Small Industries Development Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2012 tabled in the Lok Sabha

The Union government on 22 May 2012 tabled the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2012 in the Lok Sabha, allowing sectors including floriculture, tourism, restaurants, and the entertainment industry to access loans from the bank.

The SIDBI (Amendment) Bill tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
•    empowers SIDBI to confiscate the mortgaged property or right to transfer by way of lease or sale in case enterprise makes a default in repayment of any loan or advances.
•    The bill envisages the widening of the scope of industrial concerns as well as aims at conferring more powers upon the board of directors of bank to decide investment limit for these industrial concerns.

It was believed that an amendment would replace definition and expression of industrial concern in small sector with industrial concern or micro enterprise or small enterprise or medium enterprise in the SIDBI Act 1989. The board of directors would be empowered to unanimously resolve to decide the investment limit for the purpose of industrial concern.

The change in definition as stated in the bill will thus help businesses such as convention centres, travel and transport, tourist service agencies, guidance and counselling services to tourists, financial assistance by way of venture capital, risk capital factoring and discounting , construction and development of roads to take loans and advances from the bank.

RTE Act applies to all schools, rules SC

On April 12, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act (2009) and ruled that the law would apply uniformly across India to all private and minority schools which get grants from the government. All unaided private schools are also covered under the Act, with the exception of unaided private minority schools.

All schools covered by the law will now have to compulsorily reserve in Class I (or nursery at entry level) at least 25 per cent seats of the total strength of that class for children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood.

The SC’s order came on a bunch of petitions filed by private unaided institutions which argued that the law violated their rights under Article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution which provided them the autonomy to run institutions without government interference.

The apex court said the law should be viewed as child-centric and not institution-centric. The court also ruled that the law will apply prospectively.

Schools reserving 25 pc seats will be reimbursed expenditure to the extent of per-child-expenditure incurred by the State as a whole or the actual amount charged from the child, whichever is less.

Anand Marriage Act gets Cabinet nod

Sikh couples will soon be able to get their marriages registered under the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, instead of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Accepting the long-standing demand of Sikhs, the Union Cabinet, on April 12, 2012, approved amendments to the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, to provide for registration of Sikh marriages.

The Cabinet has also approved the introduction of a Bill to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, to include registration of marriages as well. The move aims at utilising the existing administrative mechanism to maintain marriage records on the lines of records of births and deaths. The amendment would allow couples to get their marriages registered independent of their religion, though the option of getting marriages registered under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriages Act would continue.

So far, marriages amongst Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and other communities, except Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews, were covered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Companies Bill

On November 24, 2011, the Union Cabinet approved the Companies Bill, 2011, which aims to update corporate laws in the country and introduce modern concepts like mandatory CSR and class action suits.

Intended to replace the existing half-a-century-old Companies Act, the Bill has undergone several modifications in view of the Rs 14,000-crore Satyam accounting fraud.

Besides strengthening the provisions to check fraud, the Bill has introduced ideas like mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR), class action suits and a fixed term for independent directors.

Among other things, it also proposes to tighten laws for raising money from the public. The Bill also seeks to prohibit any insider trading by company directors or key managerial personnel by treating such activities as a criminal offence.

Further, it has proposed that companies should earmark two per cent of their average profits of the preceding three years for CSR activities and make a disclosure to shareholders about the policy adopted in the process.

Introduction of the Export-Import Bank of India (Amendment) Bill 2011

The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of “The Export Import Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2011” to amend the Export – Import Bank Act, 1981 (the Act) in the Parliament.

The Bill seeks to increase the authorised capital of the Exim Bank from Rs.2000 crore to Rs.10,000 crore with the provision that the Central Government may, further, by notification, increase the said capital up to an amount that it may deem necessary from time to time and also to make a provision for appointment of two-whole time Directors, other than the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), in the Bank by the Central Government.

Increase in the authorised capital would enable the bank to take higher export credit exposures, enable it to borrow funds to disburse under export line of credits. Further by appointing two whole time directors, the management structure of the bank would be strengthened which in turn would enable the bank to achieve excellence in its area of operations, compete with international banks and export credit agencies in its endeavour to promote India’s international trade and investment.

Background:

The Export Import Bank of India, herein after referred as Exim Bank, was set up as a Corporation in 1982 under the Export Import Bank of India Act, 1981 for providing financial assistance to exporters and importers and for functioning as principal financial institution for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing export and import of goods and services with a view to promoting the country’s international trade and connected matters.

Official amendments to the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010

The Union Cabinet  approved the proposal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for pursuing the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010 pending in Rajya Sabha in Parliament for its enactment and also to move the official amendments in the Rajya Sabha. Cabinet also approved the action taken on the recommendations made in the Eighteenth Report on “Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010” of the Standing Committee on Information Technology.

The Cabinet further approved the amendment to section 11(2) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010 pending in the Rajya Sabha by the addition of the words “and until their retirement” at the end of the section. This will make the status of the employees recruited between 23.11.1997 and 05.10.2007, i.e., they are on deemed deputation to Prasar Bharati till their retirement absolutely clear and unambiguous.

The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill 2010 has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August, 2010. The Bill is for making amendments to the existing section 11 of the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990, regarding “Transfer of service of existing employees to the Corporation”, which deals with the transfer of services of employees to Prasar Bharati upon its creation as a Corporation in the year 1997.