India

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has allowed withdrawal of insolvency proceedings against real estate development firm Nirmal Lifestyle and has also lifted a moratorium on the company. Nirmal Lifestyle has entered into a separate settlement agreement with the financial creditor, the Economic Times of India reported.

To most in corporate India, a ‘connected entity’ and ‘related party’ mean the same --- arguing over the difference is quibbling over semantics. But, is it? A confidential KPMG forensic report has run into legal ambiguity over the terms while making a litany of allegations on the lending practices of two Kolkata-based Srei companies which are categorized as systemically important non-banking finance companies in the country, the Economic Times of India reported.

Future Retail Ltd, India's second-largest retailer, suspended most of its online and offline operations as stores remained shut on Sunday, after rival Reliance bid to take over its flagship supermarkets for missed lease payments, Reuters reported. Reliance Industries Ltd will rebrand the Future stores after the company failed to make payments for them to Reliance, sources told Reuters on Saturday, closing most outlets of the popular Big Bazaar chain.

The committee of creditors of Vasan Health Care Pvt. Ltd. has approved a resolution bid of around ₹550 crore by Rajasthan-based ASG Hospital Private Ltd. under the insolvency process, according to the sources, The Hindu reported. The plan would be placed before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Chennai for approval. Max Vision Eye Hospitals Private Limited, Dr. Agarwals Healthcare Limited had also bid for Vasan Health in the insolvency process. The clear break-up of ASG’s plan would be known only when it is filed for approval.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday set aside an NCLT order that rejected an appeal by Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (RARCL) to initiate insolvency proceeding against Narendra Plastics. The NCLAT also directed the NCLT to initiate the insolvency proceedings against the company, the Economic Times of India reported.

India and the United Arab Emirates signed a broad trade and investment pact on Friday that will eventually cut all tariffs on each other's goods and aims to increase annual trade between the two nations to $100 billion within five years, Reuters reported. The virtual signing ceremony marks the first trade deal sealed by the Gulf state since it began pursuing such pacts last September in a bid to strengthen its status as a business hub.

The Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has approved consolidated insolvency proceeding for Srei Group's two non-bank lenders, BloombergQuint reported. Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd. and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd. will face a consolidated insolvency proceeding under the same committee of creditors, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The bidders will place a single bid under the insolvency proceeding to purchase a consolidated balance sheet, the first of the two people quoted above said.

Covid-19 drove tens of millions of migrant workers from cities back to their home villages, often to farm, and its lingering presence threatens India’s decadeslong quest to lift its economy from rural poverty to the modern age, the Wall Street Journal reported. In Covid-19’s first year, agriculture’s share of India’s total employment rose for the first time in at least 15 years, by 3 percentage points to 45.6%, government data show, yet it contributes less than a fifth of national output.

India's federal investigation agency has filed a police complaint against ABG Shipyard Ltd and its promoters accusing it of defrauding banks of 228.42 billion Indian rupees ($3.03 billion), Reuters reported. The report, posted on the Central Bureau of Investigation's website, said a forensic audit report it received from the banks two years ago had found instances of fraud in April 2012 and July 2017. The shipbuilder, identified by the central bank as one of India's "dirty dozen" highly indebted companies, has filed for bankruptcy resolution.

More than 25,000 people died by suicide due to either unemployment or bankruptcy between 2018 and 2020, the Union home ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the Economic Times of India reported. A total of 3,548 people committed suicide due to unemployment in 2020 (when the first wave of Covid-19 hit), 2,851 in 2019 and 2,741 in 2018, Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said while replying to a written question. As many as 5,213 people committed suicide due to bankruptcy or indebtedness in 2020, 5,908 in 2019 and 4,970 in 2018.