Investor Education and Protection Fund

Investor Education and Protection Fund

 Based on information provided by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) there have been 3 public issues of Debt Securities under the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations 2008 in the period 2008-09 (one) and 2009-10 (two) till date. Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha today in a written reply Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Corporate Affairs, said that no complaints of misleading investors have been received in connection with these issues. The details of public/rights issues where complaints were received alleging misleading disclosures in the draft offer document in respect of issues and the action taken by SEBI during 2008-09 and 2009-10 is given below:

Sl. No.	Name of Issue	Pre-issue/post issue	Action taken/status
2008-09
1.	Gokul Refoil and Solvent Limited	Pre-issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant and advised to make disclosures in the offer document. Merchant banker replied to the complainant.
2.	Chemcel Biotech Limited	Pre-issue	As above
3.	Edserv Softsystems Limited	Pre-issue	As above
4.	First Winner Industries Ltd	Pre-issue	As above
		Post issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant. Merchant banker replied to the complainant.
5.	Niraj Cement Structurals Ltd.	Pre-issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant and advised to make disclosures in the offer document. Merchant banker replied to the complainant.
6.	Austral Coke & Projects Ltd	Post issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant and advised to make disclosures in the offer document. Merchant banker replied to the complainant. Complaint also taken up for investigation.
7.	Gini & Jony Ltd. (Issue not opened)	Pre-issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant and advised to make disclosures in the offer document. Merchant banker replied to the complainant.
2009-2010
1.	DEN Networks Ltd.	Pre-issue	Merchant banker advised to reply to the complainant and advised to make disclosures in the offer document. Merchant banker replied to the complainant.
2.	Indiabulls Power Ltd.	Pre-issue	As above
3.	NHPC Limited	Pre-issue	As above
4.	Pipavav Shipyard Limited	Pre-issue	As above
5.	Cox & Kings(I) Ltd.	Pre-issue	As above
6.	Euro Multivision Ltd.	Pre-issue	As above
7.	Jindal Cotex Ltd	Pre-issue	As above.

            Shri Salman Khurshid also informed the House that an Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) has been set-up under Section 205C of the Companies Act, 1956 by way of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1999. As per the Act, the following amounts, which have remained unclaimed and unpaid for a period of seven years from the date they became due for payment, shall be credited to the IEPF:

a.       Unpaid dividend accounts of the companies;              

b.      The application moneys received and due for refund;

c.       Matured deposits;

d.      Matured debentures;

e.       The interest accrued in the amounts referred to (a) to (d) above;

f.        Grants and donations by the Central Govt., State Govt., companies or any other institutions;

g.      The interest or other income received out of the investments made from the Fund.

The objectives of the Fund are:

 i)         Educating investors about market operations;

ii)        Equipping investors to analyze information to take informed decisions;

iii)       Making investors aware about market volatilities;

iv)       Empowering the investors by making them aware of their rights and responsibilities under various laws;

v)        Continuously disseminating information about unscrupulous elements and unfair practices in securities market; 

vi)       Broadening the investors’ base by encouraging new investors to participate in securities market; and

 vii)       Promoting research and investor surveys to create a knowledge base to facilitate informed policy decisions