Cost of compliance for PLC lowered

MCA takes initiatives to reduce cost of compliance by various small private limited companies (PLC). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has been taking various initiatives on continuous basis to provide less stringent regulations, including measures with respect to filing requirements for small companies, One Person Companies (OPCs) and start-ups. This was stated by Shri Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Concluded KP plenary welcome Russia as KP Chair 2020

KP Concludes, Update 1: India the KP Chair Kimberley Process hosted Plenary in New Delhi during November 18^th & up to 22nd November 2019 was convened as the Sixteenth Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Meeting. Delegations from KP Participants and Observers along with the Kyrgyz Republic and State of Qatar attended as Guests of the KP Chair India.

The total number of Participants in the Kimberley Process (KP) now stands at 55 representing 82 countries (including the 28 member states of the European Union, which participates as a single Participant represented by the European Commission).

LVMH acquires Tiffany over US $16bn

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, the world’s leading luxury group and Tiffany & Co, the global luxury jeweler, announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement whereby LVMH will acquire Tiffany for $135 per share in cash, in a transaction with an equity value of approximately €14.7 billion or $16.2 billion.

LGD Working Group comes up with blueprint

There was intense interest in the first meeting of the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Working Group headed by Wesley Hunt of the De Beers Group. He said the new body was “about us working together with differentiated products that consumers can understand” at CIBJO Congress.

Positive Decision for Amulsar Project

Lydian announces positive decision from the Administrative Court of Armenia rejecting an attempt to revoke the EIA relating to the Amulsar Project

Lydian International Limited commented on a decision by Armenia’s Administrative Court to reject an Application calling for the Minister of Environment to revoke the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) of the Amulsar Project approved in April 2016.  The reasoning of the Court is important in the context of ongoing unlawful activities against the Amulsar Project.

PhonePe bans single-use plastics

PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments platform, today announced that it has banned the use of all single-use plastics across its 40+ offices in India. As a part of a national clean-up exercise conducted during the Diwali season, PhonePe removed all disposable plastic cups, plates and cutlery from all its office cafeterias.

It has also replaced all plastic dustbin liners with fully biodegradable paper-based garbage bags. Over the next six months, PhonePe aims to replace any plastic-based marketing collateral with eco-friendlier alternatives which are both 100% reusable and 100% recyclable.

MCA notifies Insolvency and Bankruptcy

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2019 (Rules) today to provide a generic framework for insolvency and liquidation proceedings of systemically important Financial Service Providers (FSPs) other than banks. The Rules shall apply to such FSPs or categories of FSPs, as will be notified by the Central Government under section 227 from time to time in consultation with appropriate regulators, for the purpose of their insolvency and liquidation proceedings.

KPCS unwilling to reform Mtisi:

At the just concluded KP plenary 2019, Delhi, Shamiso Mtisi, Zimbabwe-based coordinator of the KP’s civil society coalition said, “The 2019 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary, under Indian chairmanship in New Delhi, was a sad and surreal spectacle”, keep saying Shamiso Mtisi, “The 82 participating states lost themselves in excruciating discussions on rules, procedures and trivialities as they could only agree that, in fact, they do not agree on anything substantial”.

Kagem pioneers traceability technology

Kagem Mining, which operates the world’s largest producing emerald mine, in Lufwanyama District, is introducing a new blockchain nano-technology that enables gemstones to be traced back to the mine.

As the world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced, coloured gemstones, Kagem’s parent company, Gemfields, is advancing the industry as the first company to offer coloured gemstones for sale complete with Gübelin’s Provenance Proof technologies, not only citing the gemstone’s place of origin, but also setting up an encrypted record of a gemstone’s journey as it changes hands from mine to consumer.

Customisation vital too: CIBJO

Sustainability crucial but customisation also vital,

Responsible Sourcing Commission is told

The Responsible Sourcing Commission held it first official session on the opening day of the 2019 CIBJO Congress in Bahrain on November 19, after the body was formally established at the conclusion of the CIBJO Congress in Colombia in 2018.