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The Indian government has denied reports that it has asked state-owned banks to withdraw funds from foreign currency accounts abroad in anticipation of their potential seizure with regard to the Cairn legal dispute, terming such information as "false and baseless". <div type="ExtQuote" text="Condemning all such source-based reports as false, the Government of India said that these are totally incorrect reports which were not based on true facts. Certain vested parties appear to have orchestrated such misleading reporting, which often relies upon unnamed sources and presents a lopsided picture of factual and legal developments in the case." auname="An official statement from the government"></div> It said that the India is "vigorously" defending its case in this legal dispute, and has filed an application on March 22 to set aside the "highly flawed" December 2020 international arbitral award in The Hague Court of Appeal. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> "The government has raised several arguments that warrant setting aside the award. This proceeding is pending," the government said, adding that it is committed to pursuing all legal avenues to defend its case in this dispute worldwide. It was also stated that the CEO and the representatives of Cairns have approached the government for discussions to resolve the matter. "Constructive discussions have been held and the Government remains open for an amicable solution to the dispute within the country's legal framework," the Finance Ministry statement said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/apples-2021-ipad-pro-users-will-now-be-able-to-download-ipados-updates-over-5g-connection/articleshow/82883050.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Apple's 2021 iPad Pro users will now be able to download iPadOS updates over 5G connection</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/here-are-a-few-interesting-updates-from-google-i/o-2021-to-make-your-life-easier/articleshow/82882620.cms">Here are a few interesting updates from Google I/O 2021 to make your life easier</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/officials-in-up-warns-farmers-for-possible-locust-attack/articleshow/82879335.cms">Officials in UP warns farmers of possible locust attack</a>

Indian government denies reports on PSBs withdrawing funds from abroad due to the Cairn dispute, and is strongly defending its stand in the dispute

<ul class="p-rich_text_list p-rich_text_list__bullet"><li>India has decided to do away with a 2012 law that allowed the government to tax profits from earlier years even though theywere not taxable at the time.</li><li>This brings to end a decade-long tussle with foreign companies that saw the law as a deterrent to investments in India.</li><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced 'The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' which will undo the damage from the 2012 law.</li><li>The bill also proposes to refund the amount paid so far, in these cases, without any interest thereon.</li></ul>In a bid to bury the ghost of retrospective taxation, the government on Thursday brought a bill in the Lok Sabha to withdraw all back tax demands on companies such as Cairn Energy and Vodafone and said it will refund the money collected to enforce such levies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced 'The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' in the Lok Sabha that seeks to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets. The bill provides for the withdrawal of tax demand made on "indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012 (i.e. the day the <keyword id="996979" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="retrospective-tax">retrospective tax</keyword> legislation came into being)." "It is also proposed to refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon," it said. The bill has a direct bearing on long-running tax disputes with British firms Cairn Energy Plc and Vodafone Group. The Indian government has lost two separate arbitrations brought by the two companies against the levy of retrospective taxes. While the government has virtually no liability in the Vodafone case, it has to refund USD 1.2 billion to Cairn Energy for the shares of the company it had sold, tax refund withheld and dividends confiscated. The bill states that the issue of taxability of gains arising from the transfer of assets located in India through the transfer of shares of a foreign company (indirect transfer of Indian assets) was a subject matter of protracted litigation. The Supreme Court in 2012 had given a verdict that gains arising from indirect transfer of Indian assets are not taxable under the extant provisions of the Act. But to circumvent this, the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were amended by the Finance Act, 2012 with retrospective effect, to clarify that gains arising from the sale of shares of a foreign company is taxable in India if such shares, directly or indirectly, derive their value substantially from assets located in India. "Pursuant thereto, income-tax demand had been raised in 17 cases. In two cases assessments are pending due to stay granted by High Court," the objects of the Bill said. Out of the 17 cases, arbitration under Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands had been invoked in four cases. "In two cases, the Arbitration Tribunal ruled in favour of the taxpayer and against the Income Tax Department," it said in a reference to arbitration awards won by Cairn and Vodafone. "The said clarificatory amendments made by the Finance Act, 2012 invited criticism from stakeholders mainly with respect to the retrospective effect given to the amendments. It is argued that such retrospective amendments militate against the principle of tax certainty and damage India's reputation as an attractive destination," it said. While the government has in the past few years brought major reforms in the financial and infrastructure sector to create a positive environment for investment in the country, "the retrospective clarificatory amendment and consequent demand created in a few cases continue to be a sore point with potential investors," it said. The country today stands at a juncture when quick recovery of the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic is the need of the hour and foreign investment has an important role to play in promoting faster economic growth and employment. "The Bill proposes to amend the Income-tax Act, 1961 so as to provide that no tax demand shall be raised in future on the basis of the said retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before 28th May 2012 (i.e., the date on which the Finance Bill, 2012 received the assent of the President)," it said. It further proposed to provide that the demand raised for indirect transfer of Indian assets made before May 28, 2012 shall be nullified on fulfilment of specified conditions such as withdrawal or furnishing of undertaking for withdrawal of pending litigation and furnishing of an undertaking to the effect that no claim for cost, damages, interest, etc shall be filed. It also proposed to "refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon," it said. The bill proposes to amend the Finance Act, 2012 so as to provide that the validation of demand under section 119 of the Finance Act, 2012 shall cease to apply on fulfilment of specified conditions such as withdrawal of pending litigation and furnishing of an undertaking that no claim for cost, damages, interest, etc shall be filed. 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Indian government brings in a bill to bury the infamous retrospective tax that haunted Cairn and Vodafone for nearly a decade

