Sucheta Dalal :Current Articles
Sucheta Dalal

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 Bailout Binge (MONEY LIFE, Issue 4th Dec 08)

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Underrated (MONEY LIFE, Issue 20 Nov 08)
Nov 4, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 War of the Currency Exchanges (MoneyLIFE Issue, 18th Dec 08 - Current Account)
Dec 2, 2008

Sucheta Dalal reports on the unusual spat between NSE and MCX

 
 How LIC is used to prop up stock prices
Oct 31, 2008

For the past few weeks, as stock prices have collapsed, the government has been quietly using public sector insurance companies to shore up stock prices.

 
 IPOs and Special Concessions
Apr 8, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 SEBI Guided by Stock Exchanges?
Apr 8, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Rushing Policy Changes on IPO
Apr 8, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between t

 
 Bull by the Horns
Apr 28, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Who Leaked the Policy?
May 9, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Cross Margining: Helps Investors, Hurts BSE
May 21, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Circuit Breakers
Jun 3, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Interesting Precedent
Jun 17, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Realty Check
Jul 2, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Why Issue Cheques? - (MoneyLIFE, Issue 14 Aug 08)
Jul 29, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Competition in Credit Bureaus
Jul 15, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 FIIs Short Selling? - (MoneyLIFE, Issue 28 Aug 08)
Aug 11, 2008

Edited by SUCHETA DALAL Exclusive news, the stories behind the hea

 
 Above the Law - (MoneyLIFE, Issue 25 Sep 08)
Sep 10, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Recovery Threats: Barclays' Style - (MoneyLIFE, Issue 11 Sep 08)
Aug 26, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Allowing PN Mischief to Continue - (MONEY LIFE, Issue 6 Nov 08)
Oct 22, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Wrong Signal - (MoneyLIFE, Issue 23 Oct 08,)
Oct 6, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Increasing Public Holding - (MoneyLIFE,Issue 9 Oct 08,)
Sep 23, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 A Killer Blow
Apr 8, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Cover Up At SHCIL
Apr 7, 2008

Cover Up at SHCIL There is hectic activity at the Stock Holding Co

 
 SEBI's Disclosure
Apr 7, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the

 
 Bailout Binge (MONEY LIFE, Issue 4th Dec 08)
Oct 31, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines Edited by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Needed: An Expiry Date for Bailouts (MONEY LIFE, Issue 4th Dec 08)
Nov 18, 2008

Emergency measures introduced during a crisis need to have an expiry date to avoid their misuse

 
 The Great FMP Scam (MONEY LIFE, Issue 4th Dec 08)
Nov 18, 2008

How opaque portfolios, misuse of mandate and misrepresentation, shortchanged investors of Fixed Maturity Plans and created a crisis. Sucheta Dalal explains

 
 Living in Denial (MoneyLIFE Issue, 18th Dec 08 - Different Strokes)
Dec 3, 2008

Denials have been used as a political strategy

 
 Crisis & Solutions
Dec 3, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines Edited by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Who Dictates SEBI's Actions?
Dec 16, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Bailout sans Regulation
Dec 16, 2008

The bailout package had no strings attached. It was a missed opportunity for better regulations

 
 CURRENT ACCOUNT (MoneyLIFE Issue, 1st Jan 09)
Dec 16, 2008

The media’s expansionist heydays are over. They are cutting pages and even closing down editions and offices, says Sucheta Dalal

 
 Shifting Goalposts
Dec 31, 2008

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 CURRENT ACCOUNT (MoneyLIFE Issue, 15th Jan 09)
Dec 31, 2008

The drama over SEBI's fake letter to Pyramid Saimira is part of an internal tussle between bulls and bears, finds Sucheta Dalal

 
 The Power of One
Dec 31, 2008

Vijay Trimbak Gokhale is a one-man army who fights for justice on behalf of investors

 
 The Truth about Satyam
Dec 31, 2008

What really happened in the Satyam-Maytas saga. And why does this company repeatedly get ensnared in controversy? Debashis Basu & Sucheta Dalal report

 
 Is Raju Still Lying? (MoneyLIFE Issue, 29th Jan 09)
Jan 13, 2009

Is Ramalinga Raju protecting someone? Will the truth about Satyam ever come out?

 
 Dependent Directors
Jan 13, 2009

Is the concept of independent directors unworkable in India?

 
 After The Satyam Scam 7 Ways to Clean Up the Market
Jan 13, 2009

The Satyam episode has been described as India's Enron. Scams like these will recur because of our lax regulation and enforcement, argues Sucheta Dalal

 
 Another Fake?
Jan 28, 2009

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Deal with the Loopholes
Jan 28, 2009

While acting swiftly on policy changes, SEBI must also ensure strict enforcement

 
 Bad Bets to Bad Debts
Feb 9, 2009

Investors must simply learn to be more careful before parting with their hard-earned savings

 
 Pledging Loophole
Feb 9, 2009

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Private Sector Monopoly
Feb 24, 2009

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Lure of Instant Riches
Feb 24, 2009

GoldQuest has been hounded by the Chennai police but all other agencies seem to be hell- bent on passing the buck

 
 Reverse Flick
Mar 25, 2009

Reverse book building needs a quick fix

 
 Even RBI Can't Check Fakes!
Mar 9, 2009

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 THE ECONOMY HALF-FULL OR HALF-EMPTY?
Mar 9, 2009

With no new sources of capital, few growth engines to generate jobs and no pragmatic leadership in sight, is the economic glass looking half-empty? Debashis Basu & Sucheta Dalal analyse

 
 Credibility of Regulators
Mar 9, 2009

Regulators are either silent or are being insidiously challenged while the government watches benignly

 
 Media: Drastic Action Needed
Mar 25, 2009

Exclusive news, the stories behind the headlines and the truth between the lines by Sucheta Dalal

 
 SCARED SPEECHLESS
Mar 25, 2009

The Nagarjuna Finance case, after the Satyam saga, has put the role and liability of independent directors on the front burner. But the most alarming aspect of the whole case is that almost nobody wants to go on record to discuss it, discovers Sucheta Dalal

 
 Be Careful with Those Insurance Forms
Apr 22, 2009

This tale of a senior citizen harassed by ICICI Pru holds lessons for others

 
 Protect NSDL at Any Cost
Apr 7, 2009

Ham-handed attempts to discredit its adjudication committee will put SEBI's

 
 Revving Up the Bourses?
Apr 7, 2009

There is a need for competition in the capital market arena to avoid one player monopolizing the segment.

 
 Swiss Funds instead of Bofors?
Apr 7, 2009

The BJP is opportunistically using black money in swiss banks as an ssue to grab middle class votes. But unlike Bofors this does not carry the same credibility.

 
 Dented Credibility of SEBI
Apr 22, 2009

SEBI's credebility is taking a beating as it tries to protect NSDL and chairman Bhave

 
 Raters’ Fees
Apr 22, 2009

There is a quick and an urgent need for credible regulation of rating agencies and fixing their compensation

 
 Capital Market: The Real Picture
May 6, 2009

A careful look at different aspects of the capital market reveal a not so rosy picture. The worst hoax is India’s so called investor population which appears to be a fraction of the claimed number.

 
 RBI Clears E-wallet Rules
May 6, 2009

Better late than never, the RBI finally cleared the regulations that will allow the launch of E-wallets.

 
 More to Watch over You
May 6, 2009

Three new players in the personal credit bureau will provide competition to CIBIL and should lead to better credit scores.

 
 Just Wind and No Power
May 6, 2009

Suzlon could have surfed the slump is on the way down thanks to questionable product quality

 
 Ring of Thieves
May 6, 2009

A diligent SEBI investigation exposes the murky world of market manipulation and media nexus, points out Sucheta Dalal

 
 Winter in Autumn
May 20, 2009

How UTI Scuppered the Senior Citizens Unit Plan

 
 Great Expectations
May 21, 2009

There is a new boss at the BSE and everyone is expecting him to deliver soon

 
 The SAT-SEBI Mess
May 21, 2009

The legal mess between the SAT-SEBI is going on for a long time but a recent Supreme court hearing has made the former toothless to act

 
 Broker Gradings Welcome
May 21, 2009

Brokerages are coming together to start a grading process though this will be useful for customers some issues need to be ironed out

 
 How Investores Are Duped
May 21, 2009

The NSDL has laid out violations that will attract greater penalties henceforth

 
 Converged Interests
Jun 2, 2009

TV anchors/owners, investment bankers, fund managers and brokers - everybody is pining for a repeat of 06-07

 
 Changing Times at BSE
Jun 2, 2009

The Kannan Effect is gaining momentum, we follow up.

