Meghalaya Protection of Interest of Depositors (FE) Bill, 2018 tabled

Shillong, Sept 21: The Meghalaya government on the opening day of the Meghalaya Assembly tabled The Meghalaya Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2018.

The statement of object and reasons of the Bill states, “It has become necessary to have a strong law in the state in order to protect the interest of the depositors in financial institutions operating in the state considering the fact that some of these financial institutions are unauthorized and mobilising funds from the public/depositors with suspect of fraudulent intention.”

The statement of object and reasons of the Bill also states that since the present law, the Meghalaya Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Institutions) Act, 2006 is not fully equipped in dealing with such institutions, therefore, there is a need to repeal the existing Act with a new one. According to Section 2(g) of the Bill, “financial establishment” means an individual or an association of individuals, or a firm or a Company or a Non Banking Financial Company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 and carrying on the business of receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement or in any other manner but does not include a corporation or a co-operative society owned or controlled by any State Government or the Central Government, or a banking company as defined under clause © of Section 5 of the banking Regulation Act, 1949.