Markets regulator Sebi has ordered two Swar group companies and their directors to refund investors’ money, which was raised through illegal investment schemes, in three months.
Besides, the firms — Swar Agrotech India and Swar Agroteak and Housing (India) — and their directors are also barred from the capital market for four years.
It was alleged that the companies had launched and operated collective investment schemes (CIS) without obtaining registration from Sebi.
A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) probe found that the firms had mobilised funds from their customers through various investment plans under a scheme of purchase of plots promising an estimated value at the end of the contract.
As per the details, Swar Agrotech and Swar Agroteak and Housing had mobilised Rs 94.79 lakh and Rs 56.80 lakh, respectively.
In two separate orders, the regulator has restrained the firms and their directors from collecting any money from investors or launching any CIS.
The entities will have to provide a detailed inventory of all their assets and details of all their bank and demat accounts, among others.
In addition, they have been barred from selling any assets of the company except for the purpose of making refunds to their investors.
In case they fail to comply with the order, Sebi said the entities will continue to be barred from the securities market even after the completion of four years of restrictions imposed on them “till all the CIS are wound up and all the money mobilised through such schemes are refunded to its investors with returns which are due to them”.
Besides, it would make a reference to the state government / local police and register a civil/criminal case against the company. It would also make a reference to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to initiate appropriate action as deemed fit.
The orders take effect immediately.PTI
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today accused his political opponents of obstructing the progress of Pakistan and compared them to “terrorists”, amid mounting pressure on him from opposition parties to quit following the Panama Papers leak.
“Terrorists and agitators are pursuing the agenda to hinder progress and prosperity of Pakistan. There is no difference between them,” Sharif said while inaugurating a 393-kilometre-long Sukkur-Multan motorway in Sukkur.
“People should think twice about which side they want to be on…What do terrorists do? They wish to halt progress in Pakistan,” he said in harshly-worded remarks.
Referring to the sit-ins staged by the opposition, he asked: “What is the agenda of those who agitate?”
“Don’t they try to stop progress in Pakistan? Don’t they try to disrupt peace? What is the difference between them and terrorists?” he questioned.
The premier said that the country would not have lagged behind in progress if there was no sit-in politics.
The motorway is a part of the Peshawar-Karachi motorway and falls under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It will be built with financial assistance from China.
Sharif said the assistance from China would have come earlier if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party led by Imran Khan had not staged a “sit-in” in Islamabad.
A war of words between opposition leaders and the government has escalated over the past few weeks, with opposition parties holding anti-corruption rallies and building pressure on the premier to step down.
Sharif said former military dictator Pervez Musharraf had spent nine years trying to find proof of corruption, kickbacks and commission against him and his family and failed.
Major opposition parties this week asked the prime minister to present himself and his family for accountability after the Panama leaks claimed his sons and daughter held stakes in off-shore companies worth millions of dollars.PTI
Congress today sought to put the onus on the ruling NDA government about the irregularities in Agusta Westland helicopter deal and demanded a Supreme Court monitored probe in the issue.
“Do not level baseless allegations. Answer the questions which we are raising. Supreme Court monitored investigation should happen and its reports should be placed in the House every three months,” senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said in Lok Sabha during debate on a Calling Attention Motion on the issue.
He said it was practice of the BJP members to level wrong and baseless allegations and through that, they want to create an illusion.
“But we too have taken an oath that we will break that ‘mayajaal’ (illusion) and place the facts in front of the country and this House,” Scindia said.
The reality is that this deal was started during the NDA regime in 1999 and the issue they are talking about bringing down the height of the helicopter from 6000 to 4500 metres, it was done by NDA government in 2003 and not the UPA, he said.
In December 2003, a letter was written from the Prime Minister’s Office to change the norms and make it 4500 metres, Scindia said.
The moment the issue came ouot in newspapers, he said the UPA government wrote to the embassy in Rome that investigation should be done as early as possible.
In April 2012, it was in fact the UPA government which ordered CBI to investigate the matter, Scindia said, adding that the contract was cancelled on February 15, 2013 and a notice was served on AugustaWestland and on January 1, 2014, the UPA government cancelled that contract.
In February 2013, the UPA government gave the case to the CBI and within 12 days, a preliminary inquiry was lodged, he informed adding Letter Rogatory too was issued to Tunisia, Mauritius and Italy.
