Amendments to Bureau of Indian Standards Act including giving legal recognition to hallmarking of gold jewellery under consideration of the Union Government

Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has called for mandatory standards for more consumer goods and services. He also emphasised the need for simplifying the procedures for standards certification so that more sections of industry can come forward for voluntary certification and adoption of standards. Chairing the discussions with the stakeholders' on amendments in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act here today at Delhi, Mr. Paswan said besides more consumer goods, services should also be brought under preview of mandatory quality certification.

Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan also expressed his concerns over the quality of gold jewellery. After about 15 years of launching a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery, the Union Government now plans to give it legal recognition through a suitable amendment to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act but is yet to take a call on making the process mandatory. “Through the amendment of BIS Act, we are giving a legal status to gold hallmarking but it will remain a voluntary standard,” he said, adding that the decision on making hallmarking of gold jewellery mandatory has not been taken yet.

Hallmarking of gold jewellery was started by BIS in April 2000 to provide third party assurance to consumers on the purity of gold jewellery or its fineness. Under the scheme at present, a jeweller has to obtain licence from the BIS to get his jewellery hallmarked. The hallmark can be done at any Assaying and Hallmarking centres recognised by the BIS. 

Elaborating on the need to amend the BIS Act, Mr. Paswan said the government wants to “simplify every process including the registration, without making any compromise on standards”. He said the ministry is trying to bring this amendment before the Cabinet and the Parliament at the earliest.

He said quality and standards should become hallmark of consumer services and products to give impetus to ‘Make in India’.

The proposed amendments includes allowing BIS to make standards for more products from the current 90 items and enhancement of penalties, besides permitting the BIS to make standards for services. On packaged drinking water, Paswan favoured making the bottles tamper-proof and displaying details like date of manufacturing and expiry on the bottle instead of the current practice of mentioning such information on wrappers.

SEBI to hold public consultations to frame rules for promoter re-classification

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to hold a public consultation for framing rules to allow re-classification of promoters at listed firms looking to become public shareholders. The new norms can have a significant impact on the way some merger and acquisition deals are structured, as also in cases involving corporate restructuring that take place due to disputes among members of business families or after settlements between rival corporates.

With the Government looking to implement many legislative and administrative recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) in days to come as reported by the Kerala Law Review earlier, it has asked regulators including SEBI to begin adoption of governance-enhancing and non-legislative suggestions made by this panel on a proactive basis. Consequently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to frame all its major policy decisions after a public consultation process, as suggested by the FSLRC.

While SEBI has been framing most of its key regulations after a public consultation over the draft norms, it would now onwards follow this procedure for all policy matters having any significant implications for various market participants. As part of the new procedure, SEBI would make necessary amendments to its existing regulations governing re-classification of promoters after finalising a policy in this regard pursuant to a public consultation process.

A discussion paper containing draft regulations for reclassification of promoter as public shareholders, which have been finalised after detailed deliberations by SEBI's Primary Markets Advisory Committee, would be soon put in public domain for comments from all stakeholders. The paper would also elucidate the various scenarios and conditions under which a promoter or promoter group can be re-classified as a public shareholder. At present, the regulatory framework does not prescribe any specific criteria for such re-classification, which SEBI feels is required to lend objectivity to the process of reclassification of promoters of listed companies as public shareholders under various circumstances.

Union Government to soon implement many reforms recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said this past Saturday, at an event organized by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India in Mumbai, that the government is keenly studying the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) report and will implement several of its recommendations in the coming days.

(Arun Jaitley at an event organized by the ICSI in Mumbai on Saturday)

 The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) headed by Justice (retd.) B.N. Srikrishna was constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in March 2011 with a mandate to comprehensively review and redraw the legislations governing India’s financial system. According to the FSLRC, the current regulatory architecture is fragmented and is fraught with regulatory gaps, overlaps, inconsistencies and arbitrage. 

To address this, the FSLRC submitted its report to the Ministry of Finance on March 22, 2013, containing an exhaustive analysis of the current regulatory architecture and mooted a draft Indian Financial Code to replace the bulk of the existing financial laws.  The draft Code seeks to move away from the current sector-wise regulation to a system where the RBI regulates the banking and payments system and a Unified Financial Agency subsumes existing regulators like SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC, to regulate the rest of the financial markets. This was in tune with the Commission’s recommendation of pursuing a non-sectoral, principle-based, legislative architecture for the financial sector through restructuring and upgrade of existing regulatory agencies, and creating new agencies wherever needed for better governance and accountability.

In September this year, the National Democratic Alliance Government had formed task forces to work on the FSLRC recommendations. Jaitley said the four expert groups were currently examining the various aspects of the committee’s suggestions, as many changes to existing laws and regulations might be required. The task forces would lay down the road map for upgrade of existing agencies and establishment of new agencies — the Financial Sector Appellate Tribunal, Resolution Corporation, Public Debt Management Agency and Financial Data Management Centre.  He did not comment on the current status of the work done by these groups. However he said that “Under present circumstances some administrative and legislative changes may be required to the recommendations of the FSLRC report.,”

The FSLRC report has been a bone of contention between the Union Government and the Reserve Bank of India. In June, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had called certain recommendations of the report “somewhat schizophrenic” and “faddish and impressionistic rather than based on deep analysis”.

The stiff opposition by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over the financial sector reforms recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Committee (FSLRC) had even prompted President Pranab Mukherjee to make an unusual intervention and take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Reports indicate that following the President’s intervention, the Prime Minister’s Office had asked the Finance Ministry to explain the inordinate delay in implementing the recommendations of the committee. 

