Page 14 - Banking Finance October 2022

ROUNDUP

In effect, the new rule operationalises KPMG said it would not comment on came up in Kulgaon, Kanker district,
a provision in law that allowed physi- company matters. which has been named Gandhi Gram.
cal verification of registered offices by The district administration, along with
Industry watchers believe the tower
RoCs for inoperative companies where women's self-help groups, has devel-
sale could attract interest from
the office concerned is not able to re- oped the park.
Brookfieldowned Data Infrastructure
ceive government communications.
Trust, which acquired over 130,000
The company law was amended in July towers of Reliance Jio in 2019, and SEBI cases norms on AIF,
2019 to allow RoCs to physically verify
Indus Towers, which is partly owned by VCF investments in over-
the registered offices of companies
Airtel.
where the Registrar has reasonable seas firms
Tower infrastructure sharing is seen as
cause to believe that the business - India's alternate investment funds
a means of cost optimisation for
after incorporation - may be inopera- (AIFs) and venture capital funds (VCFs)
telecom companies. Hence, the sector
tive. This physical verification of the can now invest in any company they
has seen significant consolidation and
registered office is essentially a post- want across the world, thanks to mar-
the emergence of independent
incorporation activity. ket regulator SEBI relaxing its norm.
telecom tower companies such as Earlier, it was mandated that AIFs and
Company law experts see the latest
American Tower Corporation (ATC), VCFs raising funds in India should invest
MCA move as a second round of "op-
which provides tower infrastructure in only those companies globally that
eration clean up" of defunct and inop-
support to telcos. have connection to India or at least a
erative companies.
back-office in the country.
Chhattisgarh govt plans to "The requirement has been done away
BSNL to sell 10,000 towers
with. Now they can invest in compa-
set up 300 rural industrial
as part of monetisation nies across the world in countries that
parks in one year are signatories to the IOSCO (Interna-
plans
In a move aimed to strengthen the tional Organization of Securities Com-
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) missions) multilateral memorandum of
rural economy and make the
has kicked off a process to sell 10,000 understanding between the regula-
"gauthan" (cattle shed) a centre of
telecom towers to meet targets laid tors, barring countries having Financial
livelihood, the Chhattisgarh govern-
out by the Centre as part of its national Action Task Force (FATF) restrictions,"
ment will set up rural industrial parks
monetisation pipeline (NMP), people said Deepika V Sawhney, Founder,
in the state. In the first year of the
aware of the development told. Transique Corporate Advisors.
project, there will be 300 such parks.
The state-owned telecom services
"The project will be launched on Tata enters pension biz
provider has pegged the enterprise
Gandhi Jayanti, October 2," Chief Min-
value of the towers to be sold at 4,000 Tata Asset Management has an-
ister Bhupesh Baghel has said.
crore and engaged KPMG as a finan- nounced its foray into pension business.
cial advisor to administer the sale, they "We are going to start 'gramin Pension Fund Regulatory and Develop-
ment Authority (PFRDA) has appointed
said. aajeevika parks', to be known as 'rural
Tata Pension Management Ltd (TPML),
industrial parks', to develop gauthans
BSNL, which provides telecom services
sponsored by Tata AMC, as a pension
as livelihood centres."
in every part of the country except fund manager (PFM) for managing the
Mumbai and Delhi, owns 68,000 In keeping with Mahatma Gandhi's vi- funds under National Pension System
telecom towers. It is selling only those sion of gram swaraj, which is strength- (NPS) for which the certificate of com-
towers that have co-location arrange- ening the rural economy by promoting mencement of business was issued by
ments with third party telecom service cottage industries, Baghel has started PFRDA on July 28. Currently, there are
providers such as Reliance Jio and the initiative to establish such units to seven PFMs including UTI Retirement
Airtel, people cited above said. BSNL provide income-generating opportuni- Solutions, SBI Pension Funds and HDFC
did not comment when contacted. ties. The first such park in Chhattisgarh Pension Fund Management.
14 | 2022 | OCTOBER | BANKING FINANCE