UK's <keyword id="128650" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy">Cairn Energy</keyword> has identified USD 70 billion of Indian assets overseas for potential seizure to collect USD 1.72 billion due from the government -- a move if successful will put India in league with Pakistan and Venezuela which faced similar enforcement action over failure to pay arbitration awards. The assets identified range from <keyword id="2573" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India">Air India</keyword>'s planes to vessels belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India, and properties owned by state-owned banks to oil and gas cargoes of PSUs, three people familiar with the matter said. These assets are across several jurisdictions, they said without giving further details. <keyword id="64469" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn">Cairn</keyword> plans to move courts in the US to Singapore for seizure of the assets in absence of Indian government's refusal to honour an international arbitration award. "The Indian government naturally will challenge such seizure but to save the assets it may have to pawn money equivalent to the value of assets in some financial security such as bank guarantee. The court will return such a guarantee to India if it does not find merit in Cairn's case. But the surety will be passed on to Cairn if the court finds that India had failed to honour its obligation," a source said. Cairn has got an international arbitration award -- which overturned levy of retrospective taxes and ordered New Delhi to return the value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld to recover such taxes -- registered in the US, UK, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Mauritius, Canada's Quebec province, Japan and UAE. Now it has started moving courts to get a declaration that state-owned entities are alter egos of India and they should be held liable for discharge of the arbitration award in absence of the government making payments. Cairn on May 14 filed a lawsuit in a New York court to get Air India recognised as the alter ego of India and that "it should be held jointly and severally responsible for India's debts, including from any judgment resulting from recognition of the award". Once a court recognises Air India as the alter ego of the Indian government, Cairn can seek attachment or seizure of its assets in the US such as airplanes, immovable assets and bank accounts to recover the amount it was awarded by the arbitration tribunal. The move is similar to a court in the British Virgin Islands ordering in December last year that <keyword id="6368036" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotels">hotels</keyword> in New York and Paris owned by Pakistan International Airlines would be used to settle a claim against Pakistan's government by a Canadian-Chilean copper company. Crystallex International Corp had brought a similar lawsuit to attach property of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, in Delaware couple of years back after the Latin American country failed to pay the firm USD 1.2 billion that an arbitration tribunal had ordered to pay in lieu of the 2011 seizing gold deposits held and developed by the firm. In 2012, Elliott Management, a buccaneering American hedge fund which held distressed Argentine bonds, seized a handsome tall ship belonging to Argentina's navy. Recently, French courts ruled that a stifled creditor could seize a business jet belonging to the government of Congo-Brazzaville while it was being serviced at a French airport, as well as USD 30 million from a bank account of the country's state oil company. While the finance ministry has so far not commented on the Cairn move, sources said India will take all necessary steps to defend against any such "illegal enforcement action". India, they said, will contest the move on grounds that the government has challenged the arbitration award in the appropriate court in The Hague and it is confident that the award will be set aside. Sources said the government has also engaged a counsel team which is ready to defend against any enforcement action. While they maintained that neither the government nor any PSU has received any such notice, people aware of the Cairn lawsuit said the case has been brought only on Friday and notices in due course will come to the concerned authorities. The sources said as and when any such notice is received, the government/ concerned organisation shall take all necessary steps to defend against "any such illegal enforcement action". "Cairn is taking the necessary legal steps to protect shareholders' interest in the absence of a resolution of the arbitral award," a company spokesperson said commenting on the issue. "Cairn remains open to continuing constructive dialogue with the <keyword id="6377129" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-of-india">Government of India</keyword> to arrive at a satisfactory outcome to this long-running issue." The Scottish firm invested in the oil and gas sector in India in 1994 and a decade later it made a huge oil discovery in Rajasthan. In 2006 it listed its Indian assets on the BSE. Five years after that the government passed a retroactive tax law and billed Cairn ₹10,247 crore plus interest and penalty for the reorganisation tied to the flotation. The state then expropriated and liquidated Cairn's remaining shares in the Indian entity, seized dividends and withheld tax refunds to recover a part of the demand. Cairn challenged the move before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, which in December awarded it USD 1.2 billion (over ₹8,800 crore) plus costs and interest, which totals USD 1.725 million (₹12,600 crore) as of December 2020. The company, which previously said the ruling was binding and enforceable under international treaty law, has been since then courting Indian government officials to get the money paid. But the government has not agreed to pay. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month reiterated that international arbitration ruling on India's sovereign right to taxation sets wrong precedent, but had said that the government is looking at how best it can sort out the issue. The government, which participated in an international arbitration brought by the Scottish firm against being taxed retrospectively, has appealed against The Hague based tribunal's ruling. Sources said the appeal does not inhibit the company from seeking seizure of Indian assets. "It may not go for seizure of assets in the Netherlands during pendency of the appeal, but it can go after assets elsewhere," a source said. 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UK's Cairn Energy identifies $70 billion Indian assets for seizing to recover amount due from government

