 |
|
|
| |
| |
| FCC Lending Committee Representation to RBI |
| The Lending Committee under the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC) made a representation to RBI addressing concerns regarding the direct disbursal of funds to merchants as mandated by the Digital Lending Guidelines. It highlighted operational challenges faced by lenders and merchants and recommended allowing disbursements through authorized payment aggregators' escrow accounts, citing regulatory controls and scalability benefits. |
|
|
|
 |
| |
| FCC Insurance Committee Inputs on the Draft IRDAI Regulations, 2024 |
| FCC's Insurance Committee submitted its inputs on the Draft IRDAI (Bima Sugam - Insurance Electronic Marketplace) Regulations, 2024 (Draft Framework). Terming the the Draft Framework as a paradigm shift in the IRDAI's strategy for allowing establishment of a Digital Public Infrastructure called Bima Sugam, the submission acknowledged the initiative to establish a comprehensive online insurance marketplace. The Insurance Committee pointed out that the Draft Framework highlighted the importance of including provisions for digital intermediaries, ensuring transparency and inclusivity. The submission suggested inclusion of the representation of intermediaries in governance structures, guidelines for data standardization, and collaboration with platforms such as ONDC.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| FCC Investment Committee Feedback on Consultation Paper |
| FCC's Investment Committee submitted its feedback on Blocking of Funds for Trading in the Secondary Market Consultation Paper 2023. The feedback underlined that the proposed framework to extend the ASBA facility for secondary trading was expected to benefit the ecosystem, including investors and market intermediaries like stockbrokers. The committee pointed out that from an investor's perspective, the framework would eliminate the need to transfer money to the pool accounts of brokers and as a result, would make trading seamless in the secondary market through mandates. The submission said, given that Clearing Corporations (CCs) would undertake settlement of trades, brokers would no longer be required to allocate collateral to clients for processing of trades. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Submission to NABL e-Diagnostic Operations Issues |
| The Healthtech Committee organized a virtual meeting with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), led by the CEO, NABL on March 18, 2024 to discuss concerns and issues of e-diagnostic operators. During the meeting, the committee apprised the NABL about the working document on 'Proposed guidelines for accreditation of e-diagnostic operators'. The NABL agreed to guide and support the committee in drafting the document. The NABL also provided clarifications regarding certain concerns of the members regarding accessibility of diagnostics, telepathology, leveraging technology for faster turnaround on diagnosis, sample collection facilities, and clarity on timelines for NABL accreditation process for ease of doing business. The Director, the Joint Director, and the Deputy Director, NABL were also present at the meeting. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| IAMAI Letter to MoRTH on Draft Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2024 |
| On March 12, 2024, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) released the Draft Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2024 (Draft Guidelines), inviting written feedback from stakeholders. In a submission to MoRTH on the Draft Guidelines, IAMAI thanked the Ministry for positively considering suggestions made by the Association in its submission on the previous iteration of the MV Guidelines and commended the government on various progressive clauses of the Draft Guidelines. At the same time IAMAI also noted that some platforms did not aggregate motor vehicles, but merely facilitated the sale of tickets. To prevent confusion and provide regulatory certainty to ticketing platforms, IAMAI requested issuing of clarifications stating that the new guidelines, as well as the overall definition of ‘aggregator' provided therein, were not intended to be applied to platforms facilitating the sale of tickets. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| IAMAI Letter to MoRTH Regarding Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 |
| The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) wrote to the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), in March 2023, urging the Ministry to issue clarifications on concerns raised earlier by IAMAI regarding the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020 (MV Guidelines). Pursuant to a stakeholder meeting convened by the MoRTH in August 2023 IAMAI had made a submission to the Ministry suggesting a few changes to the guidelines. In the letter IAMAI once again pointed out that as several states had divergent interpretations of some of the clauses under the MV Guidelines, issuing requisite clarifications on those, or issuing a set of revised guidelines would lead to greater policy certainty and ease of doing business for the aggregator industry in India.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| IAMAI Letter to Delhi Transport Department Urging Deadline Extension for DMVADSPS Compliance |
| IAMAI wrote to the Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner of the Transport Department, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, seeking a confirmation on the extension of the deadline for complying with the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme, 2023 (DMVADSPS). As per the DMVADSPS, an aggregator, e-commerce entity or delivery service provider is required to obtain a license and report its vehicle fleet along with an applicable fee to the Delhi Transport Department within 90 days of the notification of the Scheme. The Scheme was notified on November 29, 2023, leading to the 90-day deadline lapsing in February 2024. However, as the government portal through which entities could fulfil the necessary compliances was not yet launched by the Department, it was impossible to comply with the Scheme within the stipulated deadline. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| PCI-FCC Webinar on RBI Master Direction |
| The Payments Council of India (PCI) and the Fintech Convergence Council organised a webinar on March 12, 2024, on the RBI Master Direction - Credit Card and Debit Card - Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022. The webinar discussed the amendments to the master directions concerning credit and debit cards, encompassing aspects such as business credit cards, closure procedures, minimum amount due, reporting to credit information companies, billing cycles, co-branded cards, and data protection. More than 180 industry professionals participated in the webinar. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| DAC Affiliate Marketing Taskforce Finalize Framework of Document on Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing |
| The Affiliate Marketing Taskforce under IAMAI’s Digital Advertising Council in a virtual meeting on March 20 finalized the structural framework of the Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing document. It was decided that four major topics would be covered in the document: the landscape of affiliate marketing, the structure of affiliate marketing, how brands can leverage affiliates to their full potential and industry best practices for advertisers by campaign formats. The taskforce members have also identified their areas of focus and have begun populating content for their assigned sections. The first draft of this valuable resource is expected to be completed by mid-May 2024. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|