“…24 months have passed of your government, what have you done in 720 days of your government? Have you brought in a single penny? Have you even identified a single person who has indulged in corruption,” he asked.
“In March 2013, we in the House had proposed to form a JPC (joint parliamentary committee). Why did the NDA oppose that proposal? People of this country should ask why you opposed that proposal in 2013,” the Congress leader said.
He said the banning and blacklisting of companies too was started by the UPA government. The then Defence Minister had stated that no deal would happen with AgustaWestland, Scindia said, adding it was UPA government which had brought Rs 2,063 crore.PTI
) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a visit to Iran this month with an aim to bolster overall bilateral ties with the Persian Gulf nation in a range of areas including energy, trade and investment and connectivity.
Modi’s proposed visit is being seen as an effort by India to step up engagement with strategically important West Asia, a region endowed with vast oil and gas reserves.
Modi had last month travelled to Saudi Arabia, considered Iran’s arch rival. In August last year, he had visited United Arab Emirates, another key player in the region.
When asked about Modi’s visit to Tehran, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup only said both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for the trip.
“We share a very close, historical and civilisational friendship with Iran, a relationship which is in existance for a long period of time. Prime Minister had been extended an invitation by President (Hassan) Rouhani when the two had met in Ufa (Russia).
“Prime Minister had accepted the invitation in principle.
We are currently in the process of working with our Iranian counterparts to work out the suitable dates,” he said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited Tehran last month during which the two sides had agreed to step up engagement in oil and gas sector. During her visit, President Rouhani had said his country can be a “reliable partner” for India’s energy needs.
Iran had opened several lucrative sectors after sanctions against it were lifted under a historic nuclear deal.
There has been a rush for investment in the resource-rich nation by global economic powers including Japan, China, the US and several European countries following lifting of the sanctions.
India too has been eying deeper energy ties with that country and has already lined up USD 20 billion investment in oil and gas, petrochemical and fertiliser projects there.
New Delhi is looking to increase engagement with the sanction-free Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipment of natural gas. It also wants rights to develop Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf discovered by ONGC Videsh Limited.
Iran is an important country for India for its energy security as well as to get access to oil and gas-rich Central Asian nations.PTI
The External Affairs Ministry has directed a number of Indian missions abroad to ask the countries concerned to speed up executing Letters Rogatory (LR) in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper scam following a request by the CBI.
CBI had a few days back written a letter to MEA on expediting execution of the LRs, which are judicial requests to foreign countries for legal assistance in criminal cases.
The LRs were issued to Italy, Tunisia, Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, Britain, United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.
“Yes, I can confirm that we have received a communication in this regard from the CBI seeking an update on the execution reports of the Letters Rogatory that were sent earlier to eight countries.
“We have once again written to our missions in the concerned countries from where the execution reports are pending in order to impress upon them the need to expeditiously execute the LRs and to send the corresponding execution reports at the earliest,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, replying to a question.
Sources said a few countries have either responded to the LRs or executed them partly while some others are yet to respond.
The CBI is currently probing the AgustaWestland chopper scam and it questioned former IAF Chief S P Tyagi for the fourth consecutive day today.
The Enforcement Directorate, in its charge sheet filed last year, had claimed to have detected flow of alleged kickbacks sent from abroad to companies of the accused Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan and cousins of the former IAF chief.
On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW101 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.
Asked whether Britain has responded to India’s request for extraditing Vijay Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines has been accused of defaulting on bank loans of over Rs 9,400 crore, the MEA spokesperson replied in the negative.PTI
Actress Nargis Fakhri says she found it ridiculous to do retakes of kissing scenes with co-star Emraan Hashmi in their upcoming film “Azhar”.
“I was not aware these many kissing scenes will be there.
I was like I will charge extra as this is ridiculous, as there were retakes and reshoots, so I was like is this a joke,” Nargis told PTI.
According to the “Rockstar” actress, she feels awkward while doing kissing or intimate scenes.
“It is always awkward for me as I am shy, even though I don’t look like a shy. I giggle so much or make jokes to get away from the tension. It’s nice when you have a good co-star who makes you feel comfortable…,” she said.
The 36-year-old actress is all praise for Emraan.
“He is cool, down-to-earth man. He is professional and makes you feel comfortable,” she said.
The movie “Azhar” is based on the life of former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin. Featuring Emraan, Nargis, Prachi Desai, Gautam Gulati and others, the film hits the screens on May 13.