British oil firm <keyword id="262456" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy-Plc">Cairn Energy Plc</keyword> on Tuesday said it has identified Indian sovereign assets overseas, which it can seize in the event of New Delhi failing to return over USD 1.7 billion that an international arbitration tribunal has ordered after rescinding a <keyword id="10021078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="retrospective-tax-demand">retrospective tax demand</keyword>. "<keyword id="64469" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn">Cairn</keyword> is extremely confident that satisfaction of the award will be achieved either by negotiated settlement or by enforcement against Indian assets," the firm said in its 2020 annual earnings statement. The firm has moved courts in nine countries to get the arbitral award registered and recognised. "The tribunal ruled unanimously that India had breached its obligations to Cairn under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty and awarded to Cairn damages of USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and costs, which immediately became payable. The total due at the year-end was USD 1.7 billion," it said. The firm said it has engaged directly with the <keyword id="6377129" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-of-india">government of India</keyword> regarding satisfaction of the award, which is also enforceable against Indian-owned assets in more than 160 countries that have signed and ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. "Cairn has already taken steps to have the Award recognised in certain major jurisdictions in which Indian sovereign assets have been identified," the statement said. had on March 8 reported that the December 21 award from a three-member tribunal at the <keyword id="1056875" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Permanent-Court-of-Arbitration">Permanent Court of Arbitration</keyword> in the Netherlands has been recognised and confirmed by courts in the US, the UK, Netherlands, Canada and France. Further, the firm has started the process to register the award in Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands. "Cairn's engagement with the Government of India on its arbitration award will continue in parallel with pursuing options of enforcement and monetisation of the Award in order to safeguard shareholders' rights," the statement noted. The registration of the award is the first step towards its enforcement in the event of the government not paying the firm. Once the court recognises an arbitration award, the company can then petition it for seizing any Indian government assets such as bank accounts, payments to state-owned entities, aeroplanes and ships in those jurisdictions, to recover the monies due to it. So far the government has not directly commented on honouring or challenging the Cairn arbitration award, but Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> had last week indicated going in for an appeal. The tribunal had on December 21 ruled that the government breached an investment treaty with the UK and was therefore liable to return the value of shares it had seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund stopped to adjust a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand. Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn, said: "We have engaged with the Government of India regarding adherence to the ruling and we are pursuing all avenues to protect our shareholders' rights to the value of the award". Cairn said the tribunal ruled that the dispute was within the scope of the Treaty and other relevant legal parameters. "It further ruled that the application to Cairn of the retrospective tax amendment introduced by the Government of India was "grossly unfair", discriminatory and in breach of the "Fair and Equitable Treatment" standard of the Treaty," the statement said. The tribunal, therefore, ordered the withdrawal of the tax demand in India and awarded to Cairn compensation equal to the value of the shares held in Cairn India Limited (subsequently merged with <keyword id="2819168" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vedanta-Limited">Vedanta Limited</keyword>) seized by India in 2014 and withheld tax refunds due on other matters, totalling USD 1.223 billion-plus interest and costs, which is now payable. "Interest is payable based on USD six-month LIBOR plus a semi-annual margin of 1.375 per cent, accruing from 2014, and the costs awarded totalled USD 22 million. The total amount due to Cairn on December 31, 2020, was USD 1.725 billion," it said. 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Cairn says it has identified Indian assets for seizing should it be not paid