 
 Pyramid Saimira: Weak Follow Up
Jun 2, 2009

SEBI has failed to act on Pyramid Saimira

 
 Economy: Finding Solutions
Jun 2, 2009

Kalpana Morparia gives us her take on the economy

 
 SEBI Discovers Ketan Parekh
Jun 18, 2009

At least, the Securities & Exchange Board of India has proved what was well known all this while – that Ketan Parekh is active

 
 Racing Towards Oblivion?
Jun 18, 2009

The racecourse in Mumbai occupies prime real estate which is controlled by a small rich cabal. Should it be used for a public purpose? Sucheta Dalal and Yashika Krutik Shah ask some questions

 
 Right Information & Feedback
Jun 18, 2009

A list of links to information sources that will help you protect your rights.

 
 Misplaced Concern
Jun 19, 2009

Rolling back the STT is a clear case of disconnect with investors

 
 Bolting the Stable Door
Jun 19, 2009

RBI's quick action has nipped the creation of backdoor sovereign guarantees on debt obligations of private companies

 
 NSE’s Land Deal
Jun 19, 2009

Even though the NSE is a first level regulator it is not at all open and transparent about its dealings

 
 A Good Move - Unfinished
Jun 30, 2009

Investors will now be able to hold MF distributors accountable for the quality of their advice

 
 NGOs and Consumer
Jun 30, 2009

Which is the best forum to ensure quick redress? What will it cost? And is it worth the effort? We take a look

 
 Unfriendly Regulator
Jul 1, 2009

The SEBI doesnt seem to be to willing to help the CIC in its bid to ensure transparency

 
 Who Checks Implementation?
Jul 1, 2009

SEBI's attitude towards implementation of its own regulations is shocking

 
 Bankassurance: Disaster Looms?
Jul 1, 2009

The SEBI's decision to scrap entry load has axed to fat commisions earned by large mutual fund distributors

 
 Will Anyone Question the Regulators?
Jul 15, 2009

The regulator will not act as a watchdog for you. They wake up when it is too late and this is true all over the world

 
 Public Shareholding
Jul 15, 2009

When the system is so stacked in favour of large promoter-holding, can Pranab Mukherjee force companies to increase public holding? We certainly hope so.

 
 Let Off with a Gentle Rap?
Jul 15, 2009

Retail investors are always agitated at stock market scams because they lose money when stock prices crash, but how many bother to find out what happens to those who are accused of unfair trading practices?

 
 Reviving the BSE
Jul 15, 2009

More on what we call The Kannan Effect.

 
 Overcharged & Underserviced
Jul 28, 2009

The RBI is concerned about high bank charges. It should look into the quality of services as well

 
 Getting It Wrong
Jul 28, 2009

If QIBs cannot get their investment timing right and have lost money in the short-term, how do market intermediaries, lobbying for the scrapping of IPO ratings, argue that such ratings are not working? Indeed, the process of generating IPO ratings must be improved and not scrapped only because a lobby of market intermediaries and data aggregators insist that they are not working.

 
 Idle Worship
Jul 28, 2009

India needs infrastructure spending, but it also needs an alert press and public to ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent.

 
 Harassed Investors
Jul 28, 2009

After his first post-Budget meeting with the market regulator, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said, “SEBI needs to focus on protecting the interest of investors.” If the government is serious, what should it do? Sucheta Dalal explains

 
 Ponzi Scheme: Is RBI Passing the Buck?
Aug 10, 2009

RBI wants state governments to probe fake deposit schemes under the antiquated Prize Chits and Money Circulation Act

 
 No Questions Asked
Aug 10, 2009

SEBI needs to wake up to the fact that a disclosure-based regime will work only if false information is severely punished

 
 More Secure Online Transactions
Aug 10, 2009

The RBI has mandated a PIN for all online transactions making them more secure.

 
 ‘No Load’ Travails
Aug 10, 2009

Retail investors are still struggling to make SEBI‘s ‘no load’ bonanza work for them

 
 Private vs Public Interest
Aug 26, 2009

Anil Ambani talking about public interest is funny. But it seems only family feuds can throw light on a lot of murky deals

 
 ASBA: Stillborn?
Aug 26, 2009

Yet another investor-friendly move will fall flat on its face if the SEBI doesnt act

 
 Tax Havens: Nothing Changes
Aug 26, 2009

An official estimate states that Rs1,24,141 crore of investment in India was routed through Mauritius between 2006 and 2009 but nothing seems to change

 
 BSE: Slipping Again?
Aug 26, 2009

The BSE seems to be repeating some of its earlier mistakes

 
 Money Chain
Aug 26, 2009

Multi-level-marketing chains are duping gullible people by collecting thousands of crores of deposits as the RBI sits back. An investigation by Sucheta Dalal

 
 Grading Game
Sep 9, 2009

Dubious lobbying to scrap IPO gradings restarts

 
 Readying for Another Fall?
Sep 9, 2009

The investors have not learnt any lessons after 2008

 
 P.O. Box
Sep 9, 2009

Just listen to Vishwanath Poddar of Kolkata to understand why retail investors stay away from the capital market despite the media hype

 
 JM Commissions: At Whose Cost?
Sep 9, 2009

It is for several good reasons that JM Mutual Fund (JMMF) schemes have long been at the bottom of the performance tables.Lets take a look

 
 Big Brother
Sep 24, 2009

The idea of a super-regulator is a distraction from the much-needed clean up

 
 SBI Lobbies for Bond Guarantees
Sep 24, 2009

Government bailouts, at the cost of the ordinary person are now recognised as the fastest cure for manmade and greed-led financial disasters, here's more...

 
 Early Warnings and Disclosures
Sep 24, 2009

If the government can use Nandan Nilekani to create unique identification numbers for all Indians, SEBI can surely use Mr Pai’s expertise to set up a sophisticated system for corporate reporting, consent orders, penalties and the status of investor complaints.

 
 Good Times at the NSE
Sep 24, 2009

While global capital markets were ravaged by the financial crisis, things have worked extremely well for the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) top brass

 
 Exi(s)t Load
Oct 8, 2009

The mutual fund industry labours to survive under SEBI’s diktat

 
 Rotate Audit Partners or Audit Firms?
Oct 8, 2009

Long after the Satyam scandal, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has put out a set of recommendations made by its Committee on Disclosures and Accounting Standards to tighten disclosures by listed companies

 
 Omission of the Commissions
Oct 8, 2009

Several independent regulators of the financial sector, acting separately, have thrown a large segment of the industry into a state of suppressed agitation and turmoil over the issue of commissions to distributors

 
 Broken Ring-fence
Oct 8, 2009

The ring-fence, which was to keep SEBI chairman CB Bhave away from the controversy over the charges against National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)

 
 Jumping the Q
Oct 21, 2009

India has too many regulators with far too many powers and negligible performance

 
 Realty Bites Again
Oct 21, 2009

The realty sector was among the worst hit when the global financial crisis led to the market meltdown in 2008

 
 Who Is Buying IPOs?
Oct 21, 2009

Rampantly rising realty brings us to the rush of IPOs and follow-on issues at unrealistic prices

 
 Missing Dak
Oct 21, 2009

The RBI headquarters in Mumbai is a high-security building with stringent entry procedures that befit the nation’s monetary authority.

 
 First Global Docked
Nov 5, 2009

On 28th October, Shankar Sharma, vice chairman, First Global Stockbroking Pvt Ltd, lost an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against an order that barred him from the capital market for a year

 
 SEBI’s Travails Continue
Nov 5, 2009

Meanwhile, SEBI continued to face its share of heat over a controversial decision to suppress the 4 December 2008

 
 Public NSE’s Private Shareholders
Nov 5, 2009

The National Stock Exchange (NSE), which has moved the Delhi High Court against the Central Information Commission’s (CIC)

 
 Articulation Is Not Action
Nov 5, 2009

Advances in technology have not led to financial inclusion but sometimes result in financial exclusion

 
 Standardising PoAs: Long Overdue
Nov 20, 2009

SEBI’s long overdue decision to standardise some aspects of PoA would prevent widespread abuse of PoA.

 
 Market Reforms Gather Pace
Nov 20, 2009

SEBI announced a series of plans and actions aimed at pushing capital market reforms to protect investors. What are the implications of extended trading hours, SME platform, FPO auctions for investors?

