Centre Says New Draft Of Broadcasting Bill After Consultations, RBI Revises Rules For NBFCs, HFCs

Fresh Draft Of Broadcasting Bill After Further Consultations, Says Centre

The Centre has said it will hold further consultations for preparing a fresh draft of the broadcasting bill, amid concerns in some quarters over restrictions on social and digital media space in the proposed law, Business Standard reported.

The draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, circulated by the government among a few stakeholders, drew criticism from media bodies such as DigiPub and the Editors Guild of India, which claimed that digital media organisations and civil society associations were not consulted on the move. The Ministry is holding a series of consultations with the stakeholders on the draft bill. Further additional time is being provided to solicit comments/ suggestions till October 15, 2024, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a post on X. A fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations, the ministry said. Read more

RBI Revises Regulations For NBFCs, Housing Finance Companies

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released revised regulations for the non-banking finance companies (NBFC) and housing finance companies (HFC), Moneycontrol.com reported.

The central bank has modified regulations of NBFCs and HFCs in terms of acceptance of public deposit, maintenance for minimum percentage of liquid assets, full cover for public deposit, repayment of public deposit in order to meet certain expenses of an emergent nature, among others. The revised regulations will be applicable from January 1, 2025. Since the transfer of regulation of HFCs from National Housing Bank (NHB) to RBI from August 9, 2019, various regulations have been issued treating HFCs as a category of NBFCs, the RBI said in a release. More here 

CBDT Trains Scanner On Foreign Remittances Above Rs 6 Lakh

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched a comprehensive scrutiny and verification of high-value outward foreign remittances of above Rs 6 lakh to identify discrepancies in remittance data and likely tax evasion, the Economic Times reported.

The move follows detection of cases where foreign remittances and expenditures did not align with the income declared by individuals, and lapses in tax collected at source (TCS), the report said. The board has asked the field formations to start the verification process and scrutiny of Form 15CC - a quarterly disclosure statement of outward remittances filed by authorised dealers to the income-tax department, officials aware of the development said. More here

Stricter Air Quality Standards To Tackle Air Pollution In The Works

The Centre plans to introduce stricter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which have not been revised since 2009, to tackle increasing air pollution in the county, Livemint reported.

The Union government also plans to install 1,000 more air monitoring stations, especially in cities with a population of over 100,000. At present, there are 1,504 air monitoring stations in 543 cities across the country. The government has entrusted the job of updating NAAQS to IIT Kanpur, which has set up a panel comprising experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other institutions. The air quality standards are meant to protect public health from exposure to six air pollutants: Particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and lead. More here 

Apple Exports 85 Per Cent iPhones By Production Value, Tops FY24 Numbers

Apple Inc has hit a milestone by exporting 85 per cent of the freight-on-board production value, or Rs 40,145 crore, of its iPhones in April-July FY25, Business Standard reported.

 “Freight-on-board” refers to the stage when the ownership and the risks of shipping goods shift from seller to buyer. By doing this, Apple has for the first time exceeded its target given to the government to export 81 per cent of its iPhones by value by the end of the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) in FY26. The company exported phones valued at Rs 34,089 crore in the four months. In April-June, it had exported 79 per cent of its iPhones. It was a big jump from the 73 per cent it achieved in FY24. More here 

Bharti Enterprises Buys Almost 25 Per Cent Stake In BT Group In UK

The Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises has acquired a 24.5 per cent stake in BT Group, the largest broadband and mobile company in the UK, and is the latest in the list of Indian companies picking a stake in British companies, the Economic Times reported.

The list of Indian firms acquiring companies in the UK is notably led by the Tata Group, a diverse conglomerate spanning from salt to software. Other significant players include Mahindra & Mahindra, Welspun, and TVS. Tata Tea made headlines in February 2000 with its acquisition of Tetley, Britain's leading tea brand and the second largest globally, for £271 million. The Tatas then followed it up with purchase of Corus in 2007 and Jaguar Land Rover in 2008. More here