Bimonthly Legal Tablet Volume 3 Issue 2 March 05, 2013

Notifications & Circulars (January – February), 2013

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 66 dated January 01, 2013 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding ‘Export of Goods and Services – Simplification and Revision of Softex Procedure at SEZs’

It has been decided to implement the revised Softex procedure at all SEZs/EPZs/100% EOU/DTA with immediate effect. As per the revised procedure, a software exporter either under STPIs or SEZs/EPZs/100% EOU/DTA, whose annual turnover is at least INR 1,000 Crore or who files at least 600 SOFTEX forms annually on all India basis, will be eligible to submit statements in revised
excel sheets as per Annexures A & B enclosed with this Circular No. 66. All other terms and conditions mentioned in the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 80 dated February 15, 2012 applicable to exporters of software situated in STPIs would remain unchanged.
A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 69 dated January 07, 2013 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding ‘External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Non-
Banking Financial Company – Infrastructure Finance Companies (NBFC-IFCs)’
It has been decided to enhance the ECB limit for NBFC-IFCs under the automatic route from 50%

of their owned funds to 75% of their owned funds, including the outstanding ECBs. NBFC-IFCs desirous of availing ECBs beyond 75% of their owned funds would require the approval of the Reserve Bank and will, therefore, be considered under the approval route.

It has also been decided to reduce the hedging requirement for
currency risk from 100% of their exposure to 75% of their exposure.

Designated AD Category-I banks shall continue to certify the leverage ratio (i.e., outside liabilities/owned funds) of NBFC-IFCs desirous of
availing ECBs under the approval route while forwarding such proposals to the Reserve Bank of India as per A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.70
dated January 25, 2012.

All other aspects of ECB policy, such as, eligible borrower, recognized lender, end-use, average maturity period, all-in-cost, maximum permissible limit under the automatic route, prepayment, refinancing of existing ECB and reporting arrangements remain unchanged.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 74 dated January 10, 2013 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding ‘Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India – Issue of equity shares under the FDI scheme allowed under the Government route’

Para 3 of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 74 dated June 30, 2011 read with
A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 55 dated December 9, 2011, allowing
thereby issue of equity shares/ preference shares under the
Government route by conversion of import of capital goods, etc.,
subject to terms and conditions stated therein, has been amended as follows:

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 78 dated January 21, 2013 issued by the
Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding
‘External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Repayment of Rupee
loans and/or fresh Rupee capital expenditure – USD 10 billion scheme’

It has been decided to include Indian companies in the hotel sector (with a total project cost of INR 250 crore or more), irrespective of
geographical location as eligible borrowers under this scheme. AD may certify the project cost at the time of forwarding the ECB application to the Reserve Bank.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 79 dated January 22, 2013 issued by the
Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding
‘Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account, Diamond Dollar
Account (DDA) & Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) Domestic Account’

It has been decided to dispense with the stipulations made in A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 124 dated May 10, 2012, that EEFC account holders henceforth will be permitted to access the forex market for purchasing foreign exchange only after utilizing fully the available balances in the EEFC accounts. The said instructions would also apply to the RFC
(Domestic) and Diamond Dollar accounts.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 81 dated January 24, 2013 issued by the
Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding
‘Memorandum of Instructions for Opening and Maintenance of
Rupee/Foreign Currency Vostro Accounts of Non-resident Exchange
Houses’

Item nos. 7 and 8 under Part (B) of Annex-I to the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 28 [A.P. (FL/RL Series) Circular No. 02] dated February 06, 2008 have been modified and read as below:

“7. Payments to medical institutions and hospitals in India, for medical treatment of NRIs / their dependents and nationals of Gulf Countries, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
8. Payments to hotels by nationals of Gulf Countries, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia / NRIs for their stay.”

All other instructions issued vide the said Circular, as amended from time to time will remain unchanged.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 82 dated February 11, 2013 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department regarding ‘Opening of NRO accounts by individuals of Bangladesh Nationality’

It has been decided that henceforth, Authorised banks would be permitted to open NRO account of individual/s of Bangladesh nationality without the approval of the Reserve Bank subject to the following conditions:

i. The bank concerned should satisfy itself that the individual is holding valid visa and valid residential permit issued by Foreigner Registration Office (FRO)/Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) concerned. ii. The Authorised bank should put in place a system of quarterly reporting whereby each branch of the Authorised bank shall maintain a record of the bank accounts opened by individual/s of Bangladesh nationality and details of such account shall be forwarded to their Head Office. The Head Office of the bank shall furnish details of such accounts on quarterly basis to the Under Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs, NDCC-II Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi – 110 001.

iii. The report shall contain details of Name/s of the Individual/s, Date of arrival in India, Passport No. and Place/Country of issue, Residential permit reference and date and place of issue, Name of the FRO/ FRRO concerned and the Complete address and contact number of the branch where the bank account is being maintained.