 
 The Curious Case of Suppressed Orders
Nov 20, 2009

SEBI’s recent moves to protect NSDL damage its credibility irreparably

 
 IPO Subscription Scam
Nov 30, 2009

A few expensively priced IPOs and follow-on issues that opened recently failed to find retail subscribers. Financiers, who help in closing the issue are extracting a hefty discount and also dumping the shares on listing. By Sucheta Dalal

 
 Put the SEBI House in Order First
Dec 3, 2009

The market regulator has arrogated so much power that many of its actions go unquestioned

 
 Homework, Please
Dec 3, 2009

Policy decisions by the stock market regulator are usually the result of lobbying by specific groups or intermediaries or the result of a volley of investor complaints

 
 Cease & Desist: Just Eight Months Late
Dec 3, 2009

On 9 March 2009, Moneylife wrote to SEBI chairman CB Bhave: “You may like to check this.

 
 The Next Step
Dec 16, 2009

Decades of battering (through unresolved grievances) and discomfort with automated systems have systematically driven investors away from the markets

 
 Reining in the Regulator
Dec 16, 2009

The 2006 IPO scam has dented SEBI’s credibility. Will SEBI go ahead with the 22nd December board meeting without CB Bhave & exonerate NSDL?

 
 Compromises and Conflicts
Dec 16, 2009

Justice JS Verma’s opinion in the SEBI matter raises vital issues that require public debate. Every regulator needs a clean-up, especially when things go wrong.

 
 Exchanging Blows
Dec 30, 2009

A few weeks ago, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chairman CB Bhave congratulated the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

 
 RBI: A Silent Spectator
Dec 30, 2009

Moneylife has already pointed out how State Bank of India’s (SBI) ‘zero processing fees’ offer is a sham

 
 PwC Rules
Dec 30, 2009

If PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) seems to tumble from one scandalous audit decision to another

 
 Con by Consent
Dec 30, 2009

SEBI's consent orders are seen as a quick escape mechanism for anyone who is caught violating market regulations

 
 2009: Congress, SEBI, Reliance and the BMC
Dec 31, 2009

As 2009 draws to a close, here are some random thoughts on government policies, markets and things in general. As we step into a new decade, will anything ever change or will we just have more of the same?

 
 When Brokers Make You Broke
Jan 13, 2010

Seven rules to ensure that your broker doesn’t give you a raw deal

 
 Things To Come
Jan 13, 2010

Without a dramatic shift in policy-making, a dwindling retail investor population will be the trend of the decade

 
 Counterproductive Actions
Jan 13, 2010

The past couple of years have seen several SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) initiatives that were ostensibly for the retail investors’ benefit, but have come a cropper.

 
 Caveat Emptor
Jan 13, 2010

The disclaimers on the websites of the BSE and the NSE are ridiculous. That the regulator permits such sweeping disclaimers only underlines how the playing field is stacked against investors.

 
 Turf Wars
Jan 13, 2010

Competition between the BSE, the NSE and the MCX blew up into full-fledged battles in the latter half of the past decade, but we also saw the beginning of turf wars between financial market regulators which seem certain to escalate as we head towards 2010.

 
 Financial Literacy Farce
Jan 27, 2010

India’s investor population has always been concentrated in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and the larger cities in the south. But you would have a completely different notion, if you were to go by the list of 69 NGOs accredited and eligible to receive funds from the Investor Education & Protection Fund (IEPF)

 
 Gimme the Money
Jan 27, 2010

While the IEPF may have done little to further the investors' cause, almost every ministry wants to adopt the same model to grab and collect public funds into a pool that can be distributed to favoured NGOs.

 
 Corporate Filings
Jan 27, 2010

Shouldn't regulators practise what they preach? We asked Jamie Allen, co-author of the The India White Paper released on 19th January in Mumbai. The paper by the Hong Kong-based Asian Corporate Governance Association recommended that corporate websites must be used more efficiently as communication tools and need to be easy to access and search.

 
 Promoters' Tricks
Jan 27, 2010

In the wake of the Satyam scandal, a Noble group financial subsidiary came up with three evocative definitions for the tricks that Indian promoters play on their shareholders.

 
 Utopian Governance Code
Jan 27, 2010

The new governance code is so impractical that it cannot further the cause of good governance or protect investors

 
 Ambani Investigation
Feb 10, 2010

Will SEBI's investigation into several financial dealings of the Anil Ambani group outlast the Sena's interest in the issue and actually result in an order?

 
 Exonerating NSDL
Feb 10, 2010

SEBI's exoneration of NSDL in the IPO scam has destroyed its credibility

 
 IRDA vs SEBI
Feb 10, 2010

SEBI has shot off show-cause notices to insurance companies over ULIPs, unmindful of the fact that they report to another independent regulator

 
 Spot the Retail Investor
Feb 10, 2010

Retail investors are an endangered species. This will undermine the government’s disinvestment plans

 
 Gouging Strategy
Feb 25, 2010

Banks are devising new ways to gouge money out of retail investors after SEBI’s decision to ban entry-load for MFs

 
 Scrap Trails
Feb 25, 2010

Another potentially good move that has been messed up by SEBI due to thoughtless execution is permitting investors to switch MF distributors without obtaining their consent.

 
 Lure of Gold
Feb 25, 2010

The phenomenal success of gold deposit schemes is luring top jewellery brands into offering such schemes

 
 Manna, Pure & Simple
Feb 25, 2010

Commercial banks are sniffing at the business opportunity of lending against jewellery.

 
 Toxic K-10
Feb 25, 2010

One by one, the companies involved in the Ketan Parekh scam are escaping regulatory action

 
 Collar the Watchdog
Feb 25, 2010

Ivory tower regulations have killed investor interest. Time for some intervention by the finance ministry

 
 Wanted: Retail Investors
Feb 25, 2010

Despite economic prosperity and multiplying 24-hour business channels, retail investors are staying out of IPOs, mutual funds and pension funds—gypped by self-serving intermediaries and irritated by cumbersome rules of unaccountable regulators. Sucheta Dalal analyses

 
 Walking the Regulatory Tightrope
Mar 10, 2010

The Budget has announced the setting up of two new financial-sector watchdogs. Hopefully, they will have a clear mandate and visionary leadership

 
 No Idiot Here
Mar 10, 2010

A top-notch and reputedly no-nonsense Bollywood director has taken on a media house that is know to use arm-twisting tactics to propagate its ‘news-for-sale’ business.

 
 See No Evil
Mar 10, 2010

It is 10 years since the JPC report on the Ketan Parekh scam first examined and frowned upon synchronised trades. Yet, it remains a rampant market practice. So much so that it is worrying lawyers of international firms.

 
 New Banks: Will RBI Relent?
Mar 10, 2010

The RBI has barely suppressed its dismay over the finance minister’s announcement that the apex bank is considering allotting new banking licences to private-sector players.

 
 SEBI Finally Wakes Up
Mar 10, 2010

It’s not another Satyam but the saga of Prithvi Info Solutions is scandalous, finds Sucheta Dalal

 
 Bad Precedent
Mar 24, 2010

A recent Supreme Court judgement has armed SEBI with more draconian powers that will allow it to put people out of business

 
 Anatomy of Swiss Banking Trails
Mar 24, 2010

Zurich-based law firm Froriep Renggli’s communication to Indian regulators is a helpful guide for any investigator wanting to understand how Swiss banks work.

 
 UBS: The Indian Connection
Mar 24, 2010

Froriep Renggli, a Zurich-based law firm, has alleged the active connivance of UBS in routing trades in Reliance Energy and Reliance National Resources through its clients' accounts.

 
 SEBI’s Serial Slip-ups
Mar 24, 2010

SEBI’s regulatory tussle with the IRDA over ULIPs was yet another ill-timed and misconceived move

 
 Forcing Good Governance
Apr 9, 2010

SEBI has made it mandatory for mutual funds to disclose to investors how they exercise their voting rights as corporate shareholders. But will the new rule force mutual funds to take a stand on management actions and decisions?

 
 Retail Roadblocks
Apr 9, 2010

Brokers flatly refuse to open client accounts without a PoA, and this keeps a large swathe of potential investors out of the market.

 
 Getting on Track
Apr 9, 2010

After asking LIC to repeatedly bail out public sector disinvestment issues, the government seems to be headed for some sensible policy changes.

 
 Lopping off Tax from Principal!
Apr 9, 2010

FD holders, beware! Banks are resorting to deducting TDS from the principal without informing customers.

 
 Can’t Let Sleeping Watchdogs Lie
Apr 9, 2010

Considering the overlap in their regulatory turf, SEBI and IRDA can’t afford to work at cross-purposes

 
 Orchestrated Move
Apr 21, 2010

When the crisis between IRDA and SEBI leads to a panic, will vested interests find an excuse to activate the Financial Stability and Development Council?

 
 Where Is He?
Apr 21, 2010

SEBI director Dr Mohan Gopal, who co-authored the report on NSDL’s role in the 2006 IPO scam, has become incommunicado.

