Summary: Sebi has released two orders which will ask the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) to conduct internal inquiries into systemic and procedural lapses that led to the IPO scam reaching such large proportions without being detected. Though the committee has clarified that its action is not punitive in nature, which might make one wonder what the fuss was all about, the issue is how individual responsibility –as asked by the committee- will be determined.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital market regulator, has made key changes to the existing takeover regulations. Sebi was acting upon the report of the Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee, which had submitted its recommendations in July 2010. In the interim, there was a change of guard at Sebi, which may have delayed the decision-making process.

Here are the main changes and impact:

India has become an integral part of the global capital markets, forming a key part of the emerging markets portfolio for large investors. Domestic investors have benefited as the incoming tide of foreign capital flows has swelled investor wealth, over a longer period of time. While foreign investors can hedge their bets across the world, it was not as easy for domestic investors to do so. Increasingly, domestic investors will feel the need to hedge against an unfavourable movement in domestic markets.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stuck to his promise made in his Budget speech and has put the draft Direct Tax Code in the public domain. The government is asking for comments, before it is introduced in parliament. Over the years, the Income Tax Act, 1961, has been supplemented by several amendments, interpretations and rules.