India is believed to have challenged in a court in The Hague an <keyword id="10983799" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="arbitration-tribunal-verdict">arbitration tribunal verdict</keyword> that overturned its demand for ₹10,247 crore in <keyword id="172303" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="back-taxes">back taxes</keyword> from <keyword id="128650" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy">Cairn Energy</keyword> Plc -- the second time in three months that it has refused to accept an <keyword id="603715" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-award">international award</keyword> against retrospective tax. The appeal was filed on Monday, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The <keyword id="47209" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> spokesperson did not immediately respond to an e-mail sent for comments. The appeal against a three-member tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague invalidating India's Rs 10,247 crore tax claim on Cairn Energy and ordering the government to return the value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld, comes weeks before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India. The British Prime Minister is widely expected to broach India honouring international arbitration awards during his April 26 visit, another source said. In December, the government had challenged in a <keyword id="211440" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Singapore-court">Singapore court</keyword> an international arbitration tribunal verdict that overturned its demand for ₹22,100 crore in back taxes from Vodafone Group Plc. Since the seat of Vodafone arbitration was Singapore, an appeal was filed in a court in that country. In the case of Cairn, the seat was The Hague and so an appeal has been filed in a court in the Netherlands, the first source said. The appeal was filed on a day when Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur had told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that "any such decision on filing of appeal or otherwise is taken only after careful consideration of all aspects of the matter." The tribunal's 582-page detailed verdict that asked India to return USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and cost to Cairn was registered in the Netherlands on January 8 and New Delhi acknowledged it on January 19, the source said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier this month indicated the government's intent of appealing against the award on grounds of it questioning the sovereign powers of India to levy taxes. Her ministry feels taxation is not a subject of bilateral investment treaties, like the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty under which Cairn had sought rescinding of the tax demand raised, and so the award should be appealed. It is of the opinion that Cairn set up a tax abusive structure in 2006 when it reorganised its India business to list the local unit, and did not pay taxes anywhere in the world on the gains that it made in India, they said, adding India had made an unsuccessful case of tax not being part of the treaty before the arbitration panel as well. However, the arbitration award specifically made it clear the base of the judgment was not a challenge to the 2012 law or India's sovereign right to tax. "The issue at stake is thus not a matter of domestic tax law, it is rather whether the fiscal measures taken by the state, valid or not under its own tax laws, violate international law," the tribunal had said in a unanimous verdict. The Hague panel found that a 2012 law passed by the Indian Parliament was a new tax, not a clarification of prior law that could be applied to earlier years. Cairn has moved courts in nine countries to enforce the award against India. The award has already been recognised by courts in the US, the UK, Netherlands, Canada and France and the same is in the process in Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands. The registration of the award is the first step towards its enforcement in the event of the government not paying the firm. Once the court recognises an arbitration award, the company can then petition it for seizing any Indian government assets such as bank accounts, payments to state-owned entities, airplanes and ships in those jurisdictions, to recover the monies due to it, sources said. Sources said the government believes that taxation is not covered under investment protection treaties with various countries and the law on taxation is a sovereign right of the country. While the treaties are primarily aimed at the protection of investments, the tax is levied on 'returns' earned by entities. But the Hague tribunal had gone into this claim and rejected it. Vodafone had challenged before the arbitration tribunal the demand for ₹7,990 crore in capital gains taxes (₹22,100 crore after including interest and penalty) under the Netherlands-India Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The demand pertained to Vodafone's USD 11-billion acquisition of 67 per cent stake in the mobile phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. 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Indian government appeals against tribunal ruling of $1.4 billion Cairn arbitration award