 
 Wheel of Fortune
Apr 21, 2010

The IPL is, indeed, as much about business as it is about cricket. But its money-spinning speed, the mix of glamour and political muscle is getting too giddy.

 
 Uncharted
Apr 21, 2010

It is stunning to see Standard Chartered Bank's IDR prospectus simply blank out the cases filed against it in the scam of 1992 and also the nostro-vostro account scandal in the 1990s.

 
 Muscle-flexing
May 3, 2010

SEBI’s strange rebuke to the BSE and its implications

 
 Weak Government?
May 7, 2010

Earlier, the Parliamentary standing committee used to command fear and respect among regulators and intermediaries

 
 Rating Development
May 7, 2010

SEBI has pointed out that rating agencies rely only on audited financial reports, instead of doing an independent investigation

 
 Finally, Corp Filing
May 7, 2010

The mandatory filing of corporate information has proved to be inadequate, cumbersome and user-unfriendly

 
 Drunk Policymaking
May 19, 2010

The hypocrisy on the alcohol policy is getting worse as Maharashtra claims to raise the drinking age limit to 25

 
 Retirement Planning
May 19, 2010

Stock exchanges are chasing retired bureaucrats with offers of directorships

 
 Judiciary Dislikes It
May 19, 2010

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court has asked the government to amend the laws to restrict the role of bureaucrats in tribunals

 
 Selective Recall
May 19, 2010

Market-watchers have been startled by the news that SEBI has let Motilal Oswal Securities off the hook in the IPO scam

 
 Radia's Haldia Deal
May 19, 2010

Transcripts of the Niira Radia tapes, earlier a closely guarded secret, are slowing seeping into the public domain

 
 Blast from the Past
Jun 2, 2010

The Maharashta government’s strategy of blaming industry for the Naxal menace is bound to backfire

 
 Super CAG
Jun 2, 2010

The CAG’s request to be allowed to audit independent regulatory bodies raises interesting possibilities

 
 Not In My Footsteps
Jun 2, 2010

A recent survey has thrown up several findings about the self-perceptions of the babu class

 
 Brooking Crooked Brokers
Jun 2, 2010

In theory, investors can sue brokerages for wrongdoing, but the regulator’s caprice is stymying the system

 
 Bury 15,000 People—and Other Scams
Jun 16, 2010

The neta-babu class seems to have patented the drag-&-dilute technique of burying a scandal

 
 Rollbacks & About-turns
Jun 16, 2010

It is significant to note that the government's about-turn on the 25% minimum public float proposal happened without any public opposition from corporate India

 
 Selective Punishment
Jun 16, 2010

There is a need to ensure that SEBI’s adjudication and investigations processes are fair, transparent, detailed and open to public scrutiny

 
 Turf Battle Fades?
Jun 16, 2010

The issue was not whether ULIPs need better regulation, but the manner in which SEBI moved into IRDA’s turf

 
 Conning By Consent
Jun 29, 2010

Why are SEBI officials letting off habitual offenders with paltry fines?

 
 The Keshub Mahindra Conundrum
Jun 29, 2010

The Bhopal case judgment should be an eye-opener for corporate India to clean up its act

 
 No Show
Jun 29, 2010

The rumours have been planted so skillfully that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint where the stories originated

 
 Stock Therapy
Jul 13, 2010

The regulator’s misguided moves will further alienate retail investors

 
 FSA: Born-2000 Died-2010
Jul 13, 2010

With the finance minister seeking control of financial regulators, is he prepared to pay the price in the event of a scam or crisis?

 
 Restructure SEBI
Jul 13, 2010

The government is looking at ways to expand SEBI’s powers instead of revamping it

 
 Moving to Gold
Jul 13, 2010

With gold becoming a big attraction, it is time the government regulates investments in the yellow metal

 
 Moving to Gold
Jul 29, 2010

Increasing gold prices and new schemes launched by jewellers and gold finance firms are pulling people to invest in gold

 
 FSA: Born-2000 Died 2010
Jul 29, 2010

By 2012, FSA will be replaced by three agencies which include law enforcement, consumer protection and supervising financial institutions

 
 Restructure SEBI
Jul 29, 2010

SEBI creates numerous roadblocks that hampers the growth of stock exchanges

 
 Stock Therapy
Jul 29, 2010

The regulator’s misguided moves will further alienate retail investors

 
 SILENT SEBI
Aug 10, 2010

On 20th July, the MCX-SX took the bold step of dragging SEBI to court because SEBI would neither grant it permission to trade in other segments nor reject its application

 
 NOT THE FIRST TIME
Aug 10, 2010

It is not the first time that MCX-SX has approached courts to seek legal redress as SEBI’s silence and favouritism is killing it

 
 FORGERY BY SEBI INSIDER
Aug 10, 2010

The infamous “forged letter” in the sensational Pyramid Saimira case may be the work of a manager of SEBI called J D’Souza

 
 High Hopes
Aug 10, 2010

The High Level Coordination Committee has just functioned as a coffee club for regulatory heads

 
 SEBI: COMMISSION & OMISSION
Aug 25, 2010

Forgery is a serious, non-bailable, offence under India’s criminal laws, yet SEBI seems to protect its own official, who was responsible for sending out the ‘forged letter’ to Pyramid Saimira

 
 BEHIND THE CURVE
Aug 25, 2010

A lot more needs to be done to safeguard the interest of retail investors

 
 TARGETING CHAKRABARTY
Aug 25, 2010

RBI needs to be more transparent in its decision making. Publishing its policy discussions, will ensure that RBI policy-makers are allowed to have different views irrespective of the final policy decision

 
 Will Portfolio Managers Be Accountable?
Aug 25, 2010

SEBI is trying to make changes in the much-abused portfolio management schemes. It’s about time

 
 Murder on the Campus
Aug 25, 2010

What action does Infosys plan to take in the wake of its HR manager's arrest?

 
 CRB Resurfaces
Aug 25, 2010

Chain Roop Bhansali (CRB), whose financial company collapsed like a pack of cards in 1997, along with the savings of numerous people. CRB then vanished from the public scene but has been resurfacing from time to time

 
 This DG Gets Away
Aug 25, 2010

After the RBI trimmed the portfolio of one of its deputy governors, another RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath said, the autonomy of monetary policy was not under any threat but didn't suffer the same consequences

 
 Where Are the Investors?
Aug 25, 2010

The Indian capital market is narrow, shallow, illiquid and concentrated in the hands of a few individuals. Here is the evidence

 
 Dubious Delisting
Sep 7, 2010

SEBI and the exchanges are making a mess of the compulsory delisting process. This another reason investors are put off

 
 First Order, then Clarify
Sep 7, 2010

SEBI’s new arbitration fees may rip off the investors

 
 Denying Data
Sep 7, 2010

The government needs to set up a committee that will cut through NSE’s secretiveness and throw light on the true state of the Indian capital market

 
 One Cheer for Transparency?
Sep 7, 2010

Corporate India loves private treaties with media houses. As they get insurance against negative publicity. But, this also raises issues of ethics

 
 Banks vs Ispat: A Farcical Spat
Sep 21, 2010

 
 One Cheer
Sep 21, 2010

 
 The Curious Mr Vangal
Sep 21, 2010

 
 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…
Sep 21, 2010

Why CB Bhave’s tenure as SEBI chairman will go down as among the worst in nearly two decades

 
 SEBI’s Multiple Standards
Oct 6, 2010

 
 Reward & Punishment
Oct 6, 2010

 
 Race Hots Up
Oct 6, 2010

 
 Dubious Regulator
Oct 6, 2010

SEBI’s rejection of MCX-SX to start equity trading is the latest in a long list of sordid actions

 
 Excess Employment
Oct 20, 2010

 
 Public Provident Funds and HUFs
Oct 20, 2010

 
 Suspended Animation
Oct 20, 2010

 
 A Case of Micro Usury?
Oct 20, 2010

Stricter regulatory norms needed for MFIs run as for-profit enterprises

 
 Not If, But When
Nov 3, 2010

The RBI had better not shirk its responsibility and get down to regulating

 
 What Happens to Investors?
Nov 3, 2010

 
 Getting More Corrupt
Nov 3, 2010

 
 Shutting Businesses through Regulatory Fiat
Nov 3, 2010

 
 Graded Apathy
Nov 15, 2010

Vested interests in SEBI seem set to torpedo the IPO grading process when dozens of pressing investor issues remain unattended

 
 Jalan Protects NSE
Dec 2, 2010

The Bimal Jalan committee has delivered a report whose sole beneficiary is the National Stock Exchange

 
 Radia’s Agenda & Modus Operandi
Dec 2, 2010

 
 Privacy & Other Issues
Dec 2, 2010

 
 PR-Mediagate
Dec 2, 2010

 
 Ratan Tata: Sullied Image
Dec 16, 2010

 
 Leaking Like a Sieve
Dec 16, 2010

 
  Ispat Industries: What Next for Rogue Company?
Dec 16, 2010

 
 India Desolate
Dec 17, 2010

Banker, broker, leader, fixer-will India ever emerge from their clutches?

