Mumbai, March 20: The Maharashtra government has intensified its scrutiny of Ola Electric stores over alleged trade violations, adding to the challenges faced by Bhavish Aggarwal-led electric vehicle (EV) maker

Officials from five regional transport offices inspected 26 Ola Electric stores in Mumbai and Pune to check for trade certificates, according to sources. As a result, authorities also confiscated a total of 36 Ola Electric scooters.

According to a report in NDTV Profit, until Tuesday, 10 Ola Electric stores in Mumbai were inspected and 10 scooters were impounded.

The latest action on Wednesday was taken following a complaint filed by Pritpal Singh and Associates, a Gurugram-based firm.

The complaint alleged that Ola Electric was setting up showrooms, stores, and service centres in Maharashtra using a single trade certificate, which is not permitted under the law.

An inspection report, signed by Deputy Transport Commissioner Ravi Gaekwad, confirmed the allegations, the report said.

Maharashtra’s Transport Minister, Pratap Sarnaik, has ordered immediate action on the complaint and asked for a report on the matter. Officials from four Mumbai RTOs and one Pune RTO carried out the inspections.

As per the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Rule 33 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, vehicle distributors and manufacturers must obtain a business certificate to register vehicles.

Additionally, Rule 35 states that each showroom, dealership, or establishment engaged in selling or displaying vehicles must have a separate business certificate.

Failure to comply with these rules can result in penalties under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. This crackdown comes at a time when Ola Electric is already facing financial and legal troubles.

Last week, vendors Rosmerta Digital Services Private Ltd and Rosmerta Safety Systems Private Ltd moved to initiate insolvency proceedings against an Ola Electric subsidiary over unpaid dues of around Rs 25 crore.

These vendors were responsible for processing vehicle registrations and manufacturing high-security number plates for Ola Electric scooters.

However, the company has informed the stock exchanges about only one petition filed with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru.

Ola Electric is also under scrutiny for its reported sales figures. In February, the company claimed to have sold 25,000 scooters, but registration data suggests that only about a third of them were actually registered.

New Delhi, March 20: Siddhartha Mohanty, CEO and MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), said on Thursday that the nation’s largest insurer has consistently focused on reaching rural areas and economically and socially disadvantaged sections.

A day after a delegation of LIC agents met the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and raised issues regarding recent changes in rules which make insurance less affordable for the poorest, the LIC CEO denied such concerns, saying, “We aim to extend financial protection to every insurable individual at an affordable cost.”

“We want to clarify that LIC has introduced products that align with the New Product Regulations set by IRDA, effective from October 1, 2024, keeping policyholders’ interests at the forefront,” Mohanty said in a statement.

Stressing that LIC is committed to broadening life insurance coverage, Mohanty said that with a diverse portfolio catering to various customer segments and different strata of society, LIC fully complies with all regulatory requirements.

“As an example, our ‘Micro Bachat’ plan offers a minimum sum assured of Rs 1 lakh and is exempt from GST, ensuring accessibility. Post changes in product regulations, the commission has not been reduced for agents, it has been given in a staggered manner,” he informed.

Mohanty added that LIC remains dedicated to providing financial security to its policyholders while supporting its agency force’s well-being.

In his meeting with LIC agents, Rahul Gandhi said that the LIC was formed in 1956 to provide affordable insurance to all Indians. The Congress leader assured that he would raise this issue in Parliament.

Meanwhile, LIC recorded a 28.29 per cent surge in group yearly renewable premiums and a 7.9 per cent rise in individual premiums during the first 11 months of FY25, according to the latest industry data.

As of February 2025, LIC’s total premium collection stood at Rs 1.90 lakh crore, reflecting a 1.90 per cent increase from the Rs 1.86 lakh crore collected in the corresponding period of FY24.

Mumbai, March 19: The Maharashtra government has tabled the bill to amend the Maharashtra Stamps Act, 1958. This was necessitated after the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar in his budget for 2025-26 proposed to mobilise additional revenue by revising stamp duty charged on certain documents.

The bill was presented late Tuesday evening by the Minister of State Yogesh Kadam in the state Assembly.

“Section 4 of the Stamp Act is proposed to be amended with a view to increase the rate of stamp duty, which is fixed long ago at the nominal amount of Rs 100 to Rs 500 in case of supplementary document if more than one document is used to complete the transaction,” reads the bill.

“Sections 10 and 10D of the Stamp Act are proposed to be amended with a view to facilitating online mode for payment (e-payment) and “certificate of stamp duty” in State Government Treasury a new provision for ‘e-stamp certificate’, so that people can pay stamp duty online at any time from anywhere,” reads the bill.

Further, the bill says, “Subsection (1) of section 31 of the Stamp Act is proposed to be amended with a view to increasing the adjudication fee from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 for changeability of the instrument, applying to have the opinion of the Collector and to provide for depositing the certain amount of stamp duty specified therein while filing an application for adjudication of the executed instrument.”

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has presented the Rs 7 lakh crore budget for 2025-26 projecting a revenue deficit of Rs 45,891 crore, fiscal deficit of Rs 1.36 lakh crore and debt stock of Rs 9.32 lakh crore.

He had projected the state’s own tax revenue worth Rs 3.87 lakh crore for 2025-26 against the revised estimate of Ra 3.67 lakh crore in 2024-25.

Pawar had said in his budget speech that amid the constraints to propose new taxes or increase the prevailing taxes in the GST regime, he hoped to mobilise additional revenue of around Rs 1,200 crore by proposing revised stamp duty and Motor Vehicle Tax.