B U S I N E S S

SEBI gets more teeth to tackle ponzi schemes
New Delhi, August 12
Tightening the regulatory noose on fraudsters, Parliament today cleared the SEBI Amendment Bill to allow the market regulator to act against ponzi schemes and market manipulators more effectively with powers for search and seizure, attachment of assets, arrest of defaulters and access to call data records.

Hero Motocorp’s contract workers go on strike at Gurgaon plant
Gurgaon, August 12
Labour trouble is back to haunt the city's industrial turf as contract workers of country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp (spare parts division) have gone on a tool-down strike starting from today protesting the company's move to shift the firm to a new facility at Neemrana in Rajasthan.

India’s first Trump Tower to come up in Mumbai
Mumbai, August 12
India’s first Trump Tower is coming up in Mumbai with the city-based Lodha Developers tying up with the American billionaire Donald Trump for the project. Lodha Developers is constructing the city’s Trump Tower at Worli in Central Mumbai as part of 17.5 acre neighbourhood.

Donald J Trump, chairman and president of The Trump along with Abhishek Lodha, managing director, Lodha Group, at the launch of Trump Tower in Mumbai on Tuesday. PTI

TRAI for curbs on political parties, corporates in media
New Delhi, August 12
Telecom regulator TRAI today said the government must look at “ownership restrictions on corporate and political bodies entering the media,” both television and newspaper business.

SEBI gets more teeth to tackle ponzi schemes
Parliament clears Bill to empower market regulator
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 12
Tightening the regulatory noose on fraudsters, Parliament today cleared the SEBI Amendment Bill to allow the market regulator to act against ponzi schemes and market manipulators more effectively with powers for search and seizure, attachment of assets, arrest of defaulters and access to call data records.

The market regulator will, however, have the powers to seek call data records for investigation purposes, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while pushing through the Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote. The Lok Sabha had passed this Bill last week.

The Bill has been brought in the wake of thousands of people in West Bengal losing their money in the Saradha chit fund scam.

The new law also empowers SEBI to search the premises of suspect companies and obtain information within and outside India. However, as a safeguard, any search operation can be conducted only after approval of a designated court in Mumbai.

"The Act has been fine-tuned and new architecture with a wider language has been introduced...SEBI has no power to tap telephone...SEBI can call for information on call data records. The power to bug or intercept is not given to SEBI within the Act," Jaitley said.

In the Ordinance promulgated by the previous UPA government, the SEBI was vested with powers to conduct search and seizure operations without prior permission.

"This is too arbitrary a power...Therefore, this power had to be tapered down," he said.

The Act will also cover the multi-level marketing schemes, which are disguised as Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) with a corpus of Rs 100 crore or more.

"You cannot have an anarchic situation where two regulators deal with one space. What comes under the Companies Act, should be exempted from SEBI Act...There is no over lapping of jurisdiction," Jaitley said.

Moving the Bill, Jaitley said the law essentially deals with ponzi schemes and would strengthen SEBI's hands to deal with them, besides ensuring speedy trial of cases by setting up various courts.

Jaitley said previous Finance Minister P Chidambaram had proposed that SEBI could have power to conduct search operations without permission, even though the original Bill had a provision that it could conduct such operations after seeking permission of the area Magistrate.

Jaitley said as per the new Bill, the profits earned out of illegal activities will be confiscated and used for investor protection fund to create investor awareness.

Tightening the noose

• The new law empowers SEBI to search the premises of suspect companies and obtain information within and outside India
• As a safeguard, any search operation can be conducted only after approval of a designated court in Mumbai
• The market regulator will also have the powers to seek call data records for investigation purposes.

Hero Motocorp’s contract workers go on strike at Gurgaon plant
Protest transfer of employees to Neemrana unit
Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, August 12
Labour trouble is back to haunt the city's industrial turf as contract workers of country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp (spare parts division) have gone on a tool-down strike starting from today protesting the company's move to shift the firm to a new facility at Neemrana in Rajasthan.

The workers claimed they have been asked to leave the company by taking three months' salary. The company, however, said they had been asked to shift to Neemrana but they refused as salary was relatively less there.

The strike is likely to hit Hero's production if it lasts more than a day. The workers have also added reinstatement of two of their suspended colleagues to their list of demands.

"They came to us and asked a few of us to either accept the transfer to Neemrana plant at much lower wage compared to what we are getting here or take compensation and quit the company. Others have been asked to leave straightaway. The average salary of casual workers in this division is around Rs 11,000 per month and they are offering us between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 a month. We will not accept it and the strike will continue," said a union member.

"The union members were suspended in August last year when they raised a demand for an instalment of bonus, which the company had put on hold. The company first suspended the union members and later agreed to the instalment but they never reinstated the members," added another worker.

While the company is yet to issue official statement, a Hero MotoCorp official said "We are currently in discussion with the workers at our Parts Center, Gurgaon, for a smooth transition from the existing facility to the new Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana. We are hopeful of reaching an amicable solution at the earliest."

Hero MotoCorp currently has three manufacturing facilities - at Gurgaon and Dharuhera in Haryana and Haridwar in Uttarakhand - with a total capacity of 6.9 million units annually.

The company is also set to commission its fourth manufacturing plant at Neemrana where it has invested around Rs 400 crore. Its total installed production capacity will reach over 7.65 million units per annum with the commencement of the plant.

India’s first Trump Tower to come up in Mumbai
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, August 12
India’s first Trump Tower is coming up in Mumbai with the city-based Lodha Developers tying up with the American billionaire Donald Trump for the project. Lodha Developers is constructing the city’s Trump Tower at Worli in Central Mumbai as part of 17.5 acre neighbourhood.

The more than 75-storeyed Trump Tower will comprise three, four and five-bedroom apartments that will come fitted with with German Poggenpohl kitchens and indoor jacuzzi tubs. The company has roped in Aishwarya Rai as brand ambassador for the project.

Addressing the press, Donald Trump said his company has tied up with Lodha Developers and Panchshil Realty to develop buildings bearing his name. “India is a great place to invest, especially after the elections,” he said.

“It has been my desire for many years to be involved in a great project in Mumbai, and it is my honour to bring the Trump lifestyles to the citizens of this city with the launch of Trump Tower Mumbai,” he added.

TRAI for curbs on political parties, corporates in media
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 12
Telecom regulator TRAI today said the government must look at “ownership restrictions on corporate and political bodies entering the media,” both television and newspaper business.

As it shared its recommendations on media ownership, TRAI warned against “an inherent conflict of interest” that is ignited when corporates own media and said the government should consider “restricting the amount of equity holding/loans by a corporate in a media company”.

It also recommended a single independent media regulatory authority comprising predominantly eminent non-mediapersons for TV and print media to check and impose penalties for “paid news”, “private treaties” and issues related to “editorial independence”.