Volume
13
Issue
260 / 2021
May
2021
Quote of the day
"To kill or to be killed; victory or defeat: The warrior does not think selfishly in battlefield. What you do is not because of a rational sense of profit or loss; It is what your soul owes to the world. - Mankuthimma"
— D. V. Gundappa
Dear Friends,
What you will read below is an “Ode to Nurses”, a first hand experience of my team member Poornima Jayarao. I thought her articulation will bring in the required authenticity to this topic of nursing care which is in great demand currently and is highly overworked too. Let’s take a moment to read and pay tribute to these frontline Corona Warriors – Our dear Nurses !
Chocolate day, Teddy day, Valentine’s day…. all these are hyped and celebrated with lot of pomp in our society. How many of us really acknowledge the services rendered by the nurses??? This was the first thought that crossed my mind when I was scanning my mobile and sending personal wishes to all the nurses who served my husband while he was hospitalised over the last few years (I have lost the count how many times he was hospitalised). Hospital had become a home for us. Infact many a times, to cheer him up I would say “It is time to spend time together in our resort at Juhu😊”. Yes! right from watchman to the main doctors I was familiar with all - especially the nurses, sisters, chechi, brothers…call them by any name… would welcome us with a big smile and ask …Phir aagaye Madam?? (Aaaa with that Malayali slang). For me these nurses were God sent messengers. While the Sanskrit saying goes “Vaidyo Narayano Harihi” (Doctor is Lord Hari-Narayana himself) I always felt that doctor examines, diagnoses and prescribes the medicines, but the nurses are the ones who administer the line of treatment and medications to the patients on time - with lot of care, affection, love and patience, convincing the patients to take the medicines. So, these nurses play a vital role in the wellbeing of the patients and their speedy recovery.😊
Below are my personal experiences that I bet will surely make you look upon the nursing profession with respect and gratitude.
The door opened and it was his favourite, beautiful nurse Shifa who walked in her white uniform…with a lovely smile and started exchanging jokes with my husband with a wink. There were times they would talk about movies, old hindi songs etc. That is how she use to brighten the atmosphere in the room. They shared such a special bond that during the hospitalisation period she tied a Rakhi also to him. Every time doctor would come and discuss some serious health issues regarding my husband….Shifa would be down mentally as she was aware he was deteriorating…yet with her charismatic smile she would console me and give me assurance ALL WILL BE WELL…..while I would be alone in the corridor sobbing.
Though he had a sweet tooth, being diabetic my husband was prohibited from having sweets. He had developed such a good relationship with all the nurses that one afternoon he told one of the nurses that he loves Malpua. To our surprise the nurse quietly got a dabba with homemade hot Malpuas for my husband and fed him. I was touched by her gesture. Well, some of you may argue that what she did was detrimental to his health but he already was in a condition of no return !
We are always under the impression that nurses, ward boys etc. always wait for tips when patients get discharged. I have this unique incident to share. It was Corona times last year. Similar lockdown situation and my father-in-law was serious. We had to treat him at home and with great difficulty I hired Neha, a nurse for 12 hours for 10 days. She was so good at her job, that as a token of appreciation I offered her Rs.2000. She was taken aback and did not accept the extra money, saying it is her duty. She had lost her job owing to the pandemic, yet she refused this extra income. I was impressed by her ethics and sincerity.
Friends, these nurses are human beings like us, (not robots) but they keep aside all their personal problems, emotions and serve not only the patients so efficiently but also support mentally and emotionally the family members of the patients too. I keep wondering how quickly they switch their emotions. They enter the ward with a smile but at times patients do not treat them well and caregivers are also harsh. But the next moment the same nurse walks into the next ward with the same pleasing smile😊 NURSE according to me stands for one who :
N – Nurtures.
U – Understands.
R – Is Responsible.
S – Serves selflessly.
E – Is Ever ready.
On this International Nurses Day (12th May), a big shout out to all the nurses who have supported me and a clear call to the society “Kindly acknowledge services of these real warriors who are on their toes 24X7, come what may !”
Friends, it was a conscious effort to share real-life anecdotes of care and gratitude rather than despair and criticism during these lockdown days. Let the positive vibes reverberate all around ! Lot of it needed for you to read this 260th issue which has compiled important changes announced by many regulators – MCA, SEBI, RBI, IT, GST - some of them governance oriented, some of them clarificatory, some of them stress-alleviating, some of them adding to it. Amazing how the government machinery has been working through the ravaging pandemic, hand in hand, step in step with the private sector. Even when entire offices have reported sick due to the negligence and foolhardiness of a few, irresponsible employees. In ‘Let’s Excel in English’ you will learn to use the ORE technique in meetings. More interesting usages are to follow in the coming issues of Samhita.
