The ministry of corporate affairs is set to make major changes to the framework of statutory audits to ensure that managements cannot arm- twist or tempt auditors into overlooking governance lapses. The proposed changes will mostly be through rules under the Companies Act as well as through changes to auditing standards so that no major change in the law is required, said two people familiar with the discussions in the government

In Mind without Fear, Rajat Gupta tries to make out that he is victim and not culprit. The ex-McKinsey boss contends that New York prosecutors went after him because they could not catch the big fish in the financial scandals of 2008, and therefore wanted to show success in chasing smaller fry. It is of course true that the "masters of the universe" (in Tom Wolfe's evocative phrase) who ran the big investment banks were involved in chicanery and fraud, and got away, but that is nothing new. More often than not, the big financial fish are Teflon-coated. The rigging of the Libor (London inter-bank offered rate) market, crucial for setting interest rates, went on for more than two decades. Yet only a single UBS trader was penalised. Similarly, after the 2008 financial collapse, a single small-timer was convicted for illegality- as a footnote in the film version of The Big Short informs us. In India's age of financial scandal, with YES Bank and the incredible Rana Kapoor in focus, no questions are being asked of its board of directors and senior management. It's no different with the 2018 collapse of IL&FS; key players have not yet been questioned, let alone prosecuted. Indeed, India's prosecutorial establishment would collapse under system over-load if all the mountebanks in the system had to be brought to justice.

In its final judgement on the insolvency proceedings against Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved the resolution framework proposed by the government, on Thursday. Rejecting the opposition of the creditors, the two-judge bench headed by Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya said the money invested in IL&FS by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI), Central Bank of India and the ILFS Employees Welfare Trust, among others constituted public money, and hence the distribution framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) should not be followed.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Thursday accepted a fresh distribution framework for Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) suggested by the central government and SBI, which had proposed that there should be "fair and equitable" distribution of funds to all creditors. This plan was opposed by other creditors who had suggested that Section 53 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which gives preference to financial creditors over operational and all other kinds of creditors, be used for the resolution.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday directed the government-appointed board of the debt-laden IL&FS to conclude resolution of all its entities, preferably, within the next three months and distribute receivables on a pro-rata basis, as was suggested by the Uday Kotak-led IL&FS Board. The appellate tribunal also said the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or the appellate tribunal has ample power to pass interim order in terms of Section 242(4) of the Companies Act and there was no need to modify or recall such orders issued earlier

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday approved the resolution framework for troubled IL&FS Group and sought the conclusion of resolution of all the entities, preferably within 90 days, while also clearing the formula for distribution of the sale proceeds to clear liabilities that add up to Rs 91,000 crore. In a 101-page order, NCLAT chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya set aside the question of jurisdiction and asserted that the cases will be decided by appellate tribunal.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday rejected the objections raised by creditors over distribution of funds under the revised distribution framework in the Infrastructure Leasing and· Financial Services (IL&FS) matter, saying it would be against public interest. "We accept the suggestion of pro-rata distribution as suggested by Union of India and the procedure as suggested by it for the purpose of completing the resolution process," said NCLAT Chairman SJ Mukhopadhaya

Lenders to bankrupt Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) expect to be able to offload some of the company's poorly performing road assets into an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) by April, two people aware of the development said, requesting anonymity. They may, however, have to wait longer than their one-year lock-in period to make money from the assets, which would further extend the time-frame for resolving the IL&FS crisis

Company Appeal (AT) No. 346 of 2018 Union of India Vs Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. & Ors With Company Appeal (AT) No. 347 of 2018 Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. Vs Union of India & Ors.

The liquidity position of housing finance companies is normalising and growth in the sector post IL&FS default is stabilising, according to the National Housing Bank. Going by the Q3 FY20 numbers, it sees a clear sign of growth pick-up. With Q4 being the peak period in the housing finance sector and Rs 20,000 crore of undrawn refinance sanctions available to HFCs, NHB expects a significant uptrend in their fresh sanctions and disbursements in the quarters ahead