NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance is likely to place its firmed up view on the Bill seeking to empower Reserve Bank of India to regulate micro finance industry, in the forthcoming winter session of the Parliament.
Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2012, introduced in the Lok Sabha in May last year, is being scrutinised by the Committee.
The bill seeks to empower the RBI to regulate the micro-finance industry and fix interest rates ceiling on loans to be provided by them.
“The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance met today and took up for discussion the Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill. The panel has yet to firm up its view on the draft legislation before placing it before Parliament in the forthcoming winter session,” a source said.
According to him, the Committee headed by the former finance minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha heard the views of representatives of Reserve Bank of India and National Bank for Agriculture Rural Development, on the draft law.
The Bill, which was drafted in the backdrop of problems faced by borrowers of MFIs in Andhra Pradesh and other states, seeks for compulsory registration of MFIs with the RBI.
Micro-finance — the business of doling out small loans at high interest rates to poor people who are unable to access conventional lending instruments — has come under intense regulatory scrutiny in the wake of an Act passed by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
Meanwhile, the source also said the committee would hear the views of the industry chambers on the Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013 at its meeting scheduled next Friday.
The Bill seeks to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, with consequential changes in the Securities Contracts Regulation Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996 to provide more teeth to the regulator to deal with collective investment schemes.
Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) are a class of investment products regulated by SEBI. The Bill widens the definition to include all pooling of funds of Rs 100 crore or above, that are not regulated by any law.
The Bill also empowers the Chairman of SEBI to authorise search and seizure of documents relevant to an investigation.
It provides SEBI with explicit powers to order disgorgement of unfair gains. It also permits SEBI to attach bank accounts and property for violations, among other provisions. Besides, itt also seeks to establish special courts to try offences under the Act. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel