Cruel Intentions

Cruel Intentions is a 1999 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Selma Blair among others. Its an absolutely horrible movie made with bad script, horrible acting and rotten story line. Ryan and Sarah are rich step siblings, but all they think of is to seduce others. Sarah has a drug problem also. Ostensibly their parents are not shown, but like super ultra rich they have their own obsessions. Sarah is all the time plotting others' downfall, while Ryan is equally the same but he writes a journal. His newest exploit is Reese who is the school principal's daughter but he falls in love with her instead. Lots of things happens in between, but in the end I am happy that it got finished. Rating 0.00001/5 

61 Hours

61 Hours is a Jack Reacher story by Lee Child. A few of these Jack Reacher stories have been converted into movies starring Tom Cruise. Jack Reacher is a kind of ex-military but now wandering aimlessly with minimal possession, and wherever he lands he finds some trouble in which his expertise is required. This time he lands in a town called Bolton in South Dakota in a bus of elderly tourists. It has been snowing, the roads are skidding and the bus falls into a gorge, luckily no major injuries, but Jack is stranded in the town for a couple of days, enough for him to find out something amiss there. There is a gang of bikers and some unused depot where strange things are going on. One old lady who has witnessed some horrific crime and is under threat by a gang operating out of Mexico. All that happens fast paced in a reverse countdown basis, so that keeps the reader engaged. It is no doubt a fast paced thriller. Jack talks to his ex-boss in Washington to get a lot of info on the Mexican gang. Goodreads 5/5

Relaxation of last date for filing AOC-4 xbrl

MCA has vide its circular dated 26th October, 2017 extended the last date for filing of AOC-4 XBRL for financial year 2016-17 in accordance with IndAS accounting standards upto 31st March, 2018. The draft taxonomy has been uploaded on the site in order for the stake holders to familiarise themselves with the new requirement. The development tools necessary for deployment of taxonomy for XBRL filing is expected to be completed only by 28th February, 2018. Therefore the last date has been extended upto 31st March, 2018.

MCA circular can be found here

DoT further simplifies the process for linking of Aadhaar with mobile number

PIB press release dated 25th October, 2017

In a bid to expedite compliance of telecom service providers with the Hon. Supreme Court's order dated 6^th February regarding linking of Aadhaar card with mobile number and reverification process of mobile users, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued a comprehensive instruction on Wednesday.

As per the new rules, the DoT has introduced three new methods to link the registered mobile number with Aadhaar i.e. OTP (One Time Password) based, App based and the IVRS facility. These new methods will help subscribers to get their mobile number linked to Aadhaar without visiting the stores of the telcos. For the ease of senior citizens and the people with disability and chronic illness, DoT has also recommended for the re-verification at subscribers’ doorstep. According to the new guidelines, the telecom operators should provide an online mechanism for people to request such service and based on availability schedule the visit and complete the process.

Speaking on the development, Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Communications, said “The Aadhaar number system was designed to allow all residents of the country access to critical government services and important information that they may need from time to time. Mobile penetration is increasing rapidly in the country and the subscribers need to be provided with the ease of linking of the Aadhaar number with the mobile number. It is the government’s endeavour to improve convenience and reduce time and energy spent by consumers to accessing government information and services that is their right to access.”

Representative of COAI stated, “The latest clarifications from the DoT are aligned with what the industry, and the subscribers need at this time. While, it will take a little time to implement the directions, we are working closely with the government to improve and enhance the convenience of our consumers for undertaking Aadhaar based e-KYC linking of their mobile number. We are implementing all the necessary processes so as to be able to use the additional methods prescribed including OTP, App based and the IVRS facility. We expect it to get much faster and easier for individual mobile subscribers to comply with the e-KYC norms using their Aadhaar Registered Mobile Number (ARMN).” 

In a circular in August, DoT had given instructions to the telecom service providers to provide iris or fingerprint based authentication of Aadhaar. The new regulations have specified that the telecom service providers must deploy iris readers for this purpose within a reasonable geographical area.  

Further, in keeping with privacy rules, the DoT has mandated that telecom service providers’ agent should not have access to the subscribers’ e-KYC data and only the name and address of the subscribers should be visible. Subscribers can verify or re-verify their mobile numbers from anywhere in the country irrespective of which service area their mobile connection belongs to.

The Wish List

The Wish List by Martina Reilly is a nice heart warming, uplifting book about family relationships, grief, love, redemption etc. The book especially dwells nicely on the havoc wrought upon a young family when the man is into drugs. That is the central theme of the book, plus other redemption stories as well. Tony has a drug problem because of which he is in high debt and is forced to sell his house and settle elsewhere. He has a wife and two young kids. Next door to his new house is a grumpy old man who has his own problems in life following the death of his wife, which he has not been able to forget, thereby neglecting his own two sons, who are now grown-up. The elder son of Tony and Ally, looks upon Jeremy the old man as a Santa who will magically solve all his problems. Initially Jeremy looks upon that as a nuisance to keep away the kid, but increasingly becomes aware of his limitations. There is a coming of age with his own sons as well. Rehab of Tony and his relationship with his own young brother also comes up and also Ally's relationship with her father. So there is grief, mis-understanding all around, redemption, love, courage in plenty. Goodreads 3/5 

The Lock Artist

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton, is an incredibly beautiful story of a vocally challenged lock artist and his unusual dilemma. The writing by Steve Hamilton is very touching. 18 year old Mike is a mute due to a terrible tragedy that happened 10 years ago. But he is also an expert safe cracker. And that is a talent that many people want, you know, especially of the wrong kind. So he has no choice but to lend his services to the wrong people, he falls in love at one such house. The story is narrated by him so that makes it very surreal, a not speaking person narrating his story. He is also a good at drawing so he sort of explains himself through his drawings. Goodreads 5/5 

