businessfortnight

New Delhi:  The government is considering a plan to regulate the import, manufacture and sale of ultrasound machines to stem the drastic decline in India’s sex ratio. The Drug Technical Advisory Board, the government’s chief advisory body on drugs, will take up the proposal to regulate ultrasound equipment under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 at their forthcoming meeting in September. If regulated, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the national regulatory body for Indian pharmaceuticals and medical devices, will become the approving authority for import, manufacture and sale of ultrasound machines. The companies will also have to apply for permission from the Drug Controller General of India, who is responsible for approval of licences, before the scanners are sold in India. The health ministry is of the view that the move is crucial to save the girl child. “We have taken up the issue with the Drug Controller General of India. This will help in prevention of

Mumbai:  Two days after asking stock exchanges to act against 331 listed entities suspected to be shell companies, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seemingly softened its stance on Wednesday, giving the firms an opportunity to be heard. The markets regulator issued a second communique to the exchanges, asking them to look at the tax returns and financials of the companies for the past three years, two persons with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity. Exchanges were directed to seek documents from the companies and hear them out, said the first person. “If the verification does not throw up red flags, exchanges will report the same to Sebi. If the financials throw up concerns, then the companies will undergo an audit and other steps mentioned in 7 August circular,” said the second person. “This is more on the lines of Sebi giving exchanges steps that need to be followed,” this person added. A statement from NSE said only 48 of the 331 firms fl

The case against emerging markets (EM) is gaining steam in one corner of the bond world. Investors yanked out $680 million from the iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond exchange-traded fund last month, the biggest-ever flows reversal. Traders are concerned that after an 18-month rally, rising yields in developed markets from the US to Germany could wreak havoc across emerging markets similar to the taper tantrum of 2013, when developing-nation currencies depreciated by about 14 percent and local bonds lost an average of 7.3%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “To own EM, you have to believe that the dollar has peaked, and that as developed-market central banks in Europe and the US drain liquidity, emerging markets can outperform— that’s laughable,” said Julian Brigden, a hedge-fund consultant at Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, who made a prescient bet against developing-nation stocks within 2 days of their 2015 high. That’s in contrast to optimism from the likes of Ashmore