Davos: &nbsp;India must establish rules on cryptocurrencies to resolve regulatory uncertainty, protect investors and boost its crypto sector, CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal said on Sunday.Although India's central bank has backed a ban on cryptocurrencies over risks to financial stability, a federal government move to tax income from them has been interpreted by the industry as a sign of acceptance by New Delhi. "Users don't know what will happen with their holdings - is government going to ban, not ban, how is it going to be regulated?," Singhal, a former Amazon engineer who co-founded CoinSwitch, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.CoinSwitch, which is valued at $1.9 billion, says it is the largest crypto company in India with more than 18 million users. The firm, based in India's main tech hub of Bengaluru, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global and Coinbase Ventures. "Regulations will bring peace ... more certainty," he added. Blockchain and cryptocurrency companies have a large presence at this year's Davos meeting, which coincides with a period of crypto prices plummeting around the world. India's central bank has voiced "serious concerns" around private cryptocurrencies, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December said such emerging technologies should be used to empower democracy, not undermine it.Exchanges often struggle in India to partner with banks to allow transfer of funds and in April, CoinSwitch and some others disabled rupee deposits through a widely-used state-backed network, alarming investors. 'CLARITY' While moves on taxation and certain advertising regulation had brought some relief, a lot more needed to be done, Singhal said, adding that India should develop a set of laws. These should include norms for identity verification and transferring crypto assets, while for exchanges, India should put in place a mechanism for them to track transactions and report them to any authority if need be.While no official data is available on the size of India's crypto market, CoinSwitch estimates the number of investors at up to 20 million, with total holdings of about $6 billion. Regulatory uncertainty has been widely felt. In April, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, launched in India, but within days paused use of a state-backed inter-bank fund transfer service.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong later said in May the move was triggered due to "informal pressure" from India's central bank. CoinSwitch too has paused so-called UPI transfers to hold talks with banking partners and make them comfortable, Singhal said in the interview. He added CoinSwitch was is in talks with regulators to try and restart the transfer service. "We are pushing for regulations. With the right regulation, we can get the clarity," he said.—REUTERS

India must establish rules on cryptocurrencies to resolve regulatory uncertainty, protect investors and boost its crypto sector, CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal said on Sunday.

India's top crypto app CoinSwitch calls for regulatory 'peace, certainty'

Business

Bengaluru: &nbsp;Infosys Limited, India's second-largest IT services company, on Sunday said it has reappointed Salil Parekh as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) for a five-year term ending March 2027. The decision was taken in the meeting of the company's Board of Directors held on May 21, 2022. The board took the decision based on the recommendations of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) of the company, Infosys Limited said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.Salil Parekh has been the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Infosys since January 2018. His reappointment is subject to the approval of shareholders. "It may be noted that Salil Parekh has no relationship with any member of the Board of directors and meets all the criteria to be reappointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director under applicable laws including circulars issued by stock exchanges from time to time," Infosys said.Mr Parekh has more than thirty years of global experience in the IT services industry with a strong track record of driving digital transformation for enterprises, executing business turnarounds, and managing successful acquisitions, it said. Before his appointment to Infosys, Mr Parekh was a member of the Group Executive Board at Capgemini, where he held several leadership positions for 25 years. He also served as a Partner at Ernst &amp; Young and is widely credited for bringing scale and value to the Indian operations of the consultancy firm.Infosys board of directors has also approved a grant of 104,000 shares to six key management personnel and another 375,760 shares to 88 other senior executives. These Performance Stock Units will be granted under the Infosys Expanded Stock Ownership Plan 2019, and will vest over 3 years on the achievement of certain milestones, in line with the plan approved by shareholders. The date of the grant for these stock units shall be June 1, 2022, Infosys informed the stock exchanges.—PTI

Infosys Limited, India's second-largest IT services company, on Sunday said it has reappointed Salil Parekh as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) for a five-year term ending March 2027.