 
 A different version
Jan 19, 2011

Contrary to what has been reported, according to a Supreme Court order, Sahara will have to share information with SEBI

 
 Wake-up call for regulators
Jan 19, 2011

When is the last time that SEBI has bothered to hold a discussion on how to make PMS fairer and more transparent for investors?

 
 Anil and void
Jan 19, 2011

A deal on the transmission towers business will intensify speculation about the further ties between the two ‘Reliance’ groups

 
 Convenient morality
Feb 8, 2011

India’s industry associations have rarely, if ever, lobbied for good governance, accountability or clarity in regulations. This time too, only the CII has belatedly endorsed the open letter by a group of concerned citizens to the government on ‘governance deficit’ and large-scale corruption

 
 Losing Touch?
Feb 9, 2011

Anil Ambani may have failed to assess the possible impact of settling a case with SEBI, but the bar itself on Ambani and his four directors from trading in the market for a year is a sham

 
 Not on CIBIL’s list
Feb 10, 2011

The number of people affected by bad credit scores has been rather thin because more than half the data at the country’s largest bank is rejected by CIBIL’s database as it is incomplete

 
 Citibank scam
Feb 23, 2011

Market sources are emphatic that Shivraj Puri may have been fronting for a lot of insider activity

 
 Chance to cleanse SEBI
Feb 25, 2011

If the new SEBI chairman UK Sinha chooses to clean up the regulatory body, restore legitimacy of rules and processes and recognises the importance of quick and transparent dissemination of information, he would have more than fulfilled ordinary investor’s expectations

 
 SEBI’s indulgent ‘warning’
Mar 7, 2011

SEBI has been quietly letting off a few hundred chosen price manipulators and offenders with a simple ‘administrative warning’ that depends on the whims of investigation officials. Such capriciousness can only breed corruption and brew a scandal that is bound to hit the finance ministry some day

 
 Tax evasion: Hassan Ali getting away
Mar 9, 2011

Why are tax authorities so lax?

 
 Complaints redressal: SEBI’s high cost experiment
Mar 10, 2011

A new tech-based system has been announced. What happened to the old ones?

 
 NSDL behind regulatory fog
Mar 21, 2011

Who regulates the main businesses of the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) when it is no longer only a stock depository? The shocking answer is: nobody! Hopefully UK Sinha, the new SEBI chief, will realise that NSDL is far too big and sensitive to be operating under regulatory ambiguity right under his nose

 
 JPC on 2G: Public hearings needed
Mar 23, 2011

Four earlier joint parliamentary committees have served no purpose

 
 Healthcare costs: Planning regulation
Mar 24, 2011

Finance ministry and health ministry need to ensure that people get affordable quality healthcare

 
 Retirement homes: Urgent need for supervision
Mar 25, 2011

Framing appropriate regulation is essential to protect senior citizens

 
 Corporate governance: Private sector’s bribe-giving
Mar 28, 2011

The private sector wants corrupt netas and babus to be pulled up. Corruption in the private sector is as rampant, but never discussed

 
 SEBI: Capricious obstructions
Mar 30, 2011

SAT orders have exposed SEBI’s caprice

 
 SEBI: Change of guard in the offing
Apr 1, 2011

SEBI is getting ready for several changes in top management

 
 Governance:Rajat Gupta’s many shenanigans
Apr 12, 2011

Insider trading was just one of his numerous shady deals, many in India, which have remained under the radar. Among them were Scandent Technologies which no regulator dared ask any question about; he bought a stake in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank bypassing procedure; and an investment in KS Oils

 
 Scam: Radia’s second bomb
May 5, 2011

Explosion on the eve of the Tamil Nadu elections

 
 Media: NDTV continues to find buyers
May 6, 2011

Even as credibility and finance are at all-time lows, the TV company has got yet another investor to pick up a big chunk of its equity

 
 Tax evasion: Broken trail
May 12, 2011

US is cracking down on Indian-Americans with undeclared Indian accounts. But these dubious tax-dodging accounts won’t go away, thanks to rampant corruption in our tax department and the impossibly high deposit targets for bank managers

 
 Tax evasion: What HSBC really did
May 16, 2011

The British bank lured greedy US-based Indians with schemes that would help them avoid paying US taxes

 
 Rot at the top: Who takes the rap?
May 23, 2011

Head honchos sit pretty, while their flunkies feel the heat

 
 The Radia tapes: The lady speaks
May 24, 2011

There have been many arrests in the 2G scandal, but Niira Radia, the lady who set up many sleazy deals, is still untouched; and so are corrupt bureaucrats

 
 Multi-level marketing schemes: Jago, grahak, jago!
May 25, 2011

Ponzi schemes are born every second. They make false claims to systematically plunder gullible people. But why are our regulators and ministries silent?

 
 Regulation: KM Abraham’s investor-unfriendly order
Jun 7, 2011

SEBI found HSBC Mutual Fund guilty, but a whole-time director of SEBI allowed the Fund to get away

 
 Regulation: When will the regulator be held accountable?
Jun 8, 2011

A recent case illustrates that nothing happens to SEBI officials even after shoddy investigation and false accusations

 
 Unaccountable regulators: Cancerous caucus
Jun 9, 2011

The recent capricious record of the SEBI top brass has shown that Indian regulators may continue with their whimsical ways if investors/savers don’t assert their rights and demand accountability from politicians

 
 Ambani brothers: Governance deficit
Jun 20, 2011

Shareholders of both Ambani groups are paying the price for the far-from-glorious reputation of their companies

 
 SEBI: More skeletons
Jun 21, 2011

Competition Commission finds NSE guilty of misusing its dominant position and indulging in unfair trade practices in currency derivatives, that SEBI refused to act against

 
 IPOs: Manipulation rules
Jun 22, 2011

Will the watchdog watch the IPO process?

 
 Pyramid schemes: Daylight robbery
Jun 23, 2011

Pyramid marketing companies are looting the public easily, while the government watches. Many countries have banned them outright

 
 Tax evasion: The farce continues
Jul 5, 2011

Who says the government wants to go after black money stashed abroad?

 
 Tax benefits: Heart of the matter
Jul 7, 2011

Is your heart a piece of plant and machinery for you to get tax breaks?

 
 Ambani companies: Fall from the pedestal
Jul 8, 2011

With senior employees in jail and investors losing money, Dhirubhai Ambani’s legacy looks badly tarnished

 
 Dubious companies: Again and again
Jul 20, 2011

How scamsters vanish, and make comebacks, but the market regulator will do nothing

 
 Banks and financial literacy: Ears to the ground
Jul 21, 2011

Banks are fleecing taxpayers and giving out doles

 
 Regulation: SEBI chief’s agenda
Jul 29, 2011

Will the SEBI chairman leave behind a better legacy than many of his predecessors?

 
 Regulator: SEBI is just as bad
Aug 8, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Board of India drags a report against Religare Securities through adjudication over a paltry penalty of Rs3 lakh, but seems unable to investigate case of rampant price manipulation

 
 Stockbroking: Tough times
Aug 9, 2011

Broking companies are paying for grave systemic flaws

 
 Stock exchanges: Anti-investor
Aug 10, 2011

The shocking attitude of the BSE

 
 Fight against graft: Not good enough, mr prime minister
Aug 10, 2011

Manmohan Singh is an honest man. He should not support those who are not

 
 The political-media cabal: The fourth estate?
Aug 17, 2011

Our media is a paper tiger

 
 Regulation: Vaswani’s stock
Aug 18, 2011

Manipulation, time & again

 
 Market manipulation: Ashika escapes
Aug 19, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ignores various kinds of manipulation by this stock broking company

 
 Proxy advice: Check on misgovernance
Aug 24, 2011

India needs to encourage proxy services to check corporate misgovernance, but ensure that conflict, regulation and compensation issues are addressed right now, while it is still a nascent business

 
 Regulation: Paralysed regulators
Aug 30, 2011

With wrong people at the helm, distrust and lack of integrity are the norm

 
 Regulatory reform: Whose consent?
Aug 30, 2011

Arbitrary and opaque consent orders must stop

 
 Multi-level marketing: Seeking legitimacy
Aug 31, 2011

MLMs are lobbying to amend the law which lumps them along with dubious pyramid schemes

 
 Consent orders: Arbitrary rulings
Sep 13, 2011

SEBI members have been issuing orders arbitrarily

 
 Microfinance: Baseless report. Really?
Sep 14, 2011

Pressure mounts on SKS boss

 
 Regulation: 3 cheers for 2 decisions
Sep 15, 2011

Competition Commission shows the way

 
 Corporate governance: Home truth for foreign diplomats
Sep 27, 2011

Lawyers and accountants (caught) breaking their silence

 
 Regulatory reforms: Cleaning up appointments
Sep 29, 2011

When were they ever transparent?