The Winter Ghosts

The Winter Ghosts is a novel written by English writer Kate Mosse. Its not a creepy ghost story but more like a historically leaking ghost, I guess all ghosts are leaking in some way or other but this book is interesting. Freddie Watson who is very attached to his brother George and who has not been very well treated by his parents is distraught at the death of his brother. There are constant references to what would George think about, in the book. Freddie is institutionalised also for a few years. The book is set in post World War I scenario. In order to recover from his illness he sets off on a road trip to France, drives through in snow and low visibility and crashes his car into the rocks. When he recovers he stumbles into a village which is seen as celebrating its annual village festival. There he meets Fabrissa and they talk and talk and there is some fighting taking place from where they escape. The next morning he gets up, Fabrissa is gone. Freddie learns of her story of persecution of the Cathers community by the Catholic church. But that happened 700 years ago. Goodreads review 3/5 

Indecent Proposal

Indecent Proposal is a 1993 movie featuring Demi Moore, Robert Redford and Woody Harrelson.  Before writing this blog I checked online, as that feature is easily available these days and found out that Woody Harrelson had been given the Worst Actor Award in the Razzies and the movie itself was nominated for Worst Movie Award. Well, it is not such a bad movie at all. Demi Moore especially sizzles in the movie. She looks beautiful those youthful days. Woody Harrelson in fact has done a fine role. I am sure those who gave him the Razzies would like to change their opinion. Its an uncomplicated story of a millionaire wanting to sleep with a woman for 1 million dollars, which those guys need desperately to fund their dream housing project. He has got money to spare and she has got the assets but what is not reckoned with is the emotional content. I am sure there must have been a shameless copy in Bollywood by somebody with all the songs and dance in it and too much of emotional drama baazi with moms and in laws and bua's and what ever fucking not characters. 

The Exorcist - cult classic

Revisited the 1973 cult classic "The Exorcist" yesterday. It was and still is the greatest horror movie ever made. Don't remember what were my emotions when I saw it first time in 1979 or around but this movie still gives the creeps. Those days Hollywood movies were released in India 5 to 6 years after their first release abroad so that is why we got to see the movie in 1979 or thereabouts, when I was in college. Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil is simply the most powerful devil incarnate ever. None of the latter horror movies ever comes close to this ultimate cult classic. The devil penetration into Regan happens ever so slowly and that is most beautifully done. The first instance we see is when she undergoes a medical examination with Dr.Klein. Then when she suddenly blows out it is most terrifying. She is all raw power when she says "stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker" 

This piece of dialogue when Father Lancester Merrin tries to drive the evil away is epic. 

Father Merrin: I cast you out! Unclean spirit!

Demon: Shove it up your ass, you faggot!

Father Merrin: In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is he who commands you! It is he who flung you from the gates of Heaven to the depths of Hell!

Demon: Fuck him!

Father Merrin: Be gone...

Demon: Fuck him, Karras! Fuck him!

Father Merrin: ...from this creature of God! Be gone! In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Of the cast, Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras is outstanding. When he enters her room and finds his mother sitting there and then he realises what is to be done, he comes down and sits on the bench. That is the most poignant scene ever in the movie.

These were great cult movies, The Exorcist, The Omen, Jaws, Alien - all absolutely great movies. 

The Freebooters

The Freebooters written by Elleston Trevor is an unlikely story of a British army unit embattled in an imaginary country in a violent zone inside Africa with orders not to fight but only to retaliate. The force gets impatient, with one soldier letting loose his machine gun killing 15 of the locals. The locals meanwhile continue to harass the soldiers and in fact they get annoyed when the force constructs a barbed wire outside their perimeter in order to keep the locals away. The locals do manage to kill a few British soldiers and that too in a most brutal way. A few of them mutiny, walk across 250 miles of enemy territory with a truck and machine guns and all, but the truck breaks down and, so they are forced to leg it out to the missionary. Along the route they encounter the tribes and kill many of them. Once they arrive at the missionary it is still not over, and they have to fight hard to stave off the locals. Again when they arrive at the missionary, its head, a lady says, she does not approve of any killings, its bad. So they have a predicament, but they are lives to be saved as well. Its a brave story with varied characters and the writer has kept the interest intact. Goodreads review 5/5 

Black Wind

Black Wind is a thriller from Clive Cussler alongwith his son Dirk Cussler. During the world war II, a Japanese submarine carrying some deadly biological warfare was sunk by US boats. 40 years later, a North Korean businessman masquerading as a South Korean tries to get hold of those biological canisters in order to wreak havoc on the US. His logic - US forces are occupying the DMZ between North and South Korea and therefore preventing a re-unification between the two Koreas on North Korean terms. Enter Dirk Pitt Jr. and his sister Summer, both agents with NUMA, (National Underwater & Marine Agency), they stumble upon this rapacious plot of the North Korean to let loose biological warfare over the American air and soil during the G-20 summit. One thing leads to another, there is a lot of chase all over the place from Phillipines to Japan to South Korea and back to San Deigo. Dirk and Summer's father Dirk Pitt Sr. is also involved in the plot. Nice racy thriller a bit technical with all the nautical adventures but Clive Cussler has managed to keep the narrative flowing smoothly. Rating 4/5 

11.24 kms Aarey

11.24 kms in Aarey Forest, Mumbai. Took the regular unit no. 16 and the Aarey Guest House and also added the Diary road today. Weather in Aarey was absolutely humid with not a hint of breeze whatsoever. Aarey Forest is such a beautiful place, an oasis in the bustling city of Mumbai, a paradise of sorts. Don't understand government apathy in destroying such a beautiful natural eco system which is virtually the lungs of Mumbai. Especially when there are alternative sites for construction of the metro car shed government insistence on destroying aarey forest is nothing short of arrogance and cruelty. Cruelty it is to the thousands of birds, insects etc. residing in this beautiful forest. Every time you go to Aarey Forest you feel so refreshed, it is the pure oxygen which is the hallmark of this place. I suspect there is corruption and greed in commercially exploiting this pristine piece of nature.  

Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club is a 2013 American movie based on a real life story of Ron Woodruff who is diagnosed with AIDS but does not get the medicines because FDA has not approved of them. These are early days of the AIDS treatment and the research is still picking up on what is the best medicine for AIDS. Mathew McConaughey has brilliantly played the lead role of Ron, for which he won the Best Acting Oscar. Jennifer Garner as the supportive doctor has also played a superb role. The more I see of Jennifer Garner acting, the more I feel that she is developing in a fine actor in the mould of Meryl Streep. So Ron does not get the AZT because they are still on trial, but he goes to Mexico and gets dDc and peptide T, which is a protein from a local doctor there whose licence has been squashed. He brings a bootful load of medicines masquerading as a padre who requires them for his cancer treatment. Meanwhile he starts selling the medicines to fellow AIDS patients who are similarly denied the AZT treatment and forms the Dallas Buyers Club. His activity prompts other cities to form similar clubs like Florida Buyers Club which is mentioned in the movie. Ron gets into business with a transgender and sets about charging $400 as membership fee for the Dallas Buyers Club. But FDA confiscates his supplies and then IRS sets about investigating his activities. Meanwhile Jenifer is forced to resign from her post because she is seen as supporting the Club activities.

I liked the way this difficult subject was treated in the film. In India we don't see these kind of autobiographical movies which are even slightly controversial. We have sports and politics bio pics which are far away from truth and which are more like goody goody movies with a lot of song and dance. 

Babel

Babel is  a 2006 film starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett among others. It is set in four different countries Morocco Mexico, United States and Japan and the movie moves from one setting to another. Brad Pitt and his wife Cate are on a holiday to Morocco, leaving their two kids behind with their Mexican nanny in the US. They are emotionally distraught from having lost their third kid and so their marriage is on a strain. While in the bus, Cate is accidentally shot by a stray shot from one goatherd up in the mountains. The goatherd and his brother were given the gun by their uncle who gave it to them for protecting the herd from wolves. So Brad struggles with his bleeding wife and some emotionally disturbed co-passengers who think it is a terrorist attack and want to leave as soon as possible. Cate is taken to the village of the bus tour guide where there is no hospital but a local veterinary doctor sews up her wound. Meanwhile the nanny in the US has to go to Mexico for her son's wedding but the parents are not back, so she decides to take the kids with her to Mexico, a risky job but they manage to cross the border safely. Out in Japan, a deaf girl Rinko Kakuchi is shown as a rebellious kid and has unnatural sexual drive. She is recovering from the suicide of her mother so uses sexuality as a balm to calm her. She does not succeed any time. Her father Koji Yakusho is equally emotional disturbed and he has given away the gun as a memento to the goatherd's uncle. When the Japanese detective asks him about his wife's death, he says that he shot herself with a rifle, not jumping from the balcony. The connection between these stories slowly comes to the fore. There is one strand which connects all these stories. Absolutely powerful movie directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The music by Gustavo Santaolalla is simply breath taking. I watched this movie on Amazon Prime Video, unfortunately the movie did not have any sub-titles, which is a major drawback. The acting by the cast is absolutely good. There are so many languages used in the movie - Moroccan, Spanish, English, Japanese, Sign language but there were no sub-titles. The movie is mostly shot on actual locations which is breath taking. Adriana Barazza as the nanny has done a superb role. The Moroccan part of the actors were also extremely good and lifelike. 

City of Ghosts

City of Ghosts is a 2017 documentary about a group of underground citizen journalists "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently" (RBSS). RBSS came into being after ISIS took control of Raqqa a town in Syria. Most of the footages are the actual real footages of the crimes being committed in that place. The actors are also the real ones who are behind the RBSS. It is a moving account of the atrocities being committed by the extremist group in that town. Many of the RBSS members' own family members were shot dead by militants in Raqqa. RBSS members in Raqqa used to send footages to their friends in other countries who then used to post it on social media. The ISIS had completely cut off all contact for Raqqa with the outside world including destroying roof top satellites.

Raqqa is a beautiful town and people were leading normal lives but the arrival of ISIS in 2014 changed all that. This is a beautiful documentary and the RBSS were also awarded the International Press Freedom Award in 2015 for their brave efforts.

And the latest news is that Raqqa has been freed from the hands of the militants as per this news report

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-ignominious-end-of-the-isis-caliphate

Dark Fire

Dark Fire is a historical fiction novel written by C.J. Sansom. The mystery story is set during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Brother Mathew Shardlake is a hunchbacked lawyer and he has been called upon to rescue a friend's young niece who is wrongly accused of murder of her cousin. The girl gets an unexpected reprieve assisted through the offices of Duke Thomas Cromwell who wants a favour from Shardlake in return for granting a two week reprieve for the girl. The Duke wants him to investigate something called Greek Fire which is some kind of chemical to be used for creating havoc and destruction amongst people. Cromwell wants it desperately in order to resuscitate his own position with the King. One after another people who have worked on the Greek Fire start getting killed mysteriously. Shardlake has to follow that lead and also keep working on the investigation into Elizabeth's case. Luck falls his way on the girl's case, when he espies a locked out well in the household of Elizabeth's family. She is an orphan staying with her uncle, grandmother and cousins. Meanwhile he gets track of the diabolical plot surrounding the Greek Fire or the Dark Fire as it is commonly known. Sansom uses language that is known to have been used in those times. He keeps the suspense alive through an engaging and fast developing plot. This is my second book of C.J. Sansom, first one being Revelation. Rating 4/5 

CIPAM-DIPP Launches Logo and Tagline Contest for Geographical Indications of India

PIB Press Release dated 18th October, 2017

The Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has launched a logo and tagline/slogan contest for Geographical Indications (GIs) of India on MyGov.in website.

