within the app is dynamic, allowing us to keep pace with the rapidly evolving market conditions. We actively seek public suggestions to further refine and enhance the Saa ₹ thi app, ensuring it continues to serve our investors."

The "Saa₹thi" app is now available for download on Google Play Store and the iOS App Store.

Tags : Saa?thi Mobile application Launch

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Press Information Bureau

03.06.2024

Civil

Supreme Court mandates self-declaration by advertisers/ advertising agencies before releasing advertisements

MANU/PIBU/0412/2024

The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in Writ Petition Civil No. 645/2022-IMA &Anr. Vs. UOI &Ors. has issued directive in its Order dated 07.05.2024, that all advertisers/ Advertising Agencies must submit a 'Self-Declaration Certificate' before publishing or broadcasting any advertisement. Following the Hon'ble Supreme Court's directive, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has introduced a new feature on the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for TV and Radio Advertisements and on Press Council of India's portal for Print and Digital/Internet Advertisements. The certificate, signed by an authorized representative of the advertiser/advertising agency, needs to be submitted through these portals.

The portal will be activated on 4th June, 2024. The Self- Declaration Certificate is required to be obtained by all advertisers and advertising agencies for all new advertisements that will be issued/telecast/aired/published on or after 18th June, 2024. A buffer period of two weeks has been kept for providing sufficient time to all stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the process of self- certification. Ongoing advertisements do not require the self-certification currently.

The self-declaration certificate is to certify that the advertisement (i) does not contain misleading claims, and (ii) complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines, including those stipulated in Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of Press Council of India. Advertiser must provide proof of uploading the Self-Declaration Certificate to the relevant broadcaster, printer, publisher, or electronic media platform for their records. As per the Hon'ble Supreme Court's directive, no advertisement will be permitted to run on television, print media, or the internet without a valid Self-Declaration Certificate.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection, and responsible advertising practices. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting urges all advertisers, broadcasters and publishers to adhere to this directive diligently.

Tags : Self-Declaration Agencies Advertisements

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