 
 Regulation: People's wrath
Sep 30, 2011

The public is disgusted and angry over rampant corruption. Will politicians listen?

 
 Games companies play: Never be-sahara
Oct 3, 2011

This group is a strange entity—high profile and shadowy

 
 Petition against Sebi: The Case of the Curious Litigation
Nov 28, 2011

The PIL on top SEBI appointments raises too many questions

 
 Cyrus Pallonji Mistry: New Successor
Nov 29, 2011

Ratan Tata’s successor is no surprise

 
 SEBI: On the Backfoot
Nov 29, 2011

Is SEBI’s consent order system illegal?

 
 Kingfisher Airlines: Brazening It
Nov 29, 2011

Kingfisher’s ploy to grab policymakers’ attention by cancelling flights almost worked this time, but the government did a quick about-turn when it sparked national outrage and angry protests

 
 Collective Investment Schemes: Ponzis and PMSs?
Dec 12, 2011

Sebi is thinking of acting at last but how long will it be before we get effective action?

 
 Price Manipulation: We don't know, honest!
Dec 13, 2011

Will the regulator at least make an attempt to know?

 
 India Story: Coming to a halt
Dec 13, 2011

No reforms and misgovernance is showing

 
 Nirmal Kotecha: On the run?
Dec 13, 2011

Why can’t investigative agencies find him?

 
 SEBI Investigation: Not our fault!
Jan 10, 2012

The new regime blames the older one for shoddy work

 
 FICCI’s protest: Wrong cause
Jan 10, 2012

FICCI has chosen to defend a strange issue

 
 IPO Scam: Kudos to SEBI
Jan 10, 2012

While SEBI’s investigation department deserves kudos for this action, the larger question is: Will the investigation stand up to the judicial process? Also what about the bigger mess?

 
 Saving account interest: Who benefits?
Jan 24, 2012

Only 4 small banks have jacked up the rates

 
 Ponzi schemes: Free for all
Jan 24, 2012

Perplexing lack of regulatory effort

 
 Financial Regulation: No uniformity
Jan 24, 2012

Mis-selling is easy because the rules are not uniform

 
 Kingfisher Airlines: Flying high at public expense
Mar 5, 2012

Kingsfisher, which has survived with the help of loans from public sector banks and a favourable aviation ministry, now wants more!

 
 Sterlite Mergers: Another self-serving move?
Mar 6, 2012

It was perplexing that a company, listed in London, would spend so much money to broadcast its CSR activities on prime time TV. The truth was evident a few weeks later. Once again, Anil Agarwal’s corporate empire was attempting to push through a self-serving restructuring process

 
 Investor Issues: Hear no evil
Mar 6, 2012

Over the past two years, Moneylife Foundation, our not-for-profit financial literacy organisation, has realised that a big problem with policy-making today is that nobody listens to the ordinary saver.Hence, frustrated savers are pulling money out of the market and mutual funds and putting in bank fixed deposits

 
 Mis-selling: How savers are misled
Mar 19, 2012

Goldman Sachs whistleblower’s tale should also draw attention to Indian practices which are no different

 
 Congress & its allies: Theatre of the absurd
Mar 21, 2012

Although the next general elections for the government at the Centre is due in 2014, the UPA allies have been successful in keeping the Congress-led government on the tenterhooks.

 
 Banking Ombudsman: Slipping Badly
Mar 21, 2012

The Banking Ombudsman might be spending more time in rejecting rather than looking into complaints – it rejected 71% of complaints last year We need a proactive Banking Ombudsman

 
 Bees Saal Baad: Markets at the Crossroads
Apr 16, 2012

In the past 20 years since the securities scam was exposed, radical transformation and development was followed by bumbling insularity, a near monopoly of the NSE, poor leadership and lack of vision at the BSE and an unseemly collusion has kept competition out of the capital market space

 
 SEBI: Curious property buying binge
Apr 18, 2012

Angry investors plan to keep a close watch on SEBI’s spending binge this time.

 
 Vijay Mallya: Habitually broke?
Apr 18, 2012

Mr Mallya was broke 20 years ago. Can he again work his way out of trouble by selling assets?

 
 Investor Population: Vanishing Investors
Apr 30, 2012

Manipulating research studies or media opinion or more investor meets will not increase investor participation

 
 Vijay Mallya’s Tax Claim Saga: Kingfisher, UB’s slow crumble
May 2, 2012

Kingfisher Airlines has defaulted on all commitments (including rent, salaries and taxes). This is a fit case for holding the entire board of the UB Group accountable

 
 SEBI & RBI: Aren’t regulators accountable for the USE mess
May 2, 2012

The United Stock Exchange is the worst example of SEBI’s dereliction of duty. The fourth forex-derivatives bourse, set up by a bunch of institutions, was permitted to start operations without a revenue model, SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India did not question this

 
 Financial Literacy: Lip service
Jul 24, 2012

Neither the regulators, nor the states want to touch the biggest scourge of savers across India: pyramid schemes

 
 Sebi I Investigation: SAT pulls Up SEBI for 12-year delay
Aug 10, 2012

If cases relating to important scams can languish for 12 years, isn’t it proof that SEBI has failed its basic mandate?

 
 NDTV sues TAM: Why is the media industry quiet?
Aug 10, 2012

It’s time for big-budget advertisers to start asking a few questions before shareholders begin to ask tough questions.

 
 Human Resources: Price of inequity
Aug 20, 2012

Can India keep running away from Bharat?

 
 Stock Exchanges: BSE’s gambit
Aug 21, 2012

The BSE estimates the collective savings of brokers will be over Rs1,000 crore per year due to lower charges. But what happens if the NSE decides to match the price?

 
 Big Bang Reforms: What about regulation & supervision?
Aug 22, 2012

SEBI has announced a series of reforms to revive investor confidence and make IPOs attractive again, but what has it done to resolve investors’ grievances?

 
 Fixed Deposits: Call option for finance companies
Aug 23, 2012

Under the RBI ordained “call option”, finance companies are officially allowed to return deposits anytime after three months of raising funds. Is this fair to the investors?

 
 NDTV Vs WPP: A battle for Public Opinion
Aug 27, 2012

WPP has hit back at NDTV’s allegation that TAM ratings are flawed with a cleverly planned counter-attack. Will it now be a battle of wits, strategy and dirty tricks?

 
 SEBI scores big with Sahara
Sep 3, 2012

After the landmark verdict by the apex court, Subrata Roy-led Sahara Group has come out with full page ads in various newspapers. This is childishness and only underlines the dangers of allowing this group to keep expanding without regulatory checks and balances

 
 Harmful Ads: Loopholes galore
Sep 3, 2012

Instead of a regulator to monitor ads, why not tighten the many statutes that already provide for consumer protection?

 
 Vedanta’s Millions: Which political party benefited from it?
Sep 4, 2012

Although Vedanta’s annual report says that it cannot make donations to any political parties in the UK and Europe, it is different when it comes to India. Is foreign money approved and welcomed by all?

 
 SEBI officially admits to its manager’s involvement in the Pyramid Saimira case
Sep 4, 2012

It required a parliament question by MP Rajeev Chandrashekar for SEBI to admit the involvement of its manager Jerome K Alexander in the infamous “forged letter” sent to Pyramid Saimira by SEBI. While Pyramid Saimira is being wound up, why is the regulator dragging its feet over the Alexander case and his links with Nirmal Kotecha?

 
 No Frills Demat: Will new investors bite?
Sep 5, 2012

With the Sebi announcing the possibility of launching no-frills accounts to woo investors into the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme, the question is-Will the depository participants even be willing to offer such accounts?

 
 Foreign Retail Chains: Will they be able to deal with the Indian reality?
Sep 7, 2012

FDI in retail is one issue being dealt with since long. Our government has missed the chance once again. Indian retail giants are as large as foreign hypermarkets, but, do they do as well on the price and quality front?

 
 Verghese Kurien: The original social entrepreneur
Sep 20, 2012

Dr Verghese Kurien will always be remembered, not only because operation flood would not have been possible without him, but for many other lofty reasons

 
 Financial Hard-Sell: Trust destruction
Oct 2, 2012

Selling of wrong products

 
 Investors Protection: What investors want
Oct 2, 2012

And why the regulator doesn’t understand it

 
 Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme: A complex and irrelevant scheme
Oct 3, 2012

Intermediaries are convinced that despite no-frills demat accounts, the investment effort was far too cumbersome.