            A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin. Some of the examples of registered Indian GIs are Darjeeling Tea, Tirupathi Laddu, Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange, Kashmir Pashmina etc.

            GIs are not only part of our rich culture and collective intellectual heritage, but they also supplement the incomes of our rural farmers, weavers, artisans and craftsmen across the country. The promotion of GIs is in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign and therefore, it is our responsibility to preserve and protect them.

            Taking forward its ongoing social media campaign #LetsTalkIP to promote Indian GIs, DIPP aims to launch a certifying GI mark/logo that can be used to identify all registered GIs irrespective of the categories, and a suitable tagline/slogan for promotion of GIs. This will also help in engaging more people on the subject of GIs and making them aware about the benefits of a GI tag.

            DIPP has taken several initiatives for promoting awareness and outreach on GIs. One of the ways to promote GIs could be to present them as gifts. In this context, CIPAM has also launched “Gift a GI” campaign to enhance the visibility and thus help in branding and promotion of registered GI products. DIPP is also working with State governments to spread awareness on GIs.

            This contest is an opportunity for creators who aspire to see their creation recognized on a national platform. The last date for receiving entries is 17th November, 2017. The winning entry will receive a cash award of Rs. 50,000/- each, for logo design and slogan for GIs of India.

            The details of the logo competition for ‘Design a Logo and Suggest a Tagline Competition’ can be obtained from MyGov.in online platform.

            The complete list of all registered GIs in India can be viewed here. http://www.ipindia.nic.in/registered-gls.htm

Escape from Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 movie starring Clint Eastwood depicting the true story of a dramatic escape from maximum security prison at Alcatraz. Clint Eastwood plays Frank Morris who arrives at the Alcatraz prison for what we are not told, but to whom the warden informs that no one has ever escaped from his prison. Frank plans an escape with three others after finding that the concrete around his grill in his cell is weak and could be chipped away. Then they work around the plan over several months making a papier mache doll of his like image to ensure that he can rendezvous around the prison to find out his escape plan. On the appointed day, one of the four panics but the other three carefully make their way around the prison through various obstacles. From the prison to the main land is a mile long water body and where the water is so cold that people can drown in minutes of numbness. But these guys make a life raft out of rain coats.

Clint Eastwood as usual displays his deep stoic expression as in all his movies. There are no female characters. 

14.86 kms Juhu Versova

Ran 14.86 kms today from Juhu (Granth) to Versova (fishing village) and back. Along the way passed Amitabh Bachhan bungalow, JVPD circle and then turned left into Versova. The road from the turn off into Versova just after JVPD circle is bad with rotten garbage strewn all over the place. But if you turn left to go into Versova fishing village side, the road becomes very nice with lots of trees surrounding, nice roads, good buildings, old bungalows (its called as 7 Bungalows). Coming back jutted into Juhu beach at Tulip Star entry, but it was a high tide today and the beach was dirty as hell and crowded too. So quickly made way back into the roads at the Ramada Inn turnabout. 

The Firm

The Firm is a 1993 movie featuring Tom Cruise and it is based on a John Grisham thriller of the same name. Grisham is known for his legal thrillers so this movie is also of the same genre. Tom is a young lawyer who gets an offer to join a small boutique law firm in Memphis, Tennessee, which he chooses over upshot law firms in New York etc. He is given royal treatment upon arrival with his wife. But slowly he learns of the firm's shady dealings with the Chicago mafia, the Moretto family. Meanwhile he also learns that none of the firm's associates ever resign on their own. They remain lifelong subjected to the firm's culture or are killed in mysterious ways. The FBI contacts him with more juicy details of the firm's illegal wrong doings and warns him to co-operate or end up as body bags like the other associates. His brother is in jail on man slaughter charges so Tom uses that as a leverage to have his brother released from jail while agreeing to co-operate with the Feds.

Directed by Sydney Pollack, this is a nice fast paced thriller, but Tom Cruise lets it down with his wooden acting. Others in the cast are Gene Hackman as his mentor, Jeanne Tripplehorn as his wife. and Ed Harris as the FBI agent.

The book is more fast paced than the movie is and there are more details in the book, which has not been adapted into the movie. 

JVLR woes!!

When the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) was being constructed, MMRDA told us that after the JVLR is built, travel from Eastern Express Highway (EEH) to Western Express Highway (WEH) will be in 20 minutes, that's right 20 minutes flat with no stoppages whatsoever!! Bullshit!! Today it takes anything from 1 hour to 2 hours to just traverse this link road connecting the eastern suburbs of Mumbai to the western suburbs. Still the Powai section of this road is bearable. It is when you cross the SEEPZ flyover that you run into humongous traffic jam, all the way to the WEH. It just simply stops, crawls, stops, sputters, stops. There are so many traffic signals, so many criss crosses that one simply gets bored at this stretch. Nowadays it seem the Aarey road has been blocked ostensibly for a fallen bridge during the August 29 downpour, but who knows what is the real reason ? It doesn't take that much time for repair of a bridge. 

