New Delhi, July 1
Industry body FICCI has welcomed the notification of the eagerly awaited Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

FICCI said this is a positive step in the overall implementation of the Companies Act, 2013.

“We are pleased to note that the rules are in sync with realities of our economy and its future direction through market-led growth. It is progressive that the application of the Rules is both size and product based. There is of course room for higher thresholds as many small companies will be captured in a growing economy. FICCI believes the government at some stage will find value in doing so,” said Sidharth Birla, president, FICCI.

Under the notified rules, companies engaged in sectors such as healthcare, education and construction will now have to follow a strict audit regime for their expenses and the cost of products and services provided by them.

The new cost audit rules would also apply to a range of other businesses such as drugs and pharma, medical devices, telecom services, power, roads and infrastructure, sugar, fertilisers, petro products, defence products and services, railways, aeronautical services, steel, edible oil, metals and minerals, as also multi-product or multi-service companies.

Within the healthcare space, the new rules would apply to companies engaged in running hospitals, diagnostic centres, clinical centres or test laboratories, among others. The new rules, which came into effect yesterday as part of the new Companies Act, would also apply to companies engaged in education services, other than services falling under philanthropy or as part of social spending without forming part of any business.

Firms engaged in one specific product or service would have to follow the audit rules in case their networth is Rs 150 crore or more or have a turnover of Rs 25 crore or more.

New Delhi, July 1
India and the World Bank today signed a loan agreement of $500 million for National Highways Inter-connectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP).

The objective of the project is to improve the national highway network connectivity to less-developed states and enhance institutional capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to better manage the highway network.

New Delhi, July 1
Orkut, Google’s first social networking site, will cease to exist after September, with the internet giant deciding to shut down the service launched 10 years ago.

Google said it will shut down Orkut, which is very popular in India and Brazil, on September 30. The service, however, did not do so well in other parts of the world and lost sheen to rivals like Facebook.

Orkut, which popularised posts or “scraps” between friends, did not disclose the number of users on the website.

However, according to its website about 50.6% of its users were from Brazil. Another 20.44% came from India, while the US and Pakistan accounted for 17.78% and 0.86%, respectively.

“Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut’s growth, we’ve decided to bid Orkut farewell,” Google said in a post on the Orkut blog.

Orkut was launched in 2004, the same year when Facebook was founded. Facebook is now the world's largest social network with 1.28 billion users. — PTI

New York, July 1
France’s largest bank BNP Paribas will pay a record $8.97 billion in penalties to settle charges that it “knowingly and willfully” processed transactions worth billions of dollars on behalf of Cuban, Sudanese and Iranian entities that had been blacklisted.

BNP Paribas agreed to enter a guilty plea to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act, the first time a global bank has agreed to plead guilty to large-scale, systematic violations of US economic sanctions.

The plea agreement provides that BNPP will pay total financial penalties of $8.97 billion, including forfeiture of $8.83 billion and a fine of $140 million.

“BNP Paribas went to elaborate lengths to conceal prohibited transactions, cover its tracks, and deceive US authorities. These actions represent a serious breach of the US law,” US Attorney-General Eric Holder said. — PTI

New Delhi, July 1
The Coal Ministry is considering auctioning 25 captive coal blocks which were taken back from the companies due to their failure in developing them.

“There are 25 de-allocated coal blocks where court cases have not been filed as per the information available. These coal blocks could be considered for allocation under the new dispensation,” according to a recent official document.

The ministry further said the confirmation pertaining to the allocation of the mines would be made after getting the detailed exploration status of the mines.

So far the government has de-allocated 80 coal blocks. The mines were taken back after the recommendations made in this regard earlier by the review committee and later the inter-ministerial group on coal mines set up to review the development of the captive coal blocks.

Coal mine allottees have filed 94 cases in different courts against the government orders for de-allocation and Bank Guarantee deduction, the document said.

“80 coal blocks have been de-allocated. In addition, orders for imposition/forfeiture/deduction of bank guarantee have also been issued in 42 cases. In a large number of cases, block allottees have filed court cases against these orders and at present, 94 court cases in different courts have been filed,” it added.

Earlier the de-allocated coal blocks were given for development to Coal India Limited, sources said. Of the total 328 coal blocks identified for allocation for captive purposes, the government has so far allocated 218 blocks. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Twitter buys TapCommerce
New York: Twitter is fattening its mobile ad portfolio by agreeing to acquire TapCommerce, a company that specialises in targeting app consumers, the latter has said. The price was not given but the Wall Street Journal put it at around $100 million. — AFP

SBI to open 5,000 new ATMs
Mumbai: The State Bank of India on Tuesday said it will open up to 5,000 new ATMs this fiscal. The move is aimed at helping improve the debit cards-to- ATMs ratio for the bank and may also possibly help it save money expended on ATM interchange fees. — PTI

Wal-Mart launches online wholesale pattern in India
New Delhi: Wal-Mart India on Tuesday launched its online wholesale platform in the country, offering the service in Hyderabad and Lucknow. The e-commerce platform will provide the same range of products as its wholesale stores, as well as special items for members, the company said. — PTI

IFFCO pitches for direct fertiliser subsidy payment
New Delhi: Fertiliser major IFFCO has pitched for an overhaul of subsidy disbursement process in favour of direct payment to farmers instead of companies. At present, subsidy on fertilisers is paid directly to companies. — PTI

Promoter-banker-FII nexus under scanner
New Delhi: Suspecting illicit insider trading and market manipulation through misuse of the controversial ‘participatory note’ route, SEBI is probing a possible nexus between promoters of listed companies, investment bankers and foreign funds for such activities. — PTI

DLF gets highest rating from British Safety Council
New Delhi: Realty major DLF on Tuesday said it has recieved the highest rating from British Safety Council for safety standards in its 17 office buildings in Gurgaon. DLF said its office complexes in Gurgaon have been awarded a five star grading from British Safety Council. This is the highest grading being awarded by British Safety Council in 'Occupational Health and Safety Management System'. — PTI