 
 Collective Investment Schemes: SEBI has done a great job on Sahara but what about the others
Oct 3, 2012

While we laud SEBI for the dogged pursuit of the Saharas, which issued over Rs17,500 crore worth of OFCDs, the regulator is strangely silent about Osian Art Fund.

 
 Why Robert Vadras win?
Oct 15, 2012

If regulatory oversight is lacking in everything from realty to banking, it is preposterous to exhort aam admi to go the courts

 
 Crosshairs by Sucheta Dalal
Oct 16, 2012

Pious pronouncements by FSLRC will not work because they are impractical; Dire need to monitor stocks exchanges closely after repeated debacles at the NSE

 
 The new political nexus
Oct 29, 2012

If you were wondering why most of the recent major cases of corruption have not been exposed by opposition parties, especially the BJP, now you have the answer: they are all in it together. The nexus goes back to Enron’s infamous Dabhol power project, which had been “dumped into the Arabian sea” (by Gopinath Munde of BJP, then deputy CM Maharashtra), but was resurrected at thrice the original size plus benefits for it, based on a report by Dr Kirit Parikh (still a close advisor of Dr Manmohan Singh).

 
 SEBI has initiated new investor-friendly moves, which for the first time corrects depository related issues
Nov 12, 2012

Few positive actions have been taken by the Sebi on IPOs and depositories, to make them more investor friendly

 
 Multi-Level Marketing: Some action in the offing?
Nov 12, 2012

The government does not seem to care so long as the founders are close to political parties

 
 Playing the victim after getting caught
Nov 12, 2012

Indians are eager to defend Rajat Gupta because we are too used to the powerful always getting away in India. Take a look at a short list

 
 Do Stockguru investors have a case against SEBI and RBI?
Nov 15, 2012

Stockguru, a chain-money scheme, openly flouted various SEBI rules. Moneylife pointed this out in December 2010 and again in April 2011 but SEBI, under both former chairman CB Bhave and current chairman UK Sinha, and RBI took no action. Aggrieved investors can possibly file a case of gross regulatory lapse against SEBI and RBI

 
 Designed To Fail?
Nov 27, 2012

Why is the regulator avoiding a 'statutory' corporate filing system.

 
 Foreign Corruption Law
Nov 27, 2012

Walmart’s investigation will go nowhere because the US trends to be tolerant about what its companies do overseas to get into new geographies.

 
 HSBC's 700 accounts
Nov 27, 2012

After the publicity and denials there is no follow up on Arvind kejriwal revelations.

 
 Errors in E-governance
Mar 4, 2013

We have to file taxes online or suffer harsh penalties; but private vendors, who manage the tax-filing system, are not accountable

 
 Why International Women’s Day has a special significance this year
Mar 5, 2013

The outrage over the dastardly Delhi gang-rape has subsided, but at the end of it, women seem to be paying a price for the lack of security it exposed. People don’t trust ham-handed police investigations, more importantly we don’t really trust the justice system to deliver. What lies ahead? Lets hear Justice Sujata Manohar on “The case for delivering better Justice to Women: A view from the Judge's Chair” on this International Women’s Day

 
 Finance ministry withdraws its controversial diktat to levy processing fees on payment of credit card dues by cheque or cash
Mar 18, 2013

Moneylife Impact: The finance ministry’s strange and controversial diktat to public sector banks to emulate HDFC Bank and levy processing charges on payment of credit card dues by cash or cheque was exposed and followed by Moneylife alone. The rest of the media, including the business press is still silent on this issue

 
 Why can’t Infosys get MCA21, the e-filing system working?
Mar 23, 2013

Two months after Infosys, India’s most celebrated information technology company took over MCA21—the e-filing portal of the ministry of corporate affairs—it remains unstable. Anguished users want to know why a system that worked well under TCS is causing such pain to companies and users

 
 A Strange Case of Mis-selling
Apr 15, 2013

SEBI’s Miraculous Discovery of ‘Organized Racket’

 
 Looting Legitimately
Apr 15, 2013

Will SEBI-RBI Protect this Investor?

 
 SEBI Vs Collective Investment Schemes
Apr 15, 2013

UK Sinha Under-rates Their Size and Influence

 
 A Regulator’s Hypocricy
Apr 15, 2013

An RBI deputy governor explains with great clarity the customers’ problems and also the solutions, but prefers to remain passive

 
 Will this 79-year old’s protest move the government and the RBI to stop mis-selling by banks?
Apr 16, 2013

When a banker comes to your home, exploits your trust and dupes you, he is called a bankster. Why doesn’t such systematic criminal exploitation of hapless depositors move the government and the banking regulator? This 79-year old has resorted to Gandhigiri to get justice

 
 Will Osian's Investors Finally Get Their Money?
May 2, 2013

Sebi has woken up and ordered the winding up of Osians's Art Fund but does it have enough of liquidity to pay back

 
 Will Osian's Investors Finally Get Their Money?
May 2, 2013

Sebi has woken up and ordered the winding up of Osians's Art Fund but does it have enough of liquidity to pay back

 
 Deliberate Obfuscation
May 14, 2013

Savers will continue to lose money in chain money schemes because the regulators are pretending not to understand the core issues

 
 Hapless Bank Depositors
May 14, 2013

40% TDS by SBI & Other Issues

 
 Naming & Shaming Bank Defaulters
May 14, 2013

Nitin Kasliwal of S Kumars gets targeted

 
 Phaneesh Murthy saga: Why insurers should refuse to cover serial offenders of sexual harassment
May 23, 2013

If you work in risky jobs or have a medical condition, you pay a higher premium. Some people are even denied insurance. Shouldn’t insurers refuse to cover serial offenders of sexual-harassment too? This may help women get a fairer treatment in companies

 
 Are Depositors at the Mercy of Bank IT Systems?
May 27, 2013

RBI should work at depositors’ protection instead of sitting in an ivory tower and producing reports on “disincentivising cheque usage” by penalising depositors.

 
 Sexual Harassment: Justice for Indian Women Not in Sight
May 27, 2013

As long as the justice delivery system remains slow and our courts refuse to order crippling monetary penalties, zero-tolerance of sexual harassment at the workplace will be discussed endlessly at HR seminars but never implemented.

 
 The Customer Is Always right. But There Are Exceptions
May 27, 2013

The widespread problems of Indian customers will stop only when regulators put in place a formal process to redress investor grievances meaningfully by forcing companies indulging in mis-selling or fraudulent practices to compensate investors for their losses and impose exemplary damages for needless harassment.

 
 Governance Deficit in Infosys?
Jun 10, 2013

From the very beginning, Infosys set standards and created benchmarks in transparency, good governance and accountability. But when circumstances changed, this pretty picture began to get dented bit by bit, starting with TV Mohandas Pai’s stormy exit around the time that NRN hung up his boots

 
 Corporate Governance: Convenience Rules with Infy Too
Jun 10, 2013

Mr Murthy and his protégé Nandan Nilekani have always been clever about managing their image. Consider this anecdote of 2005, just two years after the Narayana Murthy Committee had submitted its report to the Securities & Exchange Board of India

 
 CIBIL: Customers Continue To Suffer
Jun 10, 2013

Who checks the quality of technology or data-matching algorithms used by CIBIL or the other credit bureaus? What is the redress process, when it fails?

 
 HDFC Bank pitches toxic product to NRIs
Jun 11, 2013

HDFC Bank is targeting non-resident Indians (NRIs) with a fixed income product, exposing them to foreign currency fluctuations. If a customer loses money, he has to be blamed, of course, for falling for this hard-sell from his 'trusted' banker

 
 When Narayana Murthy walked the talk on Good Governance
Jun 12, 2013

Time, economic conditions, pressure of high expectations and the tax department may have taken a toll on his image, but there was a time when NR Narayana Murthy not only walked the talk on good governance but showed how committees can function differently

 
 Allegations of NDTV’s Many Shenanigans
Jun 24, 2013

Sanjay Dutt, director of Quantum Securities and a long-term shareholder of NDTV has alleged that chairman Prannoy Roy received irregular promoter funding of Rs375 crore by pledging NDTV shares which, according to him, is against the RBI rules

 
 Honest Bankers in Cobrapost May Soften RBI Rap
Jun 25, 2013

Will the honest bankers caught in Cobrapost sting operation help soften the RBI blow on erring banks?

