Source Business standard
| Much uneasiness remains over new Companies Act |
Source Business Line
Now open, a single window to view various bank accounts
K RAM KUMAR3
MUMBAI, DECEMBER 26:
If you have accounts in different banks then checking the balances in each online can be quite a chore, requiring separate log-ins into many websites.
But banks are now making life a tad easier for such customers.
Banks, such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, are offering customers the facility to view their balances across accounts with different banks on a single page so that they can choose which one to make payments and investments from.
This facility, however, cannot be used to make transactions in other bank accounts.
For that, the customer will still be required to log into that bank's website.
ICICI Bank's online personal finance management tool "My Money" allows customers to add over 200 non-ICICI Bank institutions and get an overall picture of their financial status, according to the website of India's largest private sector bank.
Similarly, HDFC Bank offers "OneView" for customers who also have accounts with Citibank, ICICI Bank, HSBC India, and Standard Chartered Bank.
According to Abhaya Prasad Hota, Managing Director & CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), managing three-four bank accounts can be a problem as remembering that many internet banking passwords is difficult.
NPCI is the umbrella institution for all the retail payment systems in the country.
To make use of the facility, Hota said customers will have to share details of other accounts with the bank where they wish to see the snapshot of their financial status.
But banks will not be able to see each other's data.
Hota said banks have to either collaborate to offer the single view or there has to be a trusted third party service provider offering this facility.
Aggregator services
The NPCI chief said there is need for an aggregator in the financial services space in India.
"Like you go to Google or Facebook, similarly a financial packaging application would have to really emerge. Different kinds of solutions will be available," said Hota.
"You can download the solution and integrate different bank accounts. So, once you log into that (one account), you are logged into your chosen banks accounts and you can operate them," he added.
(This article was published on December 26, 2014)
Source Economic Times
Green signal for reforms: President Pranab Mukherjee signs ordinances on insurance and coal
NEW DELHI: The two ordinances to pave the way for a fresh dose of foreign investment in the insurance sector and to move ahead with the allocation of cancelled coal mines received Presidential approval today.
The government had decided to promulgate these ordinances to move ahead with reforms in the two sectors as the relevant bills could not be cleared during the just-concluded Parliament Session.
President Pranab Mukherjee has signed the two ordinances, Rashtrapati Bhavan Press Secretary Venu Rajamony said.
The Cabinet had approved promulgation of the Ordinance on Insurance Bill and re-promulgation of the Coal Ordinance on Wednesday, a day after the conclusion of the Winter session of Parliament.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had expressed the hope that hiking of the foreign investment cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent, which has been pending since 2008, will result in capital inflow of USD 6-8 billion. Earlier, this foreign investment limit was capped at 26 per cent
"The Ordinance demonstrates the firm commitment and determination of this government to reforms. It also announces to the rest of the world including investors that this country can no longer wait even if one of the houses of Parliament waits indefinitely to take up its agenda," he had said.
The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, 2008 could not be taken up for discussion in Parliament despite being approved by the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha because of the uproar over the conversion and other issue
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 has already been approved by the Lok Sabha during the session but could make no progress in the upper House.
The re-promulgation of ordinance on coal will facilitate e-auction of coal blocks for private companies for captive use and allot mines directly to state and central PSUs.
Modi government pushing ministries to ensure mechanism for faster clearances
By Deepshikha Sikarwar & Vina
NEW DELHI: The Modi regime is pushing ministries to put in place a vast array of changes in the next three months as it looks to improve ease of doing business in India, a measure on which the World Bank has ranked the country at an abysmal 142 out of 189, two down from 140 in the previous year. By the end of current fiscal, the regime wants to make it possible for businesses to be registered in a day, green clearances to be available online and construction outside airport zones to go ahead without government nod.
Applications for setting up new businesses and director identification number (DIN) through the eBiz Portal will automatically also register for permanent account number (PAN), cutting one permission. Also coming up by March 31: trading across borders will need fewer papers, goods will be cleared in less than 12 hours and there will be fast-track courts to deal with contract-related disputes.
With the prime minister keen on improving India's image as an investment destination, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has drawn up a schedule between now and March 31 to reduce the regulatory, bureaucratic and compliance burden on companies. Just a few measures, included in the bigger 'Ease of Doing Business and Integration with eBiz Portal' plan, have a later deadline of April 30.
The Prime Minister's Office has shot off letters to the ministries and departments concerned, asking them to expedite implementation of tasks identified as being their responsibility. The communique from Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to the PM, has emphasised the importance of the country bettering its rank on the global index, said a government official aware of the development. Former Planning Commission member Arun Maira cautioned against over-centralisation and and micromanagement of the initiative.
"It is a large programme with a lot of smaller sub-programmes. If you can energise the smaller programmes, then it can be achieved," he said, adding much of . of the measures being suggested should be easy to implement. Misra's missive was sent after a review meeting by the PMO in which many departments were found to be lagging. The government is keen the measures undertaken should reflect in an improvement when the World Bank undertakes its next review.
"A number of things have been done and a large number are being attempted," a senior DIPP official told ET. "While we may not break into the top 50 in a year, we can definitely get there in two years... There are areas like insolvency where we need urgent action."
The DIPP schedule clearly fixes responsibility for each measure, the progress made, what's pending and by when the various steps need to be completed. "The focus is on business-process reengineering, converging and integrating departments and putting all approvals online," the official said. DIPP is also meeting with states to take this forward. India does even worse when it comes to enforcing contracts — at 186, better than only Angola, Bangladesh and Timor-Leste.
t indicates a poor dispute-resolution system that has undermined faith in contracts, a crucial consideration for those looking to invest in India. To fix this, DIPP has recommended to the law ministry setting up of specialised fast-track courts, tribunals, besides ways of encouraging arbitration to resolve contractual disputes and putting up a timebound decision-making process. The district courts are overburdened as they have to deal with a broad range of civil, criminal and commercial cases, DIPP pointed.
Practising Company Secretary
Chennai
Mobile 93810 11200
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