Salil Parekh reappointed as CEO of Infosys for 5 years

New Delhi: Riding on intense retail investors' interest and a sharp rally in equity markets, asset management companies (AMCs) launched 176 new fund offerings (NFOs) in 2021-22, garnering a whopping Rs 1.08 lakh crore. With liquidity tightening, interest rates on the rise, stock market consolidation in progress, return to work from office, there could be subdued interest in NFOs going forward. While fixed maturity plans (FMPs) category could see considerable launches, the same cannot be expected from other categories, Gopal Kavalireddi, Head of Research at FYERS, said.Also, almost all AMCs have launched new schemes across most categories, thereby fillings the earlier existing product gaps that was created post-recategorization, he said.''Gaps in investment objectives, interest of investor in specific themes, availability of funds for deployment, credibility and reputation of fund managers, and performance of stock markets could dictate the quantum of new launches,'' he added. According to the data compiled by Morningstar India, there were 176 new fund offers (including closed-end funds and ETFs) in 2021-22. These managed to collect a staggering Rs 1,07,896 crore during their inception stage.This was way higher than 84 NFOs floated in 2020-21 and cumulatively, these funds were able to mobilize Rs 42,038 crore. Usually, NFOs come during a surging market when investor sentiment is high and optimistic. The stock market along with the positive investor sentiments kept surging post-March 2020, leading to the launch of higher number of NFOs. The NFOs were floated to capitalise on the mood of investors and attract their investment as they were willing to invest at that time. Coincidentally, over the same period, the Indian capital markets Sebi along with Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) brought in considerable investor-friendly changes which included exit-load removal, entry-load capping, categorization and reorganization of mutual fund schemes, direct plans, risk-o-meter, addition of new category, Flexicap, and other policies, thus ensuing investor awareness and bringing about clarity and transparency in investments.With the need to improve income levels, and also with a view of long-term investing, along with measures taken by Sebi and Amfi resulted in a flurry of NFOs across many categories of mutual funds-- equity and debt alike, Kavalireddi said. Most of the schemes were launched in the index and ETF category, to support both - passive and active investors. The maximum number of funds (49) were launched in the index fund segment, which amassed Rs 10,629 crore, followed by other ETFs (34), which collected Rs 7,619 crore and fixed-term plans (32), which mobilised Rs 5,751 crore.In addition, investors were attracted to international funds and sectoral or thematic funds. The AMCs launched overseas funds of funds, which mopped up Rs 5,218 crore and 11 sectoral or thematic funds, which raised Rs 9,127 crore. Experts believe that the dominance of index funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) within NFOs is not surprising, owing to a couple of factors.The ongoing financial year 2022-23 saw the launch of only four NFOs, garnering a total of Rs 3,307 crore, with ICICI Prudential Housing Opportunities Fund taking in the lion's share of Rs 3,159 crore. Further the latest ban by Sebi on NFOs will delay the launch of around 15 schemes, as the market regulator is focused on streamlining the issue of pool accounts, upgrading technology at AMCs, two-factor authentication among others to avoid potential frauds besides minimising operational risk, Kavalireddi said. Also, the latest issue of front running of stocks in Axis Mutual Fund has given rise to issues of trust and credibility of fund houses and their respective fund managers, he added. In April, Sebi had barred the launch of new mutual fund schemes till July 1.—PTI

Riding on intense retail investors' interest and a sharp rally in equity markets, asset management companies (AMCs) launched 176 new fund offerings (NFOs) in 2021-22, garnering a whopping Rs 1.08 lakh crore.

MFs collect Rs 1.08 lakh cr via 176 NFOs on retail investors' interest

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has launched a Rs 8.5 crore community-based structured breeding programme for the genetic improvement of indigenous sheep and to double the production of wool, Animal Husbandry Minister Virender Kanwar said on Sunday. The state government has imported 240 Merino sheep, 40 males and 200 females, with an outlay of Rs 6 crore under the National Livestock Mission (NLM) so that superior exotic germplasm could be infused to achieve the target of 3,000 tons quality wool production by next five years.The state has recorded wool production of around 1,482 tons in 2020-21. Chamba is the top wool producing district with annual production of around 425 tons, followed by Kullu and Shimla, which recorded 249 tons and 196 tons, respectively. The average wool production in the state is about 1,599 grams per sheep every year. State-run State Cooperative Wool Procurement and Marketing Federation Ltd (Woolfed) has a modernised plant for wool scouring in Banuri in Palampur where around 11,500 kg wool was processed in 2020-2021, said Kanwar. The state has two popular breeds of sheep -- the Rampur Bushairi and Gaddi -- popular for producing high-quality carpet wool.The Rampur Bushairi breed is reared in Shimla district, while Gaddi is reared in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts. The state has 7,91,345 sheep that produce coarse carpet quality wool.The minister said the breeding programme would help improve the wool quality. Also wool of 21-22 microns, suitable for apparel production, would be produced. It will be on a par with world's premium quality fabrics produced in Australia and New Zealand. Himachal Pradesh is the sixth largest producer of wool in the country, contributing four per cent to the country's total wool production.The Merino sheep, a Spanish breed prized for its soft, fine, and lustrous fiber, is being reared at government breeding farms in Nagwain in Mandi district where facilities have been strengthened with a cost of Rs 2 crore to meet requirements of the imported livestock. The sheep have well acclimated to the climate of the state and have produced 800 healthy lambs through artificial insemination. ICAR-Central Sheep &amp; Wool Research Institute has set up a wool testing laboratory in Kullu to confirm its quality and for facilitating wool producers, added Kanwar.—IANS

The Himachal Pradesh government has launched a Rs 8.5 crore community-based structured breeding programme for the genetic improvement of indigenous sheep and to double the production of wool, Animal Husbandry Minister Virender Kanwar said on Sunday.