Secretarial standard on General meetings

Salient features of Revised Secretarial Standards for General Meetings – SS2

1)     Applies to a section 8 company also but all other provisions of the Act relating to the General meetings are still applicable to a section 8 company;

2)    In case of a nidhi company, general meeting notice need to be served individually only on members holding shares of face value of more than Rs.1000 or more than 1% of the paid up share capital of the company, whichever is less. For other members, notice is by way of a newspaper notice in a newspaper circulated in the place where registered office is situated and on the notice board of the company;

3)     In case of companies having a website, the notice shall simultaneously be hosted on the website till the conclusion of the meeting. In case of a private company, the notice shall be hosted on the website of the company, if any, unless otherwise provided in the articles. This is an additional compliance even for small private companies which have websites. Nowadays every small company has a website for its promotion etc. The word used here is “shall” instead of “may” so this mandates compliance by all companies having websites. This is an unnecessary burden on the private companies to comply with this requirement. The only alternative they have is to amend the articles to provide that the notice need not be hosted on the website of the company. 

4)    Route map of AGM is not necessary for a closely held private company, where only the Directors and their family members are the shareholders or a wholly owned subsidiary company. This is a welcome relief for the small private companies. The whole purpose of putting route map in the notice was infructuous.

5)    Notice of the annual general meeting shall also specify the serial number of the meeting. By serial number I am assuming the no. of annual general meetings held in a company since its inception.

6)   Consent for shorter notice for the general meeting can be received any time before the meeting commences. It means that consent can be received 10 minutes before the meeting starts also. Government is toting this as “ease of doing business” 

7)   The authority letter from corporates for the annual general meeting shall,

(a)          in case of remote e-voting, be received before close of e-voting;

(b)          in case of postal ballot, shall be received alongwith the postal ballot form; and

(c)          if he is attending the meeting, then the letter should be sent before the commencement of the meeting.

8)   Nidhi companies are not required to provide e-voting facilities to their members;

9)   In case of Nidhi, no member shall exercise voting rights on a poll in excess of 5% of the total voting rights of the equity shareholders;

10)In case of a private company, a member who is a related party is entitled to vote on such resolution. This was always the case under the earlier Companies Act, 1956 also, only it has now been codified in the Standards.

11) The results of the voting at the general meeting needs to be displayed for at least three days at the notice board of the company at its registered office and also its Head Office and Corporate Office wherever it is situated. This is over and above displaying of the results at the company’s website, if any.  Before amendment, the three days’ time limit was not specified. This is another example of compliance overreach.

12) At a poll at the general meeting, it is not necessary that one of the scrutinizer shall be the member of the company.

13) Minutes of the meeting can be maintained in electronic form and it need not have a timestamp.

14) Minutes if they are maintained in loose leaf form, shall be bound periodically, at least once in every three years.

15) Minutes Book shall be kept only at the registered office of the company, not at any other place.

16) No need for minutes to state the conclusion time of the meeting;

17) Most of the other amendments are either rectification of the drafting errors or aligning the standards to be in line with the Act and/ or Rules thereof.

Brought in Dead

Written by Jack Higgins, but originally published under the name of Harry Peterson, this Nick Miller series features an apparent suicide by a young girl who has gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. When Nick and his colleague Brady finally identify her, she is Joanne Craig, a gifted painter and daughter of Colonel Duncan Craig. Joanne is a quiet, well mannered dutiful girl but changes completely upon coming into contact with one Max Vernon a rich thug & drug dealer. Under Vernon, Joanne becomes a drug addict herself, becomes pregnant and when Vernon throws her out, she goes and commits suicide. The judge and jury let of Max Vernon on no evidence basis. But the father who is an ex-military operative and an electrical engineer to boot, seeks revenge for the death of his daughter. There is a nice cat and mouse game being played between Max, Nick and Craig, with Craig using his intelligence to kill one of his Vernon's agents after another.

Jack Higgins, whose real name is Harry Peterson, is of course a well known author for his fast paced crime thrillers. This is my second book of him, first one being "The Last Place God Made"  

A Deadly Shade of Gold

My first one of the Travis McGee series by John MacDonald, the plot twists and turns literally into so many parts that you begin to wonder where this character came from. McGee is drawn into a murder of his close friend, who himself is drawn into some shady dealings with some pure gold Aztec statuette that have some value. McGee sets off on a quest to find out who killed his friend which takes him into a small village in Mexico. The plot slowly unravels every time McGee visits a new adventure, we start learning something about the story. Still it is not a linear narrative so we start tucking into one twist after another. We move from Mexico to Los Angeles, where the finale is set. Bodies start dropping one after another, all the bad guys go off one after another. McGee starts getting the hang of the plot more than us, of course, but we are still drawn to the end of the story through one sub-text after another. McGee is not the atypical detective, so his methods are unconventional but brutal in the end. Some perniciously vile characters are presented to us along the way.

John MacDonald is an American writer and the Travis McGee series spawned the 60s to mid 80s and were fairly successful.  This book was published in 1965.
My rating 3/5 

BEST bus no. 262

The BEST should add more services during the morning & evening peak hours on the no. 262 Goregaon Station - Ayyappa Mandir route. I say this because many passengers take the share auto from the end of M.G. Road during this period and even the share autos are not available most of the times, so a big queue is formed there also. So this is a good opportunity for BEST to capture that market of short distance passengers to Goregaon station. I would suggest to keep one bus every 15 minutes starting from 7.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. in the morning and from 4.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. In the evening also there is a huge shortage of auto rickshaws from the Goregoan station to Link Road, so this service could be very beneficial for the people plus it will also get some good business for BEST. They will get passengers from Bangur Nagar, Motilal Nagar, and all along M.G. Road. BEST needs to be innovative to get more business in view of the fact that their power division is not subsidising their transport division anymore and their huge losses. Rickshaws will lose business but who the hell cares for them considering their blatant refusals to ply passengers except to their favoured destinations. 

violation at traffic signal

Today when i was coming to office by BEST bus, the bus stopped at a  traffic signal well before the parallel lines before the zebra crossing. There was one motorbike also similarly standing before the bus but well within the zebra crossing line. Whereupon comes one other motor biker from behind and he was constantly honking to the other motor biker to go ahead. But the guy in front totally refused to go ahead. Again the biker came and shouted at the front biker to move ahead. Whereupon the first biker told him of the zebra crossing rule and pointed to the CCTV installed up there on the opposite side. Some altercation took place between the two, the second biker moved ahead regardless. We were watching all these from the BEST bus. There's compliance for you, technology in the form of CCTV forces compliance on some, but some do not bother. I am sure the second biker comes into the category of people who will not pay the traffic challan at all when it is automatically issued on the basis of his violation of the specific rule. 