Opening of accounts by entities of Bangladesh ownership shall continue to require approval of Reserve Bank.

Master Circular No. 15/2012-13 (updated as on February 12, 2013) issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department with regard to Foreign Investment in India

The said Master Circular on Foreign Investment in India (‘Master
Circular’) shall stand withdrawn on July 01, 2013 and be replaced by an updated master circular on the subject. This Master Circular inter-alia covers the area of ‘investment in capital of partnership firms or
proprietary concern’.

BILLS PASSED BY PARLIAMENT OF INDIA IN THE BUDGET SESSION 2013 ( AS ON FEBRUARY 2013 )

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal )Bill 2010

The Bill, which had already been passed by the Lok Sabha was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha on 26th February, 2013. The new legislation seeks to provide a secure and enabling environment for all women employees by making it mandatory for all workplaces including homes, universities, hospitals, government and non-government offices, factories, other formal and informal work places to constitute an internal committee for redressal of sexual harassment complaints.

The bill brings within its ambit even domestic workers and agriculture labour, both from the organised and unorganised sectors. The Bill defines domestic worker as a women employed to do household work in any household for remuneration whether in cash or kind, either directly or through any agency on temporary, permanent, part time or full-time basis, but does not include any member of the family of the employer.

The sexual harassment complaints will have to be disposed of by in- house committees within a period of 90 days failing which penalty of Rs 50,000 would be imposed. Repeated non-compliance of the provisions of the Bill, can lead to higher penalties and even cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business.

The Bill also has provisions for safeguard against false or malicious charges. If it is found that a woman had filed a complaint against someone with mala-fide intention, there is a provision for punishment for her. The failure to prove charges against the person will, however, not be construed as a mala-fide intention. 

NOTIFICATION

The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment )Act 2012

The Act has been made effective from 15th February 2013 vide notification no. SO 343 (E) dated February 8th 2013 .
. The Act amends the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The Act introduces the concept of ‘corresponding law’ to link the provisions of Indian law with the laws of foreign countries. It also adds the concept of ‘reporting entity’ which would include a banking company, financial institution, intermediary or a person carrying on a designated business or profession. The Act expands the definition of offence under money laundering to include activities like concealment, acquisition, possession and use of proceeds of crime.

ORDINANCES

The Criminal Law (amendment) Ordinance, 2013

The Central government has introduced in the Rajya Sabha the Criminal Law (amendment) Ordinance, 2013, that deals with crime against women and was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3. Through the Ordinance, the government has made amendments to the criminal laws by making rape laws more stringent, which includes death penalty in the rarest of rare cases. The government has also brought stalking and voyeurism under its purview besides enhancing jail terms for sexual assault cases. It also replaces the word ‘rape’ with ‘sexual assault’ to expand the definition of all types of sexual crimes against women, though it has not touched the controversial issue of marital rape.
The government will soon come out with a modified Bill that aims at  modifying criminal laws by incorporating provisions in the Ordinance. The government has said it will table the revised Bill, which is before the Cabinet, in Parliament’s current session, as the Ordinance has a life of just six months.

Based mainly on the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee report, the Ordinance has provision for death penalty in cases of rape that leads to death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state.

The SEBI Amendment Ordinance 2013

The SEBI Amendment Ordinance 2013 was promulgated on January 21,
2013 in the wake of difficulty in filling up vacant post of the presiding
officer in SAT, a statutory body set up to hear appeals against orders
passed by SEBI. Earlier, those qualified for the post were a sitting or
retired judge of the Supreme Court or a sitting or retired chief justice of
a High Court. The Ordinance was brought to make those who are sitting
or retired judges of a High Court with a minimum seven years service
eligible for the post.

The Central government has now introduced a Bill to amend the SEBI Act

Subhash Chand vs. State (Delhi Administration)
[MANU/SC/0016/2013]

The Supreme Court has held that a complainant can file an application for special leave to appeal against an order of acquittal of any kind only to the High Court. He cannot file such an appeal in the Sessions Court.