 
 No Action To Rein In Toxic Products
Jun 25, 2013

The Financial Conduct Authority of the UK has banned the sale of a set of ‘risky’ investments to all but the super rich. When will Indian regulators act?

 
 Do TAM Ratings Serve an Unpalatable Truth?
Jun 25, 2013

Less than a year after NDTV broke off with TAM Rating, many Indian broadcasters have walked out of the ratings monopoly. Does this rating serve any useful purpose?

 
 NSDL De-merges E-governance Business, Finally
Jul 8, 2013

That NSDL is now being split is a very positive development, but the finance ministry and the regulator most also ensure clear regulation and supervision of all non-depository businesses

 
 Death of a PR Man
Jul 9, 2013

A mild-mannered PR person working for the Tatas hanged himself recently. How high are the stakes for companies?

 
 Fair & Lovely Mutual Funds
Jul 9, 2013

The mutual fund industry seems to think that marketing gimmicks will work better than simplicity and performance

 
 Reality Hits TV Channels
Jul 22, 2013

If technology is killing the print publications, the broadcast business, with huge overheads, is running out of advertisers, financiers and also viewers.

 
 RBI Punishes Banks, but Gently
Jul 24, 2013

RBI has imposed a combined penalty of nearly Rs50 crore on Indian banks. Strangely, the apex banking regulator has let foreign banks get away and issued just a letter of caution

 
 Indian Post Bank, the Game Changer?
Jul 24, 2013

If given a banking license, the institution with a wide reach—Indian Post Office— could change the banking system and foster financial inclusion that no other institution will be able to match

 
 NDTV threatens to sue its shareholder Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities
Jul 25, 2013

In probably the first such action in India, NDTV, through its law firm Amarchand Mangaldas has sent a legal notice to Sanjay Dutt, who holds a 1% stake in the broadcasting company for raising questions about its corporate policies and practices

 
 NSEL fiasco points to wider regulatory mess
Aug 5, 2013

The NSEL fiasco is part of a wider problem: poor financial market regulations across capital market, insurance and banking. The government is apparently considering a new regulation for commodity markets. Why wasn’t this a given higher priority than arming a corrupt and inefficient SEBI bureaucracy with draconian powers?

 
 Toxic Taxes
Aug 6, 2013

For five years United Progressive Alliance (UPA-2) has followed a policy of aggressively hounding legitimate businesses through what senior counsel, Arvind P Datar, calls an

 
 Gray Cement
Aug 6, 2013

Here is how Holcim, Ambuja and ACC have repeatedly short-changed investors. Those making a noise today abetted the previous cases of malfeasance

 
 Justice Grinds Slowly
Aug 6, 2013

Those of us who watched with fascination how Subrata Roy seemed to get away with full-page advertisements and interviews attacking the capital market regulator are relieved that the word ‘contempt’ is even being discussed in the apex court.

 
 False Advertising & Corporate Governance
Aug 19, 2013

While there is so much focus on good governance, is it not strange that this never seems to cover the outright lies and exaggerations in their advertising?

 
 I'm Not Loving It: Big Mac's strange Indian franchisee
Aug 20, 2013

The strange goings-on in Westlife development and its stunning price rise does not seem to attract SEBI's attention. Why?

 
 Costly Kiddy Bank Accounts
Aug 20, 2013

Pester-power may lure you to open an account for your child, but it is expensive and there are hidden risk.

 
 SEBI To Act on an FSA Tip-off. Really?
Aug 20, 2013

The market watchdog has announces an investigation but its trackrecord does not give us much hope about the outcome

 
 NSEL: Poor Regulation was not by chance
Sep 2, 2013

The NSEL scam only happens to be the biggest of the multiple scams that have hit the commodities markets, thanks to poor regulation

 
 How can private promoters use 'National' and other generic words for company names?
Sep 3, 2013

The Financial Technologies group has always managed to get generic words as company names, with Registrars violating their own guidelines. Use of words like ‘National’ for National Spot Commodities Exchange are illegal too

 
 IBMA: A broker, member, a company of NSEL’s promoter FT, but appearing as a trade body?
Sep 4, 2013

Indian Bullion Markets Association was one the biggest borrowers from the borrowing/lending racket of National Spot Exchange Ltd, amounting to Rs1,159 crores. With a name like that, was this group of company of Financial Technologies, the promoter of NSEL, masquerading as a trade body, lobbying on behalf of the group?

 
 Paid news: No regulation, no penalties
Sep 6, 2013

The 47th report of the standing Committee talks tough on paid news as the innocent public fall prey to biased news fed by the mainstream media. But it had nothing substantive to offer

 
 Scare Tactics by 'Debt Doctors'
Sep 16, 2013

Debt doctors play a useful role as long as they don’t scare the borrower into signing up and claim a ‘nexus’ with CIBIL to be able to‘fix’ credit records to remove the defaulter tag

 
 SEBI’s selective reaction
Sep 17, 2013

Regulators pretend all is well, in response to the most glaring violations we report

 
 NSEL investors unlikely to receive more than 60% of their money
Sep 27, 2013

Indications are that the government may soon drop the kid gloves treatment to NSEL and its management and allow the CBI to take over. If that happens, most investors will not get anything back from their investment

 
 Tech Wreck: A disaster waiting to happen?
Sep 30, 2013

India urgently needs a clear and unambigious IT usage policy, which has a transparent system of audit, accountability, redress and penalties covering all technology networks

 
 ASCI decides to stay away from misleading Bharat Nirman ads
Sep 30, 2013

Reacting to a barrage of complaints against the Bharat Nirman ads on Bills that have not yet been cleared by the Parliament, the Advertising Standards Council of India-ASCI, an industry watchdog, decided that it cannot rule on government and political advertisements

 
 Aadhaar: SC Infuses a Dose of Reality
Oct 1, 2013

Will UID now be open to a debate on privacy and security issues?

 
 NSEL: Unearthing or Protecting?
Oct 1, 2013

Too many committees and official statements, but little real action

 
 TC Nair: Right Man, Right Place, Right Time!
Oct 1, 2013

The new director of Financial Technologies has an interesting background

 
 Is RBI More Pro-customer?
Oct 14, 2013

RBI has done more for customers than Sebi and IRDA but it has also often argued that it will not interfere when it comes to products that already have an independent regulator. This is unfair to customers who repose enormous trust in banks

 
 Structure of Bourses: What Is the Way Forward?
Oct 29, 2013

The NSEL scam has opened a big can of worms about the integrity of the entire regulation and supervision infrastructure, including the efficacy of the slew of independent regulators set up over the past 25 years.

 
 Relief for senior citizens on reverse mortgage but lots more needs to be done
Oct 29, 2013

The collective voices of senior citizen through Moneylife Foundation and many others has finally been heard. The government has announced that reverse mortgage annuity would be tax-free. However, there is lot more that needs to be done, including regulation, to make senior citizens live a dignified life

 
 How Air India was destroyed
Nov 13, 2013

The price of putting the once iconic brand—Air India—is now an estimated Rs30,000 crore. The cost of looting that much tax payer's money puts the aircraft once again back into spotlight

 
 SC trashes PIL on UK Sinha's appointment
Nov 13, 2013

The judgement has dealt a rare stinging blow to several powerful reputations. The SC also called the petitioner a 'stool pigeon'

 
 Making banks accountable for tech frauds
Jan 6, 2014

An improved code forces banks to be more careful about technology-related frauds on their customers, for which banks are unaccountable now.

 
 With IPOs in doldrums, will SEBI ever understand investor disenchantment
Jan 6, 2014

Just one major IPO took place in 2013. Instead of working on reviving investor confidence and protecting them, SEBI plans to reduce disclosure - in a disclosure - based regime - to boost IPO interest.

 
 Morgan Stanley: Quit India
Jan 6, 2014

Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund's exit says a lot about India's regulatory regime, as much as about the fund companies.

 
 Questions that the mainstream media ignored in 2013
Jan 7, 2014

While news channels are outraged about something or the other every weeknight, here are some of the issues the media ignored in 2013

 
 Making Banks Accountable to Retail Customers
Jan 20, 2014

Since banks are the biggest distributors for all financial products, they need to operate within a strong consumer protection framework. This is lacking.

 
 What is common between Ambani, Subroto Roy or Praful Patel?
Jan 21, 2014

How the powerful threaten our basic freedom

 
 Focus areas for new CMD at Coal India
Jan 6, 2015

Though India produces more than 520 mt of coal a year, underground mining is said to contribute only 36-40 million tonnes. This is an area that needs to be explored further

 
 Osian Art Fund: Dirty canvass
May 26, 2011

Investors in Neville Tuli’s art fund have been taken for a royal ride. Despite constant pressure from Moneylife and collective action from investors, the saga has been one of broken promises