ET NEWS

After backlash from the Opposition and criticism over losing investments to Andhra Pradesh, DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has postponed the move to introduce a bill in the ongoing assembly session to ban the use of Hindi language in hoardings, boards, print advertisements, films and songs throughout the state.Chief minister MK Stalin had decided to introduce the bill in the state assembly, according to people familiar with the matter, as the government had resurrected the politically potent issue of Hindi imposition ahead of next year’s assembly election. The decision was taken after Stalin’s meeting with legal experts late on Tuesday night, the people said, adding that the move was aimed at sending a signal to the Centre.However, the government came under severe criticism from the BJP as the move came at a time when Andhra Pradesh bagged Google's $ 15 billion investment in data centre cluster in Vizag. Former state BJP chief K Annamalai posted on X, "AP CM: Signed a landmark agreement with Google to set up a $15 billion AI Data Centre in Visakhapatnam. TN CM: Let's table a bill & Ban Hindi in our State. Yo! DMK and their Pathetic politics & misplaced priorities, sigh!" Folloqing this, TN Fact check unit put out a post saying there was no such move afoot.Earlier this year, the Tamil Nadu government had replaced the rupee sign with the Tamil symbol for “Ru” in the logo of the state budget.The bill to ban Hindi is expected to escalate the row between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government, which has been opposed to the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP).Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had charged the Tamil Nadu government with going against the Constitution and said that the Centre would not allocate funds to it under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan unless the state implemented the NEP. Later, in a letter written to Stalin on February 21, Pradhan asserted that the three-language policy had been the backbone of India’s education policy since 1968. The state, on its part, has taken the Centre to the Supreme Court over non-release of more than Rs 2,000 crore under the scheme, alleging that the policy amounted to imposition of Hindi on a Tamil-speaking state.While the NEP 2020 stipulates a three-language policy, Tamil Nadu teaches only two languages – English and Tamil. No party, barring the BJP, in Tamil Nadu supports the three-language formula. Even the erstwhile AIADMK government had rejected the three-language policy when it was introduced in 2020. The BJP’s allies, the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, have criticised the imposition of the NEP on Tamil Nadu and characterised it as an infringement on the state’s autonomy.

The Northern Railway has stopped the sale of platform tickets at five stations from Oct 15 to Oct 28, 2025, in view of heavy rush due to the upcoming festivals of Diwali and Chhat. These stations are New Delhi, Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar and Ghaziabad. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Northern Railway, said that the decision has been taken to prevent overcrowding at stations, keeping in mind the increase in passengers."However, persons accompanying senior citizens, Divyangjans, illiterate, lady passengers may approach enquiry office for a platform ticket," he added.

Markets regulator Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Wednesday called on public interest directors (PIDs) to ensure that the "public interest" perspective remains central to all key decisions taken by the governing boards of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs).Speaking at the Public Interest Directors Conclave 2025, Pandey emphasised that MIIs must ensure all interventions made by PIDs during board meetings are appropriately recorded.Describing PIDs as "custodians of trust" within the MII ecosystem, he said, "Your role is fiduciary, moral, and institutional. You are not there merely to tick a compliance checkbox".The Sebi chief urged PIDs to exercise their independence while assessing the adequacy of financial and human resources for functions falling under verticals 1 and 2. He advised them to hold separate meetings without management or key managerial personnel (KMPs) to discuss critical governance and operational issues.Under Sebi's framework, vertical 1 covers critical operations, while vertical 2 relates to regulatory, compliance, risk management, and investor grievance functions.Pandey also called on PIDs to bring independent judgment to board deliberations and proactively highlight any risks they identify. "Reinforce the checks and balances that strengthen your institution's governance culture," he said.As the markets grow, the role of PIDs will become even more challenging. The Sebi chief urged PIDs to "balance the legitimate expectations of shareholders with the non-negotiable public purpose of your institution. For this, you have to ensure that ethical governance is deeply embedded into the very DNA of your MII".He further emphasised the need for PIDs to ensure that MIIs have robust internal controls, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and documentation to manage technology risks. Such frameworks, he said, could be developed in consultation with the Industry Standards Forum to ensure uniformity across MIIs.Highlighting Sebi's efforts to empower PIDs, Pandey said the regulator has already implemented several measures to ease appointment and operational processes. For instance, the mandatory cooling-off period for a PID moving from one MII to another competing MII has been removed, leaving the decision to the discretion of individual MIIs.In addition, Sebi has introduced skill evaluation metrics for assessing applications for the appointment or reappointment of PIDs.

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday extended the timeline to January 31, 2026, for disclosing the allocation methodology by angel funds in their Private Placement Memorandum (PPM). Earlier, the deadline was October 15. "Based on representation from the AIF industry requesting additional time to meet this requirement, it has been decided to extend the said timeline to January 31, 2026, for ease of compliance," Sebi said in its circular. Accordingly, allocation of any investment made by existing angel funds post January 31, 2026, should be in accordance with the defined allocation methodology disclosed in their PPMs. Under the Sebi's framework, angel funds will have to disclose a defined methodology in their PPMs for the purpose of allocating the investment among angel investors who provide approval for such investment. In September, the regulatory framework for angel funds was revised under AIF (alternative investment fund) norms.As part of the revised framework to streamline fundraising, investment and compliance norms under the alternative investment funds rules, angel funds can raise capital only from accredited investors.