Have something to say ? Use the Disqus option at the bottom of this newsletter to share your feedback. Sign in as guest and start expressing. For any previous issues of Samhita and the readers’ feedback, please visit http://www.sharadasc.com/resource-center/
Happy Reading,
S.C. Sharada
Tip 1:
Following are the tips to Organize your thoughts before you present them in a meeting and some useful vocabulary for that:
One of the best ways to present our opinions is to use the ORE technique - Opinion, Reason and Example
To share opinions, we can use the following words and phrases:
In my opinion....
I think....
I believe....
I suggest....
I would like to say that....
As I see it,...
Example:
In my opinion, it is a good idea to move to our own office.
As I see it, it's always good to prioritize health.
Tip 2:
To share the reason we can use words and phrases like the following:
As
Because
Since
Due to
Examples:
I would suggest moving to our won office.
Since we pay a huge amount as rent, I think we should move to our own office.
As I see it, it's always good to prioritize health.
It's always good to prioritize our health because that determines our progress greatly.
Tip 3:
To share examples, we can use terms like:
For example
For instance
Examples:
I would suggest moving to our won office.
Since we pay a huge amount as rent, I think we should move to our own office.
For instance, moving to our office at our Bangalore branch saved us a lot of revenue.
As I see it, it's always good to prioritize health.
It's always good to prioritize our health because that determines our progress greatly.
For example, Only if we are fit as a fiddle, we will have the energy to do every wonderful thing that we intend to do.
Balaji Ramaswamy N
Mobile: 9741393539
Reminders for Payments & Returns
Regulatory Updates
Tax Updates
Compilation of amendments, extensions of due dates under IT & GST laws
Our Associate CA. R Krishnamurthy has compiled all the amendments, extensions of due dates etc under Income Tax and GST laws for the fortnight. The same has been carried as an article with a 5 minutes read time.
MCA Updates
Relaxation of levy of additional fee upto 31.07.2021
MCA has notified vide Circular dated 03.05.2021 that, due to the existing pandemic situation, no additional fee shall be levied upto 31.07.2021 on forms to be filed under Companies Act, 2013 (except for charge related forms) and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 for the forms due for filing between 01.04.2021 and 31.05.2021.
Relaxation of time for filing Charge forms (creation or modification)
Currently companies are required to file forms related to creation or modification of charge within 30 days of creation or modification, post which up to 120 days delay, additional / ad valorem fee shall be applicable. As part of the pandemic related relaxation, a scheme had been introduced to condone the delay in filing forms CHG-1(Creation / modification of charge) and CHG-9 (Creation / modification of charge for debenture) w.e.f. 17.06.2020.
A similar Scheme has been introduced for a brief 2 months period i.e. April & May, 2021, due to the prevailing pandemic situation. Details of the Scheme are as follows:
The scheme shall not cover filing of Form CHG-4 (Satisfaction of charge).
For a detailed analysis of the Scheme with illustrations please read attached article.
Time gap between 2 Board Meetings – extended by 60 days
Due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, maximum gap of 120 days between 2 consecutive board meetings has been extended by 60 days for meetings in the April-June, 2021 and July-September, 2021 quarters. This means that the gap between consecutive Board Meetings can be upto 180 days.
Eligible CSR Activities
Vide Circular No. 10/2021 dtd. 23.03.2020, MCA had clarified that spending CSR funds for COVID-19 is an eligible CSR expenditure. It has now been further clarified that CSR funds spent on creating health infrastructure for COVID care as below:
establishment of medical oxygen generation and storage plants,
manufacturing and supply of Oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders and other medical equipment for countering COVID-19 or
similar such activities
shall be considered as eligible CSR activities under clauses (i) and (xii) of Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013 relating to healthcare and disaster management under list of Eligible CSR activities.
Hopefully this will augment the capacity building of medical infrastructure which is so critically required now for battling COVID-19.
SEBI Updates
SEBI (LODR) – Amendments
The SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2021, was notified by SEBI on 05.05.2021. The Amendment Regulations brought about some major changes. Highlights of the Notification include:
Applicability – LODR Regulations that have become applicable to listed entities based on market capitalisation shall continue to apply even if they fall below the threshold subsequently.