<ul><li><keyword id="64469" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn" source="Orion">Cairn</keyword> Energy has accepted the Indian government's $1 billion <keyword id="12044719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="refund-offer" source="Orion">refund offer</keyword>.</li><li>The company had earlierstarted seizing Indian assets, beginning with 20 of them in France amounting to $23 million.</li><li>The company has said that it will drop litigations to seize diplomatic apartments in Paris and <keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> airplanes in the US.</li></ul> UK-based <keyword id="262456" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cairn-energy-plc" source="Orion">Cairn Energy PLC</keyword> on Tuesday said it will drop litigations to seize <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="Orion">India</keyword>n properties in countries ranging from France to the US, within a couple of days of getting a USD 1 billion refund resulting from the scrapping of a retrospective tax law. The firm, which gave India its biggest onland oil discovery, termed "bold" the legislation passed last month to cancel a 2012 policy that gave the tax department power to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India. The offer to return money seized to enforce retrospective tax demand in lieu of dropping all litigations against the government "is acceptable to us," Cairn CEO Simon Thomson told PTI in an interview from London. Cairn will drop cases to seize diplomatic apartments in Paris and Air India airplanes in the US in "a matter of a couple of days" after the refund, he said adding Cairn's shareholders are in agreement with accepting the offer and moving on. "Some of our core shareholders likes BlackRock and Franklin Templeton agree (to this). Our view is supported by our core shareholders (that) on balance it is better to accept and move on and be pragmatic. Rather than continue with something negative for all parties which could last for many years," he said. Seeking to repair India's damaged reputation as an investment destination, the government last month enacted new legislation to drop Rs 1.1 lakh crore in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecoms group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn. About Rs 8,100 crore collected from companies under the scrapped tax provision are to be refunded if the firms agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. Of this, ₹7,900 crore is due only to Cairn. "Once we get to final resolution, part of that resolution is us dropping everything in terms of litigation. We can do that within a very short period of time, just a matter of a couple of days or something," Thomson said. "So we are preparing on the basis of getting this resolution quickly, all these cases being dropped, and putting all this behind." He said all enforcement proceedings brought because of the Government of India's refusal to honour an international arbitration award asking it to return the value of money seized to enforce the retrospective tax demand, will be dropped. "Everything will be dropped. There will be no more litigation, that will be it. It will clear the matter up," he said. Cairn in its half-yearly report on Tuesday said it will return up to USD 700 million out of the ₹7,900 crore (USD 1.06 billion) it is supposed to get from the Indian government, to "shareholders via special dividend and buyback." "Payment of the tax refund would enable a proposed return to shareholders of up to USD 700 million, via a special dividend of USD 500 million and a share buyback programme of up to USD 200 million. The remainder of the proceeds would be allocated to further expansion of the low-cost, sustainable production base," it said. Thomson said Cairn has had a "good, open and transparent line of communications with the Government of India" on finding a resolution to the retro tax issue. "Our aim was to get to a resolution... something which would be acceptable to our shareholders." "We were pleased when the Government of India made what we thought was a pretty bold move, in terms of enactment of the legislation," he said. "The intention of the government, we are obviously aligned with it, is to get this resolved as quickly as possible. Hopefully, that means within the next few weeks. It is good not only for us and our shareholders but also importantly for India." The resolution will bury the ghost of retro tax and help move on. "We are keen to get back to Cairn being talked about in terms of success in Rajasthan. I think moving on from this will allow us to do that," he said referring to the prolific oil discovery the firm made in Barmer. In accepting the terms of the new legislation in India, Cairn would be required to withdraw its international arbitration award claim, interest and costs and to end all legal enforcement actions in order to be eligible for the refund. "It will mean we will forego interest and penalty in terms of the original arbitration award. The important thing for us is it returns the value that was taken from us. From our perspective it is the right thing to do, be pragmatic, put this behind us, move on," he said adding this would help wipe away a factor negatively impacting investment for many years to come. The 2012 legislation was used to levy a cumulative of ₹1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17 entities including UK telecom giant Vodafone but nearly 98 per cent of the ₹8,100 crore recovered in enforcing such a demand was only from Cairn. An international arbitration tribunal in December overturned a levy of Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on a 2006 reorganisation of Cairn's India prior to its listing, and asked the Indian government to return the value of shares seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund withheld. This totalled USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty. The Indian government initially refused to honour the award, forcing Cairn to identify USD 70 billion of Indian assets from the US to Singapore to enforce the ruling, including taking flag carrier Air India Ltd to a US court in May. A French court in July paved the way for Cairn to seize real estate belonging to the Indian government in Paris. All these litigations will be dropped, he added. 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Cairn accepts India's $1 billion refund offer, says will drop all cases against the government