Mutual Fund Schemes - Rationalisation & Categorisation

SEBI circular dated 6th October, 2017

http://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/oct-2017/categorization-and-rationalization-of-mutual-fund-schemes_36199.html

Subject: Categorization and Rationalization of Mutual Fund Schemes

1. It is desirable that different schemes launched by a Mutual Fund are clearly distinct in terms of asset allocation, investment strategy etc. Further, there is a need to bring in uniformity in the characteristics of similar type of schemes launched by different Mutual Funds. This would ensure that an investor of Mutual Funds is able to evaluate the different options available, before taking an informed decision to invest in a scheme.

2. In order to bring the desired uniformity in the practice, across Mutual Funds and to standardize the scheme categories and characteristics of each category, the issue was discussed in Mutual Fund Advisory Committee (MFAC). Accordingly, it has been decided to categorize the MF schemes as given below:

I. Categories of Schemes, Scheme Characteristics and Type of Scheme (Uniform Description of Schemes):

3. The Schemes would be broadly classified in the following groups:
a. Equity Schemes
b. Debt Schemes
c. Hybrid Schemes
d. Solution Oriented Schemes
e. Other Schemes

The details of the scheme categories under each of the aforesaid groups along with their characteristics and uniform description are given in the Annexure.

4. As per the annexure, the existing ‘type of scheme’ (presently mentioned below the scheme name in the offer documents/ advertisements/ marketing material/etc) would be replaced with the type of scheme (given in the third column of the tables in the Annexure) as applicable to each category of scheme. This will enhance the existing disclosure. Hence, for the purpose of alignment of the existing schemes with the provisions of this circular, change in “type of scheme” alone, would not be considered as a change in fundamental attribute.

5. In case of Solution oriented schemes, there will be specified period of lock in as stated in the Annexure. However, the said lock- in period would not be applicable to any existing investment by an investor, registered SIPs and incoming STPs in the existing solution oriented schemes as on the date on which such scheme is getting realigned with the provisions of this circular.

6. The investment objective, investment strategy and benchmark of each scheme shall be suitably modified (wherever applicable) to bring it in line with the categories of schemes listed above.

II. Definition of Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap:

7. In order to ensure uniformity in respect of the investment universe for equity schemes, it has been decided to define large cap, mid cap and small cap as follows:

a. Large Cap: 1 st -100 th company in terms of full market capitalization
b. Mid Cap: 101 st -250th company in terms of full market capitalization
c. Small Cap: 251st company onwards in terms of full market capitalization

8. Mutual Funds would be required to adopt the list of stocks prepared by AMFI in this regard and AMFI would adhere to the following points while preparing the list:

a. If a stock is listed on more than one recognized stock exchange, an average of full market capitalization of the stock on all such stock exchanges, will be computed;

b. In case a stock is listed on only one of the recognized stock exchanges, the full market capitalization of that stock on such an exchange will be considered.

c. This list would be uploaded on the AMFI website and the same would be updated every six months based on the data as on the end of June and December of each year. The data shall be available on the AMFI website within 5 calendar days from the end of the 6 months period.

9. Subsequent to any updation in the list, Mutual Funds would have to rebalance their portfolios (if required) in line with updated list, within a period of one month.

III. Process to be followed for categorization and rationalization of schemes:

a. Only one scheme per category would be permitted, except:
i. Index Funds/ ETFs replicating/ tracking different indices;
ii. Fund of Funds having different underlying schemes; and
iii. Sectoral/ thematic funds investing in different sectors/ themes

b. Mutual Funds would be required to analyze each of their existing schemes in light of the list of categories stated herein and submit their proposals to SEBI after obtaining due approvals from their Trustees as early as possible but not later than 2 months from the date of this circular.

c. The aforesaid proposals of the Mutual Funds would also include the proposed course of action (viz., winding up, merger, fundamental attribute change etc.) in respect of the existing similar schemes as well as those that are not in alignment to the categories stated herein.

d. Subsequent to the observations issued by SEBI on the proposals, Mutual Funds would have to carry out the necessary changes in all respects within a maximum period of 3 months from the date of such observation.

e. Where there is a merger of schemes/change of fundamental attribute(s) of a scheme (as laid down under SEBI Circular No. IIMARP/MF/CIR/01/294/98 dated February 4, 1998), the AMCs would be required to comply with Regulation 18 (15A) of SEBI (Mutual Funds Regulation, 1996).

f. Mutual Funds are advised to strictly adhere to the scheme characteristics stated herein as well as to the spirit of this circular. Mutual Funds must ensure that the schemes so devised should not result in duplication/minor modifications of other schemes offered by them. The decision of SEBI in this regard shall be binding on all the mutual funds.

IV. Applicability of this circular:

a. All existing open ended schemes of all Mutual Funds
b. All such open ended schemes where SEBI has issued final observations but have not yet been launched.
c. All open ended schemes in respect of which draft scheme documents have been filed with SEBI as on date
d. All open ended schemes for which a mutual fund would file draft scheme document.

This circular is issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11 (1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, read with the provision of Regulation 77 of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.

