It is clear as daylight to anyone that a charge or a cost to simply reduce interest on a floating rate loan is extortion, but this is exactly what the RBI has officially sanctioned, says Debashis Basu.
Debashis Basu lists various reasons why laundering through the stock market thrives.
Bad loans continue to originate mainly from state-owned banks, where the top management's responsibility is not linked to career prospects nor has legal consequences, says Debashis Basu.
Consumers will thank the Modi government for this simple yet revolutionary move, which is long overdue, says Debashis Basu.
The government has provided no official explanation behind the note ban that is backed by hard data, says Debashis Basu.
It is best to invest long-term surplus in stocks or equity mutual funds.
'The problem is not the performance under Vishal Sikka, but the quality of Infy's board of directors, argues Debashis Basu.
'We are probably working with flawed data on household finance.'
The average bank customer does not know about the Customer Charter because it was designed - under Mr Rajan's regime - to be a lame duck initiative from the start: violating the charter has no consequences, points out, Debashis Basu.
The govt has incentivised the worst of investment products.
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The Sensex was around 18,600 by the end of August.
The RBI has created a stunted business model by which payment banks are supposed to shoulder the noble objective of financial inclusion without being able to make much money.
The successful implementation of the new Act will depend on a much bigger involvement of the state through a huge new superstructure of registration, certification and supervision
This mindless medley of products does not create choice.
Each scam that comes out in the open shows the regulators to be miles behind.
The single most important issue in Public Sector Banks is corruption.
We remain at the mercy of the global economic climate.
Instead of condemning all businessmen, the PM may like to listen to some of them.
The completely avoidable mess that the finance ministry found itself in was rather surprising, says Debashis Basu.
Today, the single most popular route of laundering is the stock market platform, notes Debashis Basu.
Traditional plans are the biggest area of concern for consumers.
Govt must introduce automated investment scheme for poor.
Mr Modi can create a small temporary team in the PMO whose only job would be to listen to businessmen's mann ki baat referring to global best practices.
My sense is that we are in a situation similar to 2011-13, notes Debashis Basu.
Private-equity funds made an average annual return of just 7 per cent between January 2007 and December 2013 while the Sensex was up 11 per cent.
Net capital gains from the sector over a full cycle may be more than the gains logged by cyclical sectors.
Modi's Make in India will work only if the cost of borrowing comes down.
The new tax regime proposed by the Modi government may not have acceptance from all corners.
The best investment schemes fail if they don't offer incentives to intermediaries to push investors.
Even if Mudra steps in to play its main role of refinancing at some stage, the responsibility for the bad loans remains with the banks.
'Mr Modi has inherited a system that taxes businessmen and fritters the money away over ministries.'
Lack of decisiveness and courage to deal with PSBs may turn out be the biggest impediment to the Modi government's economic initiatives, says Debashis Basu.
Nobody is clear what 'minimum government maximum governance' means.
The Union government is keen to ensure financial security for unorganised sector workers
Mudra Bank will be a Rs 20,000-crore institution, which would "primarily be responsible for refinancing all micro-finance institutions.
Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava comes out with a book detailing what went wrong with the national carrier. According to him, India does not have a civil aviation policy, and that's just the beginning.
Public sector banks are inefficient, poorly governed and beset by largescale corruption.
The three main regulators have different approaches to grievance redressal and different standards to stop harmful from coming pitched at the consumer.
There are millions of taxpayers, all of whom are susceptible to this frustrating situation.
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