News digest: TDP exits NDA, Anti-ageing market, electoral bonds, and more

India Inc's subsidiaries in tax havens under probe agencies' scanner

The government’s task force on shell companies has recommended that enforcement agencies and regulators identify and conduct an inquiry against Indian companies having subsidiaries in tax havens such as Delaware (US), Luxembourg, Panama, Mauritius and Ireland.

The task force, set up in July 2017, has listed 14 parameters for identification of potential shell companies and suggested launching probes against them. Read more 

Markets post second-biggest fall of 2018 on trade war, TDP no-trust vote

The benchmark Nifty on Friday posted its second-worst single-day fall of 2018 due to global and domestic political concerns.

The escalation of the war of words between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, sparked fears of a global trade war. This, coupled with a no-confidence notice against the Narendra Modi-led government, weighed on investor sentiment. Read more

TDP exits NDA, moves no-confidence motion; gets support from Congress, Left

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Friday quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance and moved a no-confidence motion of its own in the Lok Sabha against the Narendra Modi-led government. The two TDP Union ministers had quit the government on March 8.

The Congress, the Left and several other opposition parties said they would support the no-confidence motion. Read more

Electoral bond issue sees Rs 2-bn sale, available at select SBI branches

Electoral bonds worth Rs 2.2 billion were sold in their maiden issue, which opened for subscription for 10 days beginning March 1, Parliament was informed on Friday.

These bonds are bought from scheduled banks by donors that can contribute to political parties’ funding without revealing their identities.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had introduced electoral bonds in the Union Budget as a measure to cleanse funding to political parties. Read more

Bankruptcy Code: Finance professionals on a roll as NCLT cases surge

The jury is still out on whether the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is the panacea for debt-ridden banks, but it is turning out to be an opportunity for finance professionals, especially chartered accountants and company secretaries.

With 600 to 700 cases of non-performing assets (NPAs) being admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) every month, the demand for resolution professionals is on the rise. The number of registered resolution professionals has nearly tripled in less than a year from about 600 in June 2017 to 1,707 now, according to data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India. Read more