Shivanand Pandit

While addressing the people at the inauguration of the Kollam bypass in January 2019, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, mentioned that the culture of wasting public money should end. However, the reality is different. A huge amount of public money is being utilised in paying income tax of cabinet ministers that accrue on their income.

After noticing numerous flaws in the IPO pricing method, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) set up a specialist panel to finetune it. Up to now, Rs 42,000 crore has been raised through 28 IPOs.

Importantly, when the government is so proud of information technology competence and many global tech giants are headed by Indians, leading-edge technology should be used to refund money that lawfully belongs to savers and investors.

The RBI, along with other central banks, is debating the use of a Central Bank Digital Currency. If safe and effective, it’ll challenge private crypto-currencies. But first, laws need to be amended to make this a reality.

The National Restaurant Association of India has filed a case in the Competition Commission of India against anti-competitive practices of Zomato and Swiggy. These have got worse during the pandemic.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has overhauled the norms regarding the appointment, removal, and remuneration of independent directors. However, the new proposals need accurate supervising.

As in the case of the new IT rules—aimed at controlling social media majors Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, as well as digital news portals like The Wire, Scroll and The Quint—the objective behind the draft e-commerce rules is shadowing.

SEBI has suggested amendments in ICDR to streamline the role and accountability of promoters and bring Indian law in line with international standards.

With the second wave of Covid-19 putting further stress on the economy, the Reserve Bank of India has launched measures to enhance fund flow for the healthcare sector and inject more liquidity into the system. Will they help?

Even as the centre reversed a move to reduce interest rates on small savings schemes, experts warn that these cuts will be implemented soon. Investors should invest in high-interest-yielding small savings instruments.