As many as 378 forest fires broke out in different parts of Himachal Pradesh this summer due to inflammable parched pine needles, following dry weather and sudden rise in day temperatures.
“Fires occurred on 3000 hectare areas, mostly in lower areas of Solan, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla and some other places but all these were ground fires caused by burning of highly inflammable dry pine needles,” S P Vasudeva, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests said.
As many as 378 fires broke out in forests in different parts of the state but there was no major loss as the department is fully geared up to tackle the situation as dry pine needles will continue to fall till end of May, he said.
Vasudeva said two cement companies are already purchasing pine needles and efforts are being made to persuade other cement manufacturers to buy the pine needles in bulk as these are used in the furnace.
He said a meeting with cement manufacturers is slated for May 7.
The department had made preparations in advance with existing fire lines cleared and new ones created by March. 750 local fire watchers were deputed by April 15 to immediately inform about any fire incident in the forests, the Chief Conservator said.
Centrally sponsored ‘Intensive Forest Management Scheme’ has been launched and the task of creating fire lines and deputing the ‘Fire Watcher’ is being done under it.
Satellite links have been provided and alerts are sent to concerned forest guards and other forest officials about fire incidents within their jurisdiction, he said.
In neighbouring Uttarakhand, NDRF has deployed over 130 personnel as part of multiple fire fighting teams to combat the raging forest fire in the jungles of the state that have destroyed about 2,269 hectares of jungles in several districts and claimed at least seven lives till now.
Delhi today sizzled at 44 degrees Celsius, the hottest day of the season so far.
“The maximum temperature was recorded at 44 degrees Celsius. It is the hottest day of the season so far,” a MeT Department official said.
The minimum temperature settled at 23.8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average.
According to a MeT department official, relative humidity was recorded at 21 per cent at 8:30 AM.
Met office has predicted partly cloudy skies along with the possibility of a dust storm or thunderstorm towards evening and night.
“Skies are expected to remain partly cloudy today with dust/thunderstorm likely to occur towards evening/night.
However, there is no possibility of rainfall today,” said the official.
Yesterday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 42 degrees Celsius and 22 degrees Celsius respectively.
“Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra has criticised Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call for banning Muslim immigrants, saying generalising a type of people is “really primitive”.
Priyanka was named by Time among 100 most influential people thanks to her blossoming career in Hollywood.
Trump is also on the list and both attended the gala last night.
“I just think you can’t put a ban on anyone. Generalizing a type of people is really primitive,” she said.
The 33-year-old star said the fight against domestic terrorism has grown so complex that “you can’t put a face on it anymore,” she added.
Trump has been already criticised by celebrities like George Clooney and wife Amal for his controversial comments.PTI.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today challenged the Congress to show the UPA government order blacklisting the Anglo-Italian helicopter maker AgustaWestland in connection with the VVIP chopper scam.
Parrikar, who said that he will speak in detail in Parliament on the issue in the near future, informed that the Ministry has received a copy of the Italian court order and is in the process of translating it into English.
He said that the process might take 8-10 days.
Parrikar also took a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying translation from Italian was not easy, “at least for the ruling side. May not be a difficult task for the opposition”.
A combative Parrikar hit back when asked about Congress’ allegation that while UPA had blacklisted the company, the NDA government removed it from the blacklist.
“When did they blacklist? Ask them first. Ask them what date the order was issued? Show me the copy of the order,” the Minister said.
Asked if he meant that the firm was never blacklisted, he said, “I am not saying that”.
Interestingly, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on February 5, 2014, the then Defence Minister A K Antony, while giving details on AgustaWestland, had said, “No decision has been taken till date to debar the said company”.
This runs contrary to what the Congress has been claiming because the reply came just months ahead of the regime change.
However, records of state-run HAL show that Agusta Westland International Ltd, UK, Finmeccanica, Italy and its group of companies, including subsidiaries and affiliates, IDS Tunisia and Infotech Design System (IDS), Mauritius, were blacklisted on July 3, 2014, when NDA was in power, because of the CBI case against them to inquire into alleged criminal wrongdoing in the procurement of VVIP Helicopters.
Hitting back at BJP on the VVIP chopper deal, Congress had yesterday alleged that AgustaWestland was “removed” from the blacklisted category by the Modi dispensation.
Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma had said, “The chopper deal was scrapped. Action was taken by the UPA government. A K Antony, the then Defence Minister, had made a statement in Parliament and Agusta Westland was blacklisted.PTI.
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