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Business Line K R Srivats The Cabinet’s decision to provide immunity to successful bidders removes the threat of attachment of assets due to sins of previous promoters. New owners of bankrupt companies and such entities themselves are finally set to be shielded from criminal liabilities arising due to the offences committed by previous management/promoters. This landmark reform, which is a part of a set of proposed amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 ( IBC), has gotten the green signal from the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, paving the way for more bidders/resolution applicants to come forth and bid for stressed assets in the country. In all likelihood the proposed legislative changes to the IBC may go through in the ongoing winter session of Parliament itself. Simply put, the Government is moving ahead to strengthen the IBC framework by ring-fencing the corporate debtor (already in the hands of a successful resolution applicant) from attachment/crim...

The Hindu Press Trust of India That legislation codifies Congress’ support for Administration efforts to graduate China from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lending program. Three Republican Senators have tabled a legislation in the United States Senate to prevent  World  bank from lending to China on projects that would be used against religious and ethnic minorities. Introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton on Wednesday, the Senate Bill instructs the US representatives at the World Bank to vote against and use best efforts to deny any loan or extension to countries that significantly exceed the graduation thresholds or that are designated as a country of concern for religious freedom. Grassley and Cotton also introduced an additional measure, S.3017, which is a companion to the Accountability for World Bank  Loans  to China Act introduced in the House Representatives. That...

Reuters Ernest Scheyder The U.S. Army plans to fund construction of rare earths processing facilities, part of an urgent push by Washington to secure domestic supply of the minerals used to make military weapons and electronics, according to a government document seen by Reuters. The move would mark the first financial investment by the U.S. military into commercial-scale rare earths production since World War Two’s Manhattan Project built the first atomic bomb. It comes after President Donald Trump earlier this year ordered the military to update its supply chain for the niche materials, warning that reliance on other nations for the strategic minerals could hamper U.S. defenses. China, which refines most of the world’s rare earths, has threatened to stop exporting the specialized minerals to the United States, using its monopoly as a cudgel in the ongoing trade spat between the world’s two largest economies. “The U.S. rare earths industry needs big help to compete...

The Indian Express Karishma Mehrotra The Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019, has significant parallels to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Where they differ The  Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019 , introduced in Lok Sabha this week, has been referred to a  joint select committee . It has significant parallels to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These two overarching data regulations mirror each other in some ways, but also present some notable divergences. Data transfer abroad:  One significant difference between the GDPR and the PDP Bill is the framework built around deciding whether or not data can leave the country. Both give a government authority the power to decide if data transfers can occur, but the GDPR more clearly lays out the parameters of this decision. Their “adequacy decision” is made based on the country’s rule of law, authorities, and other international comm...

First Post Press Trust of India US-based Schall Law Firm has said it will file a class-action lawsuit against Infosys Ltd to recover losses suffered by investors in the wake of allegations of 'unethical practices' at the Indian IT major. In October, Infosys had informed the stock exchanges of having received anonymous whistleblower complaints alleging certain unethical practices by the top management. US market regulator SEC has also initiated a probe on the matter, while Rosen Law Firm had said it was preparing a class action lawsuit to recover losses suffered by Infosys investors in the US. "The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class-action lawsuit against Infosys Ltd for violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the US Securities and Exchange Commission," a statement said. It asked investors who had purchased the co...

First Post Press Trust of India US has welcomed the indictment of Hafiz Saeed, the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned JuD.  It urged Pakistan to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations. "We welcome the indictment of Hafiz Saeed and his associates," Alice G Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said on Wednesday in a tweet. Wells also said the US calls for a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations. "We call for Pakistan to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations to counter terrorist financing and bring the perpetrators of terrorist attacks like 26/11 to justice," she said. Saeed was indicted on Wednesday by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court along with three of his close aides on terror financing charges. The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Lahore indi...

Dawn Mubarak Zeb Khan The Karachi-based Intelli­gence and Investigation department of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unearthed a scandal involving illegal transfer of over Rs20 billion to bank accounts and its withdrawal in Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without payment of taxes, it emerged on Thursday. The tax-evaded funds were transmitted into bank accounts in the areas of Swat, Buner and Batkhela in Malakand division, a tax-free area of KP between 2014 and 2018. The tax intelligence department has lodged a first investigation report (FIR) against the people allegedly involved in the scam. A well-placed source in the department told Dawn that the pattern of transactions showed that funds were routed in these accounts without any economic justification, and that the funds were many a time deposited and also withdrawn through cash. The initial investigations into the case show that the amount was transferred in three cases involving 10 to 15 people....

Hindustan Times Isabel Reynolds The cancellation would be a blow to Abe’s policy of cultivating ties with India to balance out China’s growing power in the region. Abe had been scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam, one of the regions where demonstrations have turned violent. The talks would have been the 16th between the two leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering cancelling a trip to India that was to have started Sunday, Japan’s Jiji Press said, citing several government sources. The news came amid  violent protests in the Northeast  over a new citizenship law approved by Parliament. The cancellation would be a  blow to Abe’s policy of cultivating ties with India  to balance out China’s growing power in the region. Abe had been scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam, one of the regions where demonstrations have turned violent. The talks would have been the 16th between the two leaders. Ot...