BUSINESS
RBI Communications: Do you understand what I say?
Central bank communications have come a long way from being an ignored tool to an important one of monetary policy. RBI clearly can do better
BUSINESS
A quarter century after the South-East Asian economic crisis, is South Asia following suit?
At least three countries in South Asia – Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal – are confronting an economic crisis and are in need of a rescue. The crisis comes 25 years after South-East economies, once branded the Asian Tigers, plunged into a crisis of their own making
BUSINESS
IMF is changing its view on capital flows. It’s now closer to India’s view
In the 2022 institutional view, the IMF has continued with the 2012 stance saying countries should reap the benefits of capital flows, while managing the associated risks in a way that preserves macroeconomic and financial stability
BUSINESS
HDFC-HDFC Bank merger has been in the making for a long time now
The HDFC-HDFC Bank merger marks yet another merger of a parent financial institution with its subsidiary commercial bank
POLITICS
How Sri Lanka reached this economic precipice
A large current account deficit and heavy borrowing threatened Sri Lanka’s economic foundation. COVID-19 was a storm Colombo was not prepared for
BUSINESS
Russia-Ukraine Conflict | SWIFT sanctions and human hubris
We need to think of alternatives to the SWIFT system
BUSINESS
Technology And Payments | Questions RBI’s caution against sRide poses
As of now, regulation is exclusive, that is those who seek authorisations are allowed to offer payment services. Instead, should the regulation be inclusive which allows all such companies to offer wallets with regulation coming in picture only in case of wrongdoing?
BUSINESS
LIC IPO | The history of disinvestment in India
All eyes are on the LIC’s public offer as apart from liberalising the insurance sector, it is expected to add fuel to the disinvestment programme
BUSINESS
To negotiate blind curves ahead, focus on offline digital payments
India’s UPI system has become a leading benchmark in online digital payments for its efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. One can hope that the India’s offline digital payments will have a similar impact as well
BUSINESS
Explainer: An overview of RBI’s efforts to encourage retail investment in debt markets
The reasons for poor retail participation in the debt market are low awareness and understanding of bond markets, high transaction costs, and lack of access to the market. The RBI is trying to rectify these flaws
ECONOMY
New Year may herald first round of bank privatisation, new licences for private entities
The next year brings hope that a decade of bad news in Indian banking ends and will pave the way for far-reaching changes. Yet, the surfacing of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, has cast a pall of uncertainty.
BUSINESS
Banking | The impossible trinity of India’s banking policy
The RBI has three goals: competition, scale and financial stability. Achieving this trinity is near impossible, and the RBI has always had to settle for two of these three goals
BUSINESS
Cryptocurrency | What happens when RBI issues a digital currency?
How will a CBDC be created? Will the RBI use its centralised ledger system or use the decentralised blockchain model to create it?
BUSINESS
What Jerome Powell’s second term means for US and India
As long as the Federal Reserve pares its policy in a planned manner, it might not be much of a problem for India. If done suddenly in an ad-hoc manner, it could lead to volatility in the Indian markets
BUSINESS
RBI must conduct periodic reviews to better ease of compliance
The Regulations Review Authority is required to seek feedback from the regulated entities to simplify “procedures and enhancement of ease of compliance”. The aim of this exercise was to streamline reporting mechanism, revoke obsolete instructions, and obviate paper-based submission of returns
BUSINESS
Will RBI be like Abhimanyu or Arjuna to break the easy monetary policy chakravyuh?
The return to normal monetary policy will not be easy. Indeed, Governor Shaktikanta Das said recently it “is not like rolling back a carpet”
BUSINESS
How the politics of central bank appointments is getting interesting again
After pandemic-related developments, the focus appears to be shifting to central bank governors who are stepping down or getting reappointed
BUSINESS
Capital Convertibility | RBI is moving ahead, one step at a time
The RBI deputy governor’s speech provides us with ideas on the recent policy thinking on capital account convertibility. It is interesting that the RBI is moving ahead with the trickier phase of liberalising capital inflows in the debt markets
BUSINESS
Will India show the way on growth? IMF thinks so
Economic fortunes are on a roller coaster ride, but we need to go beyond all the headline numbers to get the real picture on growth
BUSINESS
Equitas-Google Pay deal reflects confluence of banking and fintech
In India, the large private banks may not need such partnerships, but the ailing public sector banks and the troubled old private sector banks can gain from such deals. Partnerships and technology can also benefit cooperative banks which have been on the RBI’s radar for a while now
BUSINESS
Will the NARCL cleanse India’s banking system?
The answer to that depends on learning from global lessons in this respect. For instance, political will and consensus is one crucial ingredient for success
BUSINESS
How Raghuram Rajan, Urjit Patel differ on greening of central bank policies
The central banks cannot make direct green policies such as carbon taxation, lower plastic usage, which fall under the purview of the governments. These banks can at best make indirect policies to nudge greener investments
BUSINESS
Will banking take off in India’s GIFT City?
IFSCA regulations are not very different from the 2015 RBI regulations. We also have to see how and whether Mumbai and GIFT City complement each other’s activities
BUSINESS
50 years of nixing Bretton Woods, and the world is yet to recover
The RBI’s Annual Report (1971-72) noted that the demise of Bretton Woods implied changes of a far-reaching nature in the international monetary system