The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai vs. M/s A.R. Enterprises [MANU/SC/0027/2013]

The Supreme Court has held since the Advance Tax payable by an
assessee is an estimate of his “current income” for the relevant
financial year, it is not the actual total income, to be disclosed in the return of income. To repeat, the vital distinction being that the “current income” is an estimation or approximation, which may not be accurate or final; whereas the “total income” is the exact income disclosed in a valid return, assessable by the Revenue. The fact that the “current income” is estimation implies that it is not final and is subject to further adjustments in the form of additions or reductions, as the case may be, and would have to be succeeded by the disclosure of final and total income in a valid return. It will be a misconstruction of the law to construe the undisclosed income for purposes of Chapter XIVB as an “estimate” of the total income, which is assessable and chargeable to tax. Therefore, it is not acceptable that payment of Advance Tax based on “current income “involves the disclosure of “total income”, as defined in Section 2(45) of the Act.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. Vs. M/s Garg Sons [MANU/SC/0039/2013]

The Supreme Court has held that it is not permissible for the court to substitute the terms of the contract itself, under the garb of construing terms incorporated in the agreement of insurance. No exceptions can be made on the ground of equity. The liberal attitude adopted by the court, by way of which it interferes in the terms of an insurance

agreement, is not permitted. The same must certainly not be extended to the extent of substituting words that were never intended to form a part of the agreement.

Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. Vs. Dyamavva and Ors. [MANU/SC/0108/2013]

The Supreme Court has held that “the procedure under
Section 8 Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 is initiated at the behest of the employer “suo motu,” and as such, cannot be considered as an exercise of option by the dependants/claimants to seek compensation under the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923…..In the above view of the matter, it can be stated that the Respondents-
claimants having never exercised their option to seek compensation under Section 10 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, could not be deemed to be precluded from seeking compensation under
Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.”

COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA (CCI ) ORDERS

Case No.72/2012
Date: 15/02/2013

M/s Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd. …Informant v. Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd. …Opposite Party

The Competition Commission was of the view that “despite the fact that the Opposite P arty was a dominant player in the relevant market, mere increase in prices by the Opposite Party for valid economic
reasons for all of its customers cannot amount to imposing of unfair or discriminatory conditions in purchase or sale of goods or services; nor it prima facie makes out a contravention of the provisions of section 4 (2) (a) (i) and (ii) of the Act.”

MRTP Case: RTPE No. 20 of 2008
Date: 30.10.2012

All India Tyre Dealers’ Federation ….Informant v. Tyre Manufacturers….Opposite Parties

The Competition Commission in this case observed that even in cases where the alleged anti-competitive conduct was started before coming into force of sections 3 and 4, the Commission has the jurisdiction to look into such conduct if it continues even after the enforcement of relevant provisions of the Act. It was also observed that in absence of any documentary evidence of existence of an agreement, it is appropriate and logical to inquire into cases of anti-competitive agreements on the basis of existence of evidences. As per Commission the parallel behavior in prices, dispatch, supply accompanied with some.

other factors indicating coordinated behavior among the firms may become a basis for finding provisions relating to anti-competitive agreement.

CASE NO.19/2010
Date: 03.01.2013

Belaire Owners’Association                               …. Informant vs.
DLF Ltd.                                                                  …. Opposite party-1
Haryana urban development Authority           …. Opposite party-2
Department of Town & Country
Planning, State of haryana                                    …. Opposite party-3

The Competition Commission vide this supplementary order, ordered DLF to suitably modify unfair conditions imposed on its buyers and to cease and desist from formulating and imposing unfair conditions in its agreement with buyers in Gurgaon.

The Competition Commission had earlier vide its order dated 12th August, 2011 come to the conclusion that the conduct of DLF Ltd. was unfair and amounted to abuse of dominance.

Jan 1, 2013
1.    The government of India  has allowed Indian companies to merge with firms overseas through the issue of Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) and the Reserve Bank of India has been asked to issue detailed guidelines on the process. The Companies Bill 2012, which was passed in the Lok Sabha last month, has permitted local firms to merge with foreign companies in “select jurisdictions”. The shareholders of the merging company can be paid in cash or in IDRs or partly in cash or partly in IDRs.

2.    Fair trade regulator CCI is working on a model framework for
commercial agreements between real estate developer and the property buyer, which it expects to serve as a benchmark for the industry.
The framework is being prepared by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in connection with a high-profile market dominance case against DLFGroup, which has challenged a Rs 630 crore
penalty imposed on it by CCI. Upon hearing DLF’s appeal against the CCI order, the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) asked the fair trade regulator to present a modified buyer-seller agreement between DLF and the flat buyers of its two housing projects in Gurgaon in the national capital region.

Jan2, 2013
1.   Securities market regulator plans to revise the rules on insider
trading and front-running , as it gets down to synchronizing the
rules with those set down by the government in the Companies
Bill, which was approved by the LokSabha a fortnight ago.