Himachal aims to double wool production

Mumbai: The community consisting of promoters and their merchant bankers being ingenious have found new ways and have started creaming the system. This if not checked would be extremely detrimental to the capital market fund raising system in the medium to long term. In the mother of all IPO from LIC one saw that the total number of applications as per the exchanges on the last day of bidding was 73.37 lakh applications. The final number which was sent for banking or received by the registrar was down to 61.33 lakhs. Roughly one in six applications was not banked for various reasons. This is a high number and a cause for worry. However, what happened in the case of Prudent Corporate Advisory Services Limited was a shocker and needs to be studied as a test case for all capital market enthusiasts, intermediaries, regulators and above all investors.Prudent Corporate Advisory Services Limited or Prudent had tapped the capital markets with its offer for sale of 85,49,340 equity shares in a price band of Rs 595-630. The issue was open between May 10 and 12. The primary business of the company is a distributor of mutual fund products. It also has a large base of ARN's or authorised representatives or simply explained sub-brokers. This makes Prudent a B2B and a B2C player. The company is the 3rd highest in terms of retail AUM. It has 23,262 channel partners and 13.51 lac clients. The issue was considered expensive by most analysts and the company was expected to have a tepid response. On day one of bidding the retail portion was subscribed over 72 per cent and moved on more or less equally to end day three at 1.29 times. The issue garnered 1,53,381 applications and the retail portion saw bids of 38.01 lac shares. The overall issue was subscribed post the anchor allotment at 1.22 times and received bids for 73,20,969 shares. So far so good. The basis of allotment advertisement which was issued on the day of listing on May 20 had very interesting data. The number of applications received by the registrar had dropped dramatically to 42,868 and the number of shares bid to 71,34,30 shares. This number includes anchor investors. If one were to reconcile with the bidding on the exchanges, the corresponding number would be 42,844 applications for 43,56,476 shares. The discrepancy, a massive 1,10,537 applications or 72.06 per cent of the applications bid on the system for 19,64,493 shares. This is illogical and needs to be examined. Was the system being creamed to give a feeling that there was great demand for the issue and it was oversubscribed when reality was that the issue was yet to get subscribed?The reality. Retail investors applications received by the registrar were just 41,753 for a mere 11,68,584 shares. Of these, 2,203 applications for 63,342 shares were rejected by the system. There is nothing that could alarm in this rejection, this is quite normal. The final outcome is the startling point. The issue for 85.49 lac shares which was oversubscribed 1.22 times, remained undersubscribed. The company finally allotted 68,08,820 shares. The shortfall was a massive 17,40,520 shares or 20.35 per cent of the issue size. For the records, the share lost Rs 67.30 or 10.68 per cent to close at Rs 562.70 on the BSE at end of trading on day one. The high and low of the stock was Rs 660 and Rs 541.15. The three merchant bankers to the issue were ICICI Securities Limited, Axis Capital Limited and Equirus Capital Limited. If the information of subscription of just about 80 per cent would be publicly known, the response could have been even poorer and the issue have to be extended with a change in the price band. This is a very serious issue as the entire planning has been done with an intention to create a false atmosphere about the demand in the mind of retail investors and make the issue go through. Who benefited is clear? The modus operandi of systematically bidding for shares on the system on all three days so that the mirage is created should be checked and the guilty brought to book. While no one is guilty until proven, a matter as serious as this, warrants urgent action from the stock exchanges and the regulator.The persons whose applications have been bid for and then willingly or unwillingly not banked cannot be random in nature. This is concentrated in nature and a genuine database has been used to create over 1.1 lac applications. Detecting this would be a piece of cake for the exchanges. Once the guilty are identified, an option should be given to retail investors who have lost money in the IPO that their shares be bought back at the IPO price by the selling shareholder provided they have not sold as yet. Further, till this system is streamlined the association of investment bankers must work closely with the exchanges and SEBI to plug the gap, and as per their suggestion ensure that no further IPOs be allowed to be launched until the above issue is resolved. Finally, the Finance ministry must take action on a 'ASAP' basis as the credibility of the entire capital markets is now at stake. No one must be spared come what may.—IANS

The community consisting of promoters and their merchant bankers being ingenious have found new ways and have started creaming the system. This if not checked would be extremely detrimental to the capital market fund raising system in the medium to long term.