Your credit is easier to steal than your money.
With just a phone number and an OTP, fraudsters can trick lenders into approving loans in your name — without your knowledge. Weak consent systems, no instant alerts, and rushed digital lending have made identity theft alarmingly easy. It’s time India strengthens its safeguards with verified consent, real-time alerts, and stricter ID checks to truly protect borrowers.
Programmable currency can transform the way money is given and used by allowing it to be spent only for its intended purpose. Just as governments could ensure subsidies are used for food or education, individuals like Hema could send money coded specifically for school fees, guaranteeing its proper use without adding friction. With consent-based visibility and universal acceptance, this next step in India’s digital journey could combine trust, traceability, and dignity — empowering millions to give with confidence and impact
Programmable currency: Ensuring donors money is used right Read More »
Have you ever sold a car and signed a blank transfer form — did you know it could stay in your name for months and even end up as a terror tool, just like in the Parliament attack of 2001?
RCs often remain in the seller’s name while vehicles pass through multiple hands. If that car is in an accident, you may still be liable. Worse, it can be misused in crime — even terrorism — while the records still show you as the owner.
Other countries have solved this problem with simple processes. India’s draft rules of 2022 offered a clear solution: dealer authorisation, digital delivery intimation, and deemed ownership during possession. Yet three years later, these reforms remain unnotified.
Notify draft rules making dealer liable for sold vehicle Read More »
Ordinary Indians still can’t invest in overseas markets through mutual funds—while the wealthy freely remit crores abroad under LRS.
The irony? Money sent through mutual funds must return to India, while LRS money may not. Diversification shouldn’t be a privilege—it should be accessible to all.
Increase cap on overseas investments through MFs Read More »
Abhilash dislikes selling mutual fund units monthly to pay his RIA.
MFD commissions are deducted automatically, but RIA fees need direct payment.
He suggests letting funds sell units and pay RIAs directly.
This keeps costs transparent, taxable, and investor-controlled.
Removing such friction can make quality advice widely accessible.
KYC prevents fraud and keeps money trails traceable, but poor implementation turns it into a hassle. India has the digital tools—what’s needed is portability, verification, and strict enforcement.
The digital tax era promised simplicity, but ended up doubling the burden. Joint holders—added for ease—now face notices, penalties, and faceless assessments. India needs a statutory Taxpayer Rights Ombudsman, like the US, to protect honest taxpayers from systemic flaws.
The New Product (earlier called New Asset Class) approved by SEBI Board, is excellent for investors comfortable with high risk investments. It will also allow Long short strategies and is designed to wean investors away from unregulated products. Whilst the New Product will do that, the operational ease and tax benefits of the MF structure will most probably also result in the New Product eating into the existing Rs. 2 lakh crore PMS market. If the fund manager is offering a choice to the investor between the two , there is no doubt the investor will choose the New Product.
Sebi´s new product: MF´s efficiency, PMS´ control Read More »
Momentum funds have become the flavour of the season with their outsized “extra” returns over the already high returns provided by the market over the last one year. Harsh’s article in the Business Standard highlighting how they are not the absolute certainty they are made out to be. There is a need to take a conscious decision on the tradeoffs involved while evaluating investments in such factor funds.
Evaluate funds on rolling returns over long term Read More »
In a race between the top runners of US & the Soviet Union, the US runner beat his Soviet counterpart. “Soviet finishes second, US runner finishes second last” was the spin given by the Soviet media. This mythical story on the cold war era propoganda illustrates the importance of data availbility and transparency in reducing the spread of misleading conclusions. The Indian Mutual fund industry has a reputation for setting up global standards in transparency. Harsh’s article in Business Standard on how even more transparency in the outlined areas will enhance this reputation further.
Vigilance Awareness Week 2025 is being observed from October 27th to November 2nd, 2025, with the theme:
All stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the e-pledge initiative by visiting the CVC portal: https://pledge.cvc.nic.in/.
