BFSI and Capital Market
CA Rohit Patoria, CA Manoj Alimchandani,
CA Vijay Mullaji
MeitY’s 7 working groups for deploying AI to make governance smarter, data-led
Seven working groups of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) submitted the first edition of IndiaAI report.
IndiaAI has a mission-centric approach that ensures a precise and cohesive strategy to bridge the gaps in the existing AI ecosystem viz-a-viz Compute infrastructure, Data, AI financing, Research and Innovation, targeted Skilling, and institutional capacity for Data to maximize the potential of AI to advance India’s progress.
- Working Group 1 is focused on Centres of Excellence;
- Working Group 2 is focused on the India Dataset Platform;
- Working Group 3 is focused on institutional capacity and design of NDMO;
- Working Group 4 is focused on the design of AI systems;
- Working Group 5 is focused on skill development in the area of AI;
- Working Group 6 is focused on Future Labs Compute;
- Working Group 7 is focused on Semicon chipsets
Also read:
https://indiaai.gov.in/article/meity-releases-the-first-edition-of-indiaai-report
GST on corporate guarantees
FinMin notifies prospective levy of GST on corporate guarantees - on guarantees provided by corporates to their subsidiaries prospectively. It would be subject to 18 per cent GST.
GST at 18 per cent will be levied on 1 per cent of the total amount guaranteed by the parent company or the actual consideration, whichever is higher, the notification said.
Sebi finalises plan to crack down on misuse of overseas investment funds.
Sebi launches fresh salvo to stop FPIs from manipulating stocks on D-Street.
A plan has been established by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) jointly with foreign portfolio investors (FPI) custodians, to prevent promoter families and unwanted foreign investors from clandestinely acquiring shares and manipulating the stocks of domestic-listed companies through offshore pooled investment entities operating as FPIs.
These disclosure rules will be activated when an FPI’s exposure to Indian equities surpasses Rs 25,000 crore or if it invests 50 per cent of its assets under management in India in companies affiliated with a single corporate group.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) finalised by custodians of FPIs and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has laid down the ground rules to stop the misuse of overseas investment entities
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Five MSME lending products complete test phase under RBI’s sandbox cohort.
The entities whose products have completed the test phase are FinAGG Technologies Private Limited, Mynd Solutions Private Limited, Rupifi Technology Solutions Private Limited, Small Industries Development Bank of India, and SysArc Infomatix Private Limited.
A regulatory sandbox refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled regulatory environment. It acts as a “safe space” for business, as the regulators may or may not permit certain relaxations for the limited purpose of testing.
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NPCI stepping in to stop AePS frauds, suggests ways to banks
The retail payment body which runs AePS wants banks to explicitly seek customer consent regarding this service at the time of account opening.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) wants companies offering Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) to bring in additional security measures to check rising incidents of fraud attacks on the network.
In a notification issued to all banks and payment companies offering this service on October 26, NPCI wrote that just like mandatory security features on debit cards, banks need to introduce mandatory security norms for AePS transactions.
NPCI wants banks to take explicit consent from customers regarding offering this service. Banks should also offer the option to either ‘enable’ or disable’ AePS as a debit mode through multiple modes like mobile banking, branch banking, call centre etc
IRDAI forms panel to simplify insurance policy wordings
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has constituted a 12-member committee for simplification of insurance policy wordings.
The terms of reference require the committee to come up with simple policy wordings that clearly specify obligations and responsibilities of all parties to the contract. It is also required to suggest specifications such as typefaces for written material and presentation, for both print as well electronic records that are easily readable and comprehensible.
IRDAI)has set up a committee to simplify the wording of insurance policies to help people make an informed decision before buying cover.
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Insurers to provide details of basic features of policy to customers from Jan 1
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said that insurance companies must provide their customers details on the basic features of the policy from 1 January 2024.
The decision is set with an aim to simplify the legalese terms in the insurance contract, as it is important for a policyholder to understand the terms and conditions of the policy that has been purchased.
The regulator has observed several complaints from policyholders due to the asymmetry of information between insurers and the policyholders.
In this backdrop, the existing customer information sheet (CIS) has been revised to include the basic features of the policy in a manner that is easily understood.
Guidelines for Bima Vahaks
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) released the guidelines for ‘Bima Vahaks (BV)’, with minor changes from the framework released in May 2023. The recent ‘Bima Vahak’ guidelines released by IRDAI outlines a clear path for a dedicated, women-centric distribution channel and holds immense promise for the insurance industry with an overarching objective of enhancing insurance penetration, accessibility, and inclusion.
Fintechs to get self-regulatory organisation in 3-6 months.
The SRO will focus on code of conduct and overall infrastructure for the sector.
A self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the fintech and digital lending industries will come up in the next three to six months.
An SRO is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that sets monitoring standards for industry players and works as a bridge between the industry and the regulator.
PoS transactions has seen a muted growth in 2023: RBI Data
According to data by the Reserve Bank of India, PoS transactions in India has seen a muted growth over the last eight months, from January to August, 2023, alongwith a tepid growth in installation of new PoS machines in India.
Due to a shift in consumer behaviour towards cashless spending and a boost of UPI payments, there has been a substantial fall in the installation of point-of-sale (PoS) machines and PoS transactions through cards in India (both debit and credit).
According to the latest data by the Reserve Bank of India, the total PoS machines recorded in August were 82.4 lakhs, compared to 81.2 lakhs in July, 80.93 lakhs in June, 79.6 lakhs in May, and 78.3 lakh machines in April. The new PoS machine installations saw a tepid growth in the last 8 months, compared to other payment channels like UPI.
Credit card spending falls in September
Credit card spending falls in September after record high in August
Spending via credit cards fell 4.2% in September to ₹1.42 trillion from ₹1.48 trillion in August, the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India showed.
Despite the decline in spending, the number of credit cards in circulation reached a new high of 9.3 crore in September.
September data reveals that 65.3% of credit card spending was allocated to e-commerce payments, showing a slight increase from the 64.4% recorded the previous month. In contrast, the share of point-of-sale (PoS) transactions decreased to 34.7% in September, down from 35.6% in August.
Several factors likely contributed to this drop in spending. Consumers might have curtailed transactions in anticipation of increased expenses during the festival season, which began in October. Additionally, reduced discretionary spending due to elevated inflationary pressures may have played a role.