2.   The  Competition Commission of India, has modified clauses in
agreements between real estate firm DLF and apartment buyers
in two of the company’s projects in Gurgaon, in a move that coul alter buyer-seller agreements across the Indian real estate industry. Compat will also need to give its opinion on other issues that were contested by DLF like relevant market, dominance, abuse of its dominance and also jurisdiction before going ahead with modifying the agreements with buyers.

Jan 8, 2013
1.A Delhi court issued fresh summonses against 11 US-based websites, including Facebook and Google, accused of promoting class enmity and undermining national integrity.

Metropolitan Magistrate has issued the summons and directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to get them served upon the accused websites.

Jan 9, 2013
1.The three financial sectors reforms laws, Prevention of Money
Laundering (Amendment) Bill and Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 have become law of the land with President Pranab Mukherjee giving assent to them.

2.The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 also got the President’s assent, an official statement said here.

Jan15, 2013
1.Market regulator Sebi has notified new norms for ‘associated persons’ working as terminal users and sales personnel of brokers and other traders, making it mandatory for them to get necessary certifications to operate in the equity derivatives market.

Jan 17, 2013
1. The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment ) Act 2012 has been made effective from 15th February 2013 vide notification no. SO 343 (E) dated February 8th 2013.
2. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology will
appeal against the Gwalior High Court order to the Director General of Indian Computer Emergency Response team to block 78 web pages in India that were critical of Arindam Chaudhuri-promoted Indian Institute of Planning and Management.
3. The Delhi High Court has sought responses from five Central
ministries including Home Affairs and Finance on a public interest
litigation seeking action against various social networking websites
and recovery of tax on income arising from their operations in the
country.
4. The Competition Commission of India has dismissed an appeal
seeking anti-dominance sanctions against a new project of DLF .The Commission has ruled that the “question regarding terms and conditions of the agreement of the other projects that may be launched by DLF in Gurgaon was never before the Commission.”

5. The Supreme Court of India has set aside the order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) granting excise exemption to Australian Foods India Private Limited ,makers of Cookie Man cookies , for cookies sold without its brand name or logo at its retail counters , stating that “once it is established that a specific good is a branded good, whether it is sold without any trade name on it, or by another manufacturer ,it does not cease to be a branded good of the first manufacturer.

Jan 18, 2013
1. The telecom department plans to expedite amendment in the Trai Act as it intends to initiate inter-ministerial consultation within a month and float a Cabinet note for final approval by mid-March. Trai wants to be financially independent and acquire powers of a civil court that can penalise erring mobile phone companies and ensure that telcos comply with all guidelines in the interest of consumers.
2. The government is pushing a plan to set up a Land Authority of India
that will take over all under-utilised and unused government land and monetise them.
3. To make it easier for companies to comply with public shareholding norms, Sebi has decided to abolish the 25 per cent margin money requirement for entities bidding through the auction route.
4. To bring parity in disclosure requirements among various market norms, Sebi has also decided to align takeover related disclosures with that of insider trading norms. 

According to Sebi , the disclosure requirement with regard to buying or selling two per cent by persons holding more than five per cent as specified in Takeover Regulations, 2011 shall be modified in line with
Sebi (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992.

5. The Reserve Bank of India has said that personal appearance
before the compounding authority in FEMA cases is not mandatory
and has no bearing on the penalty imposed.
6. Suspecting some trade bodies of serving as conduit for companies to get access to key business details of their rivals, anti-trust watchdog CCI has warned such bodies of becoming party to any act of cartelisation.

Jan 21, 2013
1. More than 140 countries have agreed at the end of a week-long
meet to sign a new and legally-binding international treaty to reduce harmful mercury emissions. . Countries like India and China will now have to install filters and scrubbers on new coal-fired power plants. New Delhi will also have to reduce emission from the existing coal- fired plants.
2. India is in the process of setting up a national cyber security architecture with the aim to prevent sabotage, espionage and other forms of attack that could hurt the country, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said today. The National Security Council has approved the architecture in principle and implementation details are being worked out with the ministries and agencies,
“which we hope to take to the Cabinet for approval soon”, Menon
said. A national cyber security coordinator in the National Security
Council Secretariat (NSCS) will bring this work together.

3. The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the plea of telecom
companies challenging Rajasthan High Court’s order directing
removal of all mobile phone towers which are suspected to have potential health hazards due to radiation.

4. Search giant Google is set to kill off passwords and is experimenting
with USB keys, mobile phones and even jewellry that can act as a
physical ‘key’ to give users access to their account.