Applicability of Corporate Governance - Once the provisions of Corporate Governance becomes applicable to a listed entity they will continue to remain applicable till the equity share capital or the net-worth reduces and remains below the threshold for a period of 3 consecutive financial years.
Risk Management Committee – The applicability, constitution, quorum for meetings, roles and responsibilities of the committee etc have been detailed in the notification.
Quarterly report on Corporate Governance – To be filed within 21 days (instead of 15 days) from the end of each of quarter.
Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) - Top 1,000 listed entities based on market capitalization are to submit a BRSR describing the initiatives taken by the listed entity from an environmental, social and governance perspective from the FY 2022-23 onwards. The format for the same has been notified vide SEBI Circular dated 10.05.2021.
Dividend Distribution Policy - Top 1,000 (500 earlier) listed entities based on market capitalization are required to formulate a Dividend Distribution Policy and referred to in the Board’s Report and uploaded on the website.
Submission of Voting Results of the General Meeting - Listed Entities to submit the voting results of the General meetings within 2 working days (instead of 48 hours) from the conclusion of the general meeting. Working days has been defined as “working days of the Exchange where the Securities of the entity are listed”.
Audio or video recordings and presentations of post earnings/quarterly calls - The requirement for disclosure of audio/video recordings and transcript has been made voluntary w.e.f. 01.04.2021 and mandatory w.e.f 01.04.2022.
Additional disclosures on website of the company - To include the Secretarial Compliance Report, Dividend Distribution Policy, annual return under the Companies Act.
ID meetings – To be considered on financial year basis in alignment with Companies Act, 2013.
Report on transfer/transmission – PCS certificate that all certificates have been issued w.r.t to share transfers required to be filed within 30 days of close of FY. Earlier it was a bi-annual report.
Newspaper notice – The requirement to publish newspaper notice about Board Meeting for considering the audited financial statements is dispensed with.
Please refer the Notification for details.
Open Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562 dtd. 10.05.2021
Extended due dates under LODR
SEBI vide Circular dated 29.04.2021 has relaxed certain due dates for forms required to be filed under SEBI (Listing Obligations Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 owing to the difficulties faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following due dates have been extended upto 30.06.2021:
SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021
SEBI has notified the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021 vide Notification dtd. 05.05.2021. Highlights of the amendments are as follows:
Where the acquirer who acquires shares or VRs in a target company which is listed on Innovators Growth Platform-
Aggregates 10% or more of the shares of the target company, the acquirer is required to disclose it’s aggregate shareholding and VRs in the target company,
Has 10% or more of the shares or voting rights in a target company, the acquirer shall disclose the number of shares or voting rights held and change in shareholding or VRs, even if such change results in shareholding falling below 10% since the last disclosure made and such change exceeds 5% of the total shareholding or VRs in the target company.
RBI Updates
Restrictions on Account Operations for Non-compliance - Relaxed
Regulated Entities (REs) are required to carry out periodic updation of KYC of existing customers. Keeping in view the current COVID-19 related restrictions in various parts of the country the customer accounts where periodic updation of KYC is due and pending, no restrictions on operations of such account shall be imposed till 31.12.2021, for this reason alone.
Credit to MSME Entrepreneurs
Scheduled Commercial Banks were allowed to deduct the amount equivalent to credit disbursed to new MSME borrowers from their Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) for calculation of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). This exemption was available up to Rs. 25 lakh per borrower for the credit disbursed up to 01.10.2021. It has been decided to extend this exemption for credits disbursed up to 31.12.2021
Resolution Framework 2.0 for COVID-19 stress - Individuals and Small Businesses
In order to alleviate the COVID related stress to individual borrowers and small businesses, following set of measures are announced by the RBI vide its circular dtd 06.05.2021:
Part A – Resolution of advances to individuals and small businesses
Part B – Working capital support for small businesses where resolution plans were implemented previously
Part C – Disclosures and Credit Reporting
Eligible borrowers for window of resolution:
Individuals who have availed of personal loans except credit facilities provided by the lending institutions to their own personnel / staff
Individuals who have availed of loans and advances for business purposes and to whom the lending institutions have aggregate exposure of not more than Rs.25 crore as on 31.03.2021.
Small businesses, including those engaged in retail and wholesale trade, other than MSMEs as on 31.03.2021 to whom the lending institutions have aggregate exposure of not more than Rs.25 crore as on 31.03.2021.
Highlights of the RBI Circular are captured in the attached Note.