The proposed amendment to the definition of health insurance business is not exhaustive and may lead to disputes at the time of claims, said four <keyword id="57570" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unions" source="Orion">unions</keyword> in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (<keyword id="6367143" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LIC" source="Orion">LIC</keyword>). The Unions also said the proposed amendments does not define the term liability which may lead to misappropriation by the insurers. The four unions are: Federation of LIC of India Class I Officers' Association, National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India, All India Insurance Employees Association and All India LIC Employees Federation. The Indian government has proposed drastic changes to the two insurance laws - Insurance Act 1938 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act 1999- and has called for stakeholders views the planned changes. Scrapping of the statutory Rs 100 crore startup capital for life and general insurance business and Rs 200 crore for reinsurance business, allowing different kinds of insurers including captives, changing the investment provisions are some of the major amendments proposed by the Indian government to the insurance laws. The government also proposes to allow an insurer to distribute other financial products as specified by and subject to regulations and to services related or incidental to insurance business. As per the proposed amendment to Section 2(6C) of the Insurance Act 1938 "health insurance business" means effecting contracts of insurance that provide sickness benefits or pay for medical and health expenses. Quoting the existing definition in the Act, the four unions said the existing definition of health insurance business is explicit to include sickness, medical, surgical or hospital expense benefits. However, the proposed amendment is not elaborative which may lead to dispute during a claim and the insurers may find scope to harass the customer. Therefore, the existing definition should not be replaced, the four unions said. The employee unions are also opposed to the idea of insurers distributing insurers to distribute other financial products as it may distract the companies from their insurance products, distribution and proper attention on serving the policyholders. Industry experts also told IANS that the policyholders funds should be ring fenced so that it is not touched by the players in the case of any liability that may arise due to selling other financial products. The amendments to the laws are proposed in order to increase the penetration of insurance in the country, which continues to be low even after over two decades after opening up the sector. The employee unions are also against the government's plan to bring down the net owned funds to Rs.500 crore from the existing Rs 5,000 crore for a reinsurer. Moreover, the minimum requirement of Rs 5,000 crore was enacted years back. Since then, huge inflation has taken place. "Reduction in requirement by one tenth may result in insolvency which will put the customers in great sufferings. Therefore, we are of the opinion not to reduce the amount of net owned funds for new registration," the unions said. Referring to the proposed amendments to Section 27 of the Insurance Act, the unions said the proposed change does not define the liability, which may lead to misappropriation by the insurers. Therefore, the liability must be defined in explicit terms. On the proposed deletion of Section 27A of the Insurance Act the unions said: "This section deals with the provision of investments with a conservative view to safeguard the interests of the policy holders. Omission of this section may allow for irresponsible investments by the insurers causing huge harm to the customers." The unions are also against allowing multilevel marketing in the insurance sector. Appointment of principal agent, chief agent and special agent to transact any insurance business will bring complexity in the system and will increase the probability of mis-selling as well as fraudulent acts, they said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-motors-subsidiary-to-operate-921-electric-buses-in-bluru/articleshow/96294242.cms">Tata Motors subsidiary to operate 921 electric buses in B'luru</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-electric-scooters-in-india-in-2023/articleshow/96278794.cms">From Suzuki and TVS to Hero Electric: Here are some of the top electric scooters expected to launch in 2023</a>

Proposed amendments to insurance laws may lead to disputes in health claims, misappropriation: Unions