Minimum Public Shareholding requirements

Circular issued by SEBI dated 10th October, 2017

http://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/oct-2017/non-compliance-with-the-minimum-public-shareholding-mps-requirements_36216.html


Sub: Non-compliance with the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements

1. Regulation 38 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“Listing Regulations”) mandates a listed entity to comply with the Minimum Public Shareholding(“MPS”) requirements specified in rules 19(2) and 19A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 in the manner as specified by the Board from time to time.

2. In terms of sub regulation (1) of regulation 97 of the Listing Regulations, recognized Stock Exchanges are mandated to monitor compliance by listed entities with the provisions of the Listing Regulations.

3. Sub regulations (1) and (2) of regulation 98 of Listing Regulations inter-alia specify the liability of a listed entity or any other person for contravention and action which can be taken by the respective recognized stock exchange and the revocation of such action, in the manner specified by the Board.

4. In order to maintain consistency and uniformity of approach in the enforcement of MPS norms mandated under regulation 38 of the Listing Regulations, the below mentioned procedure shall be followed by the recognised stock exchanges/depositories, as applicable, with respect to non-compliant listed entities, their promoters and directors: 4.1. The recognized stock exchanges shall review compliance with MPS requirements based on shareholding pattern/ other filings made with them by the listed entities from time to time. Within 15 days from date of observation of non-compliance, the stock exchanges shall issue notices to such entities intimating all actions taken/ being taken as per this circular and advise the entities to ensure compliance.

4.2. On observing non-compliance:

4.2.1. The recognized stock exchange shall impose a fine of ₹5,000/- per day of non-compliance on the listed entity and such fine shall continue to be imposed till the date of compliance by such listed entity.

4.2.2. The recognized stock exchange shall intimate the depositories to freeze the entire shareholding of the promoter and promoter group in such listed entity till the date of compliance by such entity. The above restriction shall not be an impediment for the entity for compliance with the minimum public shareholding norms through the methods specified/approved by SEBI.

4.2.3. The promoters, promoter group and directors of the listed entity shall not hold any new position as director in any other listed entity till the date of compliance by such entity. An intimation to this effect shall be provided to the listed entity by the recognized stock exchange and the listed entity shall subsequently intimate the same to its promoters, promoter group and directors.

4.3. In cases where the listed entity continues to be non-compliant for a period more than one year:

4.3.1. The recognized stock exchange shall impose an increased fine of ₹10,000/- per day of non-compliance on the listed entity and such fine shall continue to be imposed till the date of compliance by such listed entity.

4.3.2. The recognized stock exchange shall intimate the depositories to freeze all the securities held in the Demat account of the promoter and promoter group till the date of compliance by such entity. The above restriction shall not be an impediment for the entity with respect to compliance with the minimum public shareholding norms through the methods specified/approved by SEBI.

4.3.3. Direction as per clause 4.2.3 above shall continue till the date of compliance by such entity.

5. The recognized stock exchange may also consider compulsory delisting of the non-compliant listed entity in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009 as amended from time to time.

6. The recognized stock exchanges may keep in abeyance the action or withdraw the action in specific cases where specific exemption from compliance with MPS requirements under the Listing Regulations/ moratorium on enforcement proceedings has been provided under any Act, Court/Tribunal Orders etc.

7. In case it is observed that the listed entity has adopted a method for complying with MPS requirements which is not prescribed by SEBI under clauses (2)(i) to (vi) under SEBI circular No. CIR/CFD/CMD/14/2015 dated November 30, 2015 and approval for the same has not been obtained from SEBI under clause 2 (vii) of the said circular, the recognized stock exchanges shall refer such cases to SEBI.

8. With respect to the fines as stated above:

8.1. The amount of fine realized as per the above structure shall be credited to the "Investor Protection Fund" of the concerned recognized stock exchange.

8.2. If any non-compliant listed entity fails to pay the fine despite receipt of the notice as stated above, the recognized stock exchange may initiate appropriate action.

9. Upon intimation of compliance by the listed entity with the MPS requirements, the concerned recognized stock exchange shall, on being satisfied of such compliance:

9.1. intimate the depositories to unfreeze the shares and other securities of the promoter and promoter group of the listed entity.

9.2. intimate the listed entity that directions imposed in terms of clause 4.2.3 above shall not continue and the listed entity shall subsequently intimate the same to its promoters, promoter group and directors.

9.3. disseminate the information in its website regarding the compliance achieved by the listed entity.

10. The recognized stock exchanges shall periodically disclose on their website the following–

10.1. Names of non-compliant entities, amount of fine imposed, freezing of shares held by the promoters and promoter group and other actions taken against the entity;

10.2. Status of compliance including details regarding fine paid by the entity.

11. The recognized stock exchanges may, having regard to the interests of investors and the securities market, take appropriate action in line with the principles and  procedures laid down in this Circular. Any deviation, therefore, should not dilute the spirit of the policy contained herein and may be made on reasonable grounds to be recorded in writing.

12. In order to ensure effective enforcement of the Listing Regulations, the depositories, on receipt of intimation from concerned recognized stock exchange shall freeze or unfreeze the shareholding of the promoter and promoter group in such entity and the other securities held by them, as applicable.

13. The actions specified in this Circular are without prejudice to the power of SEBI to take action under the securities laws for violation of the MPS requirements.

14. The Stock Exchanges are advised to bring the provisions of this Circular to the notice of listed entities and also to disseminate the same on its website.

15. This Circular shall come into force with immediate effect.

16. For entities which are non-compliant as on date of this circular:

16.1. The stock exchanges shall undertake such action as prescribed under clause 4.2 or clause 4.3 of this circular depending on the period of non-compliance by the entity. However, the fines, as applicable, shall be imposed prospectively from the date of this circular.

