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Only 22 per cent of the companies surveyed by Grant Thornton have an operation plan in place for transition to globally-compliant Indian Accounting Standard (Ind-AS).

To call oneself an activist is quite fashionable these days and to be characterised as an activist shareholder is a badge of honour. In India, shareholder activism has gained prominence through proxy voting, presence of institutional investors and changes to the regulatory framework. However, the question remains as to whether such activism improves corporate governance?

On 26 September 2014, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) notified the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) regulations, thereby paving the way for introduction of an internationally acclaimed investment structure in India. The Finance Minister has also made necessary amendments to the Indian taxation regime to provide the tax pass through status, which is one of the key requirements for feasibility of REITs.

VC funds invested $2.1 billion across 1,108 deals, an increase of 47.7% from 2013 when VC funds invested $1.4 billion across 246 deals

Promoters and entities that have been tagged as wilful defaulters will not be able to access the capital market to raise debt or equity and will be barred from taking over other listed companies.

The Union government introduced the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill, 2014 in the Lok Sabha on 19 December 2014, paving the way for the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India.

Though some pick-up in domestic demand is expected in 2015, the outlook for metals sector remains muted, say analysts.