Report submitted by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) headed by Justice (retd.) B.N. Srikrishna can be accessed here.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that the government is keenly studying the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) report and will implement several of its recommendations in the coming days.

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Pglg1rNHaa7yfLbTtOjWnI/Govt-to-implement-many-FSLRC-recommendations-soon.html?utm_source=copy

Former CAG, Vinod Rai publishes his memoir : 'Not Just An Accountant-The Diary of the Nations’ Conscience Keeper'

Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has published a 268-page memoir, titled 'Not Just An Accountant- The Diary of the Nations’ Conscience Keeper, which inter alia, deals with five different scams: The Commonwealth Games, the coal block allocation, the 2G spectrum scam, the mismanagement of Air India and the Kaveri Godavari basin gas disputes. 

(File Photo: Vinod Rai)

He was recently in conversation with 'The Hindu'. Readers interested in reading the text of his interview may visit the page  here.

Attorney General recommends repeal of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996

Attorney General of India, Mukul Rohatgi, in a legal opinion to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, has recommended the repeal of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and mooted a new law in tune with the Union Government’s larger push to provide a business-friendly environment for foreign investors.

(File photo: Mukul Rohatgi)

The Attorney General had tendered his legal opinion on the subject after the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India had specifically sought his views of the same. In his legal opinion, AG, Mukul Rohatgi has advised the Government to replace the present law with a new one stressing timely settlement of business disputes and fixing greater onus on arbitrators against delay.

To strengthen the arbitration mechanism framework, the AG has suggested to the Government, the introduction of  statutory measures like a “strict” time limit of probably six months for giving the arbitration award in a dispute. The AG also recommended the imposition of penalty on arbitrators who delay matters.

Mr. Rohatgi has further suggested a ceiling for arbitration fee and expenses. In case of challenge to an arbitration award, a provision should be introduced in the statute, whereby a stay is granted after hearing both parties. 

 

The AG's legal opinion on repeal of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which has been on the statute books for 18 years now, comes close on the heels of the Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda's Law Day speech at the Supreme Court, wherein he had said that changing the 1996 law was a top priority for the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy to attract foreign investments.

T.S.R. Subramanian Committee strikes a cautious note on introduction of Genetically Modified food crops

The Union government-appointed High Level Committee (HLC) headed by former Cabinet Secretary, T.S.R. Subramanian to review environmental laws, while proposing a near complete overhaul of the regulatory system,  has however struck a cautious note when it comes to the issue of introduction of introduction of Genetically Modified food crops, and stated that the role of the Environment Ministry may have to be one of being a 'Devil’s Advocate to advise due caution'.

(File Photo: T.S.R Subramanian)

In a report submitted recently to the Government on its review of six laws, the High Level Committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, said the potential consequences of mindless use of science and technology could possibly be illustrated by referring to the potential for medium/ long-term adverse affects through unprepared introduction of GM food crops. 

It said that Europe does not permit field trials, and that the average Indian farm is of very small size (which could lead to severe adverse impact on biodiversity through gene-flow) and also noted that there are no independent expert agencies in the country, and perhaps the Ministry of Environment may ask for greater assurance in respect of potential adverse effects in the medium and long run.

More updates to follow...

Crucial UN Climate Change Conference gets underway at Lima, Peru from today

Lima, Peru will host the 20th yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 10th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol from December 1-12, 2014.

The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC Parties (Conferences of the Parties) (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Kyoto Protocol, it may be recollected, commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) man-made CO2 emissions have caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There are 192 Parties to the Protocol. The Kyoto commitment period expired on 31 December 2012. On 8 December 2012, at the end of the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference held at Doha, an agreement was reached to extend the Protocol to 2020 and to set a date of 2015 for the development of a successor document, to be implemented from 2020.

The 2014 ministerial-level climate conference takes place one year before the deadline for a new, global deal on curbing global warming. Due to be signed in Paris at the COP 21/CMP 11 in December 2015 and take effect from 2020, the accord, if reached, would roll back carbon emissions and ease the threat of ecosystem damage and species loss for future generations.

The last climate treaty was the Kyoto Protocol, inked in 1997. A bid to follow it up in Copenhagen in 2009 ended in a near fiasco, as it could not achieve a binding agreement for long-term action..At the Conference of parties held in Durban, South Africa in 2011, the conference agreed to a legally binding deal comprising all countries, which will be prepared by 2015, and to take effect in 2020.

It is in this background that the Climate Change Conference assumes significance. 

The overview schedule of the Lima Conference on Climate Change can be accessed here.

Mother of a German woman killed in MH17 plane crash sues Ukranian authorities in the European Court of Human Rights

The mother of a German woman killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine in July is suing authorities in Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights for failing to close their airspace, a German newspaper has reported.

( Pic courtesy: Economic Times)

The mother of the victim, was seeking $US1 million in compensation from Kiev for manslaughter by negligence, Bild am Sonntag newspaper said on Sunday.

According to the indictment, Ukraine should have closed its airspace to civil air traffic because of fighting with pro-Russian separatists.

It accuses Ukraine of failing to do so because it wanted to continue to profit from the fees paid by transit flights, which at the time numbered 700 per day and would have earned it several million dollars a month, the newspaper reported.

This is an extract of the report published in the online edition of the Canberra Times.