16.2. The provisions of this circular shall not apply to those entities where orders have already been passed by SEBI under provisions of Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992/Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 in relation to non-compliance with MPS requirements.

17. This Circular is issued under regulations 97, 98, 99 and 101 of Listing Regulations.

7.59 kms

7.59 kms in absolutely dry weather in mumbai. Was not feeling like running today morning after the meltdown at the hiranandani hospital at powai yesterday where i had taken mom for her regular check-up and then the travel back to home in busy late evening traffic. Did not even put the alarm like i usually do. but i somehow got up at 5.10 a.m. and decided to go for a run for whatever its worth it, running clears your stress levels like nothing else in the world. The hospital guys regularly take you for a ride in the billing section. They overbill like nobody notices it. There's no fucking ethics from the hospital especially to cheat the relatives of sick patients is most disgusting thing ever in this world. 

The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker is a 1997 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Matt Damon, Jon Voight, Danny de Vito, Danny Glover. It is based on a John Grisham novel of the same. As Grisham is known for his legal novels, this is a legal thriller.

Matt is a new lawyer and his first ever case is against an insurance company for wrongful denial of a medical insurance claim against a patient having leukemia. Settlement is offered but the young lawyer deems it fit to fight it in the court. While the case is going on, the patient dies, so it becomes a wrongful death claim. The patient would have been saved had the insurance company not denied the claim. He wanted bone marrow transplant which was a standard practice in such diseases but for lack of money the patient dies.

The jury decides the case in favour of the patient and awards 50 million dollars in punitive damages. The CEO of the insurance company is arrested trying to flee the company. The insurance company files for bankruptcy which means that the money is gone. Nobody will get anything.

While some aspects of the legal practice in the US can be said to be unethical, if you get a good judge and jury, punitive damages can be had in the verdict. Unfortunately in India law of tort is a farce as punitive damages are never awarded in such wrongful death or similar such cases.

Coppola has kept the interest alive in the movie. Matt Damon has done a good role and so have the others. 

Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme

Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme, Operational Guidelines

https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11138&Mode=0

This has reference to the GoI notification F.No.4(25)-B/(W&M)/2017 and RBI circular IDMD.CDD.No.929/14.04.050/2017-18 dated October 06 2017 on the Sovereign Gold Bonds,. FAQs in this regard have been placed on our website (www.rbi.org.in). Operational guidelines with regard to this scheme are given below:

1. Application

Application forms from investors will be received at branches during normal banking hours from Monday to Wednesday of every week (both days inclusive). Receiving Offices need to ensure that the application is complete in all respects as incomplete applications are liable to be rejected. Relevant additional details may be obtained from the applicants, where necessary. The Receiving Offices may make arrangements to enable the investors to apply online, in the interest of better customer service

2. Joint holding and nomination

Multiple joint holders and nominees (of first holder) are permitted. Necessary details may be obtained from the applicants as per practice.

3. Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements

Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms shall be the same as that for purchase of physical form of gold. Identification documents such as passport, Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card, Voter's Identity Card, Aadhaar card shall be required. In case of minors only, the bank account number may also be considered as valid for KYC verification. KYC will be done by the issuing banks/SHCIL offices/Post Offices/agents. It may be ascertained from the investor, if he/she has made a previous investment in SGBs or IINSC-C and hence in possession of an Investor ID. If so, the investments may be made under the unique Investor ID only.

4. Cancellation

Cancellation of application is permitted till the closure of the issue, i.e. until Wednesday of the particular week of subscription. Part cancellation of submitted request for purchase of gold bonds is not permitted. No interest on application money needs to be paid if the application is cancelled.

5. Lien marking

As the bonds are government securities, lien marking, etc. will be as per the extant legal provisions of Government Securities Act, 2006 and rules framed there under.

6. Agency arrangement

Scheduled Commercial Banks may engage NBFCs, NSC agents and others to collect application forms on their behalf. Banks may enter into arrangements or tie-ups with such entities. Commission for distribution shall be paid at the rate of rupee one per hundred of the total subscription received by the receiving offices on the applications received and receiving offices shall share at least 50% of the commission so received with the agents or sub-agents for the business procured through them.

7. Processing through RBI’s e-Kuber system

Sovereign Gold Bonds will be available for subscription at the branches of scheduled commercial banks and designated post offices through RBI’s e- Kuber system. The e-Kuber system can be accessed either through INFINET or Internet. The Receiving Offices need to enter the data or carry out bulk upload for the subscriptions received by them. They may ensure accuracy of entry of data to prevent occurrence of any inadvertent errors. An immediate confirmation will be provided to them for receipt of application. In addition, a confirmation scroll will be provided for file uploads to enable the Receiving Offices to update their database. On the date of allotment, Certificates of Holding will be generated for all the subscriptions in the name of the sole/principal holder. The Receiving Offices can download the same and take printouts. The Certificates of Holding will also be sent through e-mail to the investors who have provided their email address. The securities will be credited in their de-mat accounts by the depositories, in due course, subject to matching of particulars furnished in the application with the depositories’ records.

8. Printing Certificates of Holding

Holding Certificate needs to be printed in colour on A4 size 100 GSM paper.

9. Servicing and follow up

Receiving Offices, i.e., branches of the Scheduled Commercial Banks, designated post offices, SCHIL and stock exchanges (NSE Ltd and BSE) will “own” the customer and provide necessary services with regards to this bond e.g. update contact details, receive requests for premature encashment, etc. Receiving Offices will be required to preserve applications till the bonds are matured and are repaid.

10. Tradability

The Bonds shall be eligible for trading on a date notified by the Reserve Bank of India. (It may be noted that only bonds held in demat form with depositories can be traded in stock exchanges)