<ul><li>An official source told IANS said that the latest apps to be banned were found to be cloning the previously banned apps.</li><li>The Ministry has written to all the companies concerned and said that making the apps available, directly or indirectly, would violate IT Act and other laws.</li><li>On June 29 the government had last month banned 59 <keyword id="6022999" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chinese-apps">Chinese apps</keyword> including <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi's Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle in <keyword id="26604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ladakh">Ladakh</keyword> which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops.</li></ul> Nearly a month after banning 59 Chinese apps, the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> has barred 47 more Chinese apps from operating in the country, which were largely clones of the previously banned apps, sources said. The list of the concerned mobile applications will be published soon. An official source told IANS said that the latest apps to be banned were found to be cloning the previously banned apps. The development comes days after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed the 59 banned apps to strictly adhere to the orders or face serious action in case of violation. The Ministry has written to all the companies concerned and said that making the apps available, directly or indirectly, would violate IT Act and other laws. On June 29 the government had last month banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi's Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle in Ladakh which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops. "These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, defence of India, security of state and public order," MeitY's statement had said. According to the ministry, the move would safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile users. Other Chinese apps in the banned list were Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu, BIGO LIVE and more. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/dil-bechara-kissing-booth-2-and-other-movies-you-can-watch-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disneyhotstar-this-week/slidelist/77142498.cms">Dil Bechara, Kissing Booth 2 and other movies you can watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/work-from-home-effect-these-companies-are-shelling-out-for-employees-power-bills-internet-cost-and-more/articleshow/77139229.cms">WFH effect – These companies are paying for employees' power bills, internet cost and more</a>

Indian government bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps

India has changed the Rules of Engagement (RoE) across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after a barbaric attack was carried out by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops on Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, killing 20 Indian soldiers. In the violent clash that took place on the night of June 15, China took 10 <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword> men, including officers, into custody and released them after three days. Sources said that Indian soldiers did not use weapons when the PLA troops attacked them. They were not allowed to do so as per the orders from their seniors and the confidence building measures pacts with China. As per the new Rules of Engagement, commanders deployed at LAC can give soldiers "complete freedom of action" to handle situations at the tactical level. The commanders can now use firearms and have full authority to respond to extraordinary situations using all resources at their disposal. Earlier, these were not part of the Rules of Engagements across the LAC. In a statement issued during an all-party meet on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India would respond firmly to any attempt to transgress the LAC. "In fact, he specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violation of LAC (‘unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain')," a statement issued by the PMO stated. The words of Prime Minister -- "those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil" -- succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of the armed forces. Modi further emphasised, "I want to assure you that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders." Many people questioned why soldiers did not use firearms or why they went unarmed. To this, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that Indian Army troops, who were attacked and suffered fatal casualties on Monday night, were carrying weapons, however, they did not fire. He said, "All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving the post. Those in Galwan on June 15 did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 an2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs." Sources said Indian Army troopers were outnumbered by 1:5 ratio when they came under attack from the PLA soldiers at patrolling point 14 in along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. PLA troopers "savagely attacked" Indian Army personnel, according to sources in the government with knowledge of the details of the June 15 clash. "The numbers were stacked up against the Indian Army troopers. Yet, the Indian side decided to fight the PLA troopers. The Indian soldiers were outnumbered 1:5 by the Chinese troopers," the sources said. China is also said to have used thermal imaging drones to trace the Indian Army soldiers scattered on the treacherous terrain before brutally attacking them. "It was the deadliest attack carried on Indian Army personnel by the Chinese military personnel in our memory," the government sources said. "We were outnumbered," admitted an Indian Army officer, talking about the clash that reportedly went on for six to seven hours. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/indian-army-on-india-china-war-in-galwan-valley-soldiers-killed/articleshow/76402297.cms">‘Serious clashes’ between India and China⁠ in Galwan Valley — India says 'Chinese troops had planned this escalation'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-hits-back-at-china-over-galwan-valley-claims/articleshow/76483301.cms">India’s hits back at China over Galwan Valley claim calling it 'exaggerated and untenable'</a>

You Searched For "indian government cairn dispute" and got 9 results

Indian government denies reports on PSBs withdrawing funds from abroad due to the Cairn dispute, and is strongly defending its stand in the dispute

IANS

Indian government brings in a bill to bury the infamous retrospective tax that haunted Cairn and Vodafone for nearly a decade

PTI

UK's Cairn Energy identifies $70 billion Indian assets for seizing to recover amount due from government

PTI

Cairn says it has identified Indian assets for seizing should it be not paid

PTI

Indian government appeals against tribunal ruling of $1.4 billion Cairn arbitration award

PTI

Cairn accepts India's $1 billion refund offer, says will drop all cases against the government

PTI

Proposed amendments to insurance laws may lead to disputes in health claims, misappropriation: Unions

IANS

Indian government bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps

BI India Bureau

Government allows soldiers to use firearms across LAC in extraordinary situations

IANS

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