Jan 23, 2013
1. Sebi has notified norms that make it mandatory for investment advisers to register with the capital market regulator and also require them to disclose all issues that could result in conflict of interests, among others

2. The government is proposing to set up a commission of inquiry to
probe reported allegations that retail giant Wal-Mart had indulged in
lobbying activities in India and find out whether these were in
contravention of Indian laws.

Jan 25, 2013
1.Capital market regulator Sebi has tightened rules to identify “beneficial ownership” of assets, companies and trust to counter the menace of black money and money laundering. The regulator said all intermediaries registered with it will have to identify the person exercising controlling ownership interest in a company.

Jan 30 2012
1.TDSAT on Tuesday stayed the DoT order that directed Vodafone to pay Rs 3,599 crore as one-time spectrum fee till its next hearing on Feb 25. A single-member bench of TDSAT said there would be ‘no coercive action’ against the company.

Feb 4, 2013
1.The Supreme Court of India has decided to examine the constitutional validity of the provision giving the definition of juvenile in the Juvenile Justice Act which treats a person as a minor till he attains the age of 18 years.
Feb 6, 2013
1.Fair trade regulator CCI has told top companies that non-compliance with competition laws could damage their reputation and lead to heavy fines. According to a presentation made by CCI at the meeting, the consequences of non-compliance could be “damage to reputation, loss of business, heavy cost of fighting competition law infringement cases”.
Feb 18, 2013
1.European data protection agencies intend to take action against the US Internet giant Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws, a French agency said on Monday. In October the data protection agencies warned Google that its new confidentiality policy did not comply with EU laws and gave it four months to make changes or face legal action.
Feb 20, 2013
1.The government has bowed to popular pressure and decided to appeal against a Gwalior court order blocking 78 web pages that had articles critical of IIPM and its director Arindam Chaudhuri .

2.The Delhi High Court today sought responses from five Central ministries including Home Affairs and Finance on a PIL seeking action against various social networking websites and recovery of tax on income arising from their operations in the country. It also issued notices to the ministries of Law and Justice, Information and Broadcasting and the Department of Personnel and Training and asked them to file their responses within six weeks.

Feb 21, 2013 

The Ordinance bringing stringent amendments to criminal laws to check crime against women was today laid on the table in the Rajya Sabha. Government will bring a bill incorporating some more provisions to replace the Ordinance in this session. The bill is before the Union Cabinet.
Feb 22, 2013
1.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ratified a proposal to make the
national floor level minimum wage mandatory for all unskilled workers in the country at a meeting of the union cabinet on late Thursday evening.. Following the cabinet’s nod, the labour ministry will introduce amendments to the Minimum Wages Act of 1948 to give a statutory status for its floor wage level. Though the proposed amendments are not part of the sixteen bills listed by the parliamentary affairs ministry for introduction in the Budget session, a senior government official said they are likely to be tabled soon.

EU regulators hope to resolve a two-year investigation into U.S. internet company Google in the latter half of the year, the EU’s antitrust chief said on Friday, although a rival expressed scepticism about the
effectiveness of any solution.
2.The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – has been examining proposals put forward by Google to resolve complaints from more than a dozen companies, including Microsoft, that Google was using its market dominance to block competitors.
3.RBI has allowed corporates and PSUs with sound credentials and Rs 500 crore to invest as paid-up capital to set up commercial banks. The Reserve Bank, which has laid down an elaborate ‘fit and proper’ criteria, has not excluded any category like brokerages, real estate companies from entering the banking space as had been advocated by the Finance Ministry.

Feb 25, 2013
1.The Securities and Exchange Board of India will carry out a comprehensive review of rules seeking to punish insider trading – the first such exercise in a decade – in order to align them with global practices.

Feb 26, 2013
1.The Reserve Bank of India is moving closer to making subsidiarisation of foreign banks’ operations in India a reality by making it mandatory for new international banks to commit in writing their willingness to convert into a local unit when Indian regulations change. The central bank has made this a precondition for at least two international banks – National Australian Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, said two people familiar with the latest licensing conditions for foreign banks seeking to begin operations in India.

2.Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that said customers 

were charged when their children inadvertently downloaded certain applications from the company’s online store, a court filing showed. Under the proposed settlement, Apple could potentially end up paying around $100 million as it has agreed to provide a $5 iTunes store credit to as many as 23 million affected customers, the court filing said. The final settlement figure may vary.

3.A bill to amend the SEBI Act to replace the recent Ordinance to widen existing norms related to selection of the presiding officer of Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) was introduced in Parliament today.

4.The Reserve Bank of India is moving closer to making subsidiarisation of foreign banks’ operations in India a reality by making it mandatory for new international banks to commit in writing their willingness to convert into a local unit when Indian regulations change.