Moneylife News Bites

A high-level committee has finally exposed what remained hidden inside SEBI for 16 long years: a weak, legally dubious and unenforceable conflict-of-interest code that conveniently protected the market regulator’s top brass. Sucheta Dalal breaks down the committee’s findings, the privileges enjoyed by SEBI’s chairperson and whole-time members, and why the regulator failed to follow even its own st...

Mumbai’s land belongs to its people — not to politicians, builders, or bureaucrats. Yet, across Maharashtra, public land is being quietly ‘monetised’ and handed over to private developers under the guise of redevelopment and modernisation. From the Parth Pawar land deal in Pune to the proposed monetisation of BEST depots, this video exposes how public assets are being stripped, leased, and sold fo...

The U.S. stock market is riding an unprecedented wave of artificial exuberance, fuelled by hype around artificial intelligence and a handful of tech giants — the “Magnificent Seven.” But as valuations soar to levels last seen during the dotcom bubble, cracks are forming beneath the surface. In this sharp analysis, Debashis Basu dissects the dangerous web of incestuous investments in the AI ecosyst...

An explosive investigation by Sucheta Dalal uncovers how over Rs1.5 lakh crore belonging to government schemes, welfare programmes, charities, and even military funds has quietly landed in the Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) — forgotten, unclaimed, and unaccounted for. From ESIC and EPFO accounts to Gram Panchayat Yojanas, Chief Minister’s Relief Funds, and ch...

In this episode of Crosshairs, Sucheta Dalal traces the arc of India’s most powerful financial institution — the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) — from the 1957 Haridas Mundhra scandal to the present-day Adani controversy. Drawing parallels between Justice M.C. Chagla’s fearless public inquiry and today’s opaque decision-making, she exposes how decades of political interference and bureaucratic s...

India’s courtrooms are no longer hidden from public view. With live-streaming, social media coverage, and viral clips, every word and gesture of judges and lawyers is now under public scrutiny. Sucheta Dalal examines how this new transparency is reshaping judicial behaviour, exposing power dynamics, and testing the credibility of India’s justice system. From the Adani–Hindenburg hearings to heated...

What really drives long-term economic growth? In this video, Debashis Basu talks about the idea of “useful knowledge”—a concept developed by economist Joel Mokyr—to explain why some societies continue to progress while others stagnate. He explores how countries such as China and those in the West have built strong networks connecting science, research, and industry, and why India still struggles t...

The Tata Group — India’s most respected business empire — is once again in the midst of a quiet storm. A power struggle between Noel Tata, the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, and Mehli Mistry has brought internal tensions to the surface, raising serious questions about the future of governance and leadership at Tata Sons. In this episode of Crosshairs, Sucheta Dalal examines the fault lines within...

ndia is sitting on a staggering mountain of unclaimed money—bank deposits, shares, insurance, pensions, and more—yet billions of rupees remain inaccessible to their rightful owners. In this video, we explore the government’s latest campaign, “Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar”, aimed at returning these funds, and examine whether it can overcome years of bureaucratic hurdles, opaque systems, and ineffect...

Despite record-breaking government spending on infrastructure—over Rs54 lakh crore in 11 years—the much-hoped-for private investment boom in India remains missing. In this insightful analysis, Debashis Basu examines why repeated policy pushes like bank cleanups, tax cuts, and production-linked incentives have failed to revive private capex. The real issue, he argues, isn’t about supply or credit—i...

Corporate India is paying thousands of crores every year as ‘brand fees’ and royalties to parent or promoter entities — often without real justification. Sucheta Dalal examines the explosive Vedanta–Hindustan Zinc case, where ₹4,100 crore was siphoned as brand royalty, sparking probes, refunds, and a Supreme Court case. But Vedanta is not alone — from Tata to Mahindra, JSW, Nestlé, Sony, and Jubil...

SEBI has approved sweeping changes to the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms, allowing large companies to list with significantly lower public floats. While the move is being hailed as a boost for marquee IPOs like NSE, Reliance Retail, and Jio, critics warn it could expose retail investors to higher risks of volatility, manipulation, and poor price discovery. Sucheta Dalal revisits past epis...

On September 19, President Donald Trump shook the tech world by introducing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for foreign workers. While the move seems aimed at curbing outsourcing and protecting American jobs, its consequences for India may be unexpectedly positive. With fewer engineers moving to the US, multinationals could expand global capability centers in India, retain talent locally...

India’s government rushed through a ban on online gaming, citing addiction, suicides, and financial losses of ₹15,000 crore a year. But what about lotteries, stock market speculation, or predatory digital lending—each causing far bigger losses and distress? In this audio, Sucheta Dalal examines the uneven crackdown on risky behaviour: - Online gaming banned overnight - Lotteries continue under sta...

The GST Council’s latest overhaul—simplifying tax slabs into 5% and 18%—was billed as a game-changer. But will GST 2.0 really boost India’s growth? Debashis Basu argues that the tweaks are unlikely to spark a demand boom or offset export challenges. The real long-term solution lies in building India’s export strength, just as East Asian economies did to achieve prosperity. Watch this analysis to u...

Prime minister Narendra Modi has promised GST 2.0 as a “Diwali gift” to India. But will rationalised tax slabs and simplified compliance really light up the festive season—or will delays throw businesses and consumers into chaos? In this audio, Sucheta Dalal breaks down why timing is everything. With companies already planning inventory, pricing, and campaigns, even a short delay in announcing GST...

Chief Justice BR Gavai recently shredded Justice Sureshwar Thakur’s incomprehensible rulings, saying every one of his decisions overturned by the Supreme Court. But this is more than just one judge’s problem—it’s a damning reflection of India’s judicial system. In this Acast, Sucheta Dalal explains how unclear, verbose judgements cost litigants decades, drain their finances, and erode faith in jus...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced GST 2.0—a bold simplification of India’s Goods and Services Tax, cutting four tax slabs down to two. The government hopes this will boost consumption and cushion India against the looming shock of US tariffs on Indian exports. But will GST 2.0 spark a genuine growth boom—or is it just another short-term fix, like the corporate tax cut of 2019? Debashis Ba...

President Trump’s 50% tariff threat on Indian exports has shaken India’s leadership. Can India turn this crisis into an opportunity for reform? Sucheta Dalal argues that to make the dream of Viksit Bharat a reality, India must go beyond rhetoric and fix four fundamental issues: compliance overload, enforcement overreach, rampant corruption, and judicial gridlock. From MSMEs crushed under 1,450 com...

The Reserve Bank of India under Governor Sanjay Malhotra has sent mixed signals to depositors. On one hand, it proposed landmark reforms to protect heirs of deceased depositors, mandating asset transfer within 15 days and imposing strict penalties for delays. On the other, it distanced itself from ICICI Bank’s move to raise minimum balances to exclusionary levels — a decision that could harm finan...

US President Donald Trump’s steep new tariffs on Indian exports have sparked hopes among business leaders for bold economic reforms—much like the 1991 crisis did. But as Debashis Basu explains, this belief is misplaced. From chronic governance failures to the government’s own priorities of revenue collection over competitiveness, the odds of a transformative policy shake-up are slim. This audio di...

After years of silence, Anil Ambani's debt-ridden companies are finally under serious scrutiny. From telecom giant Reliance Communications to finance arms like RCFL and RHFL, the ED is probing a massive ₹17,000 crore bank fraud. This exposé dives deep into how one of India’s most high-profile business empires unravelled in plain sight — and why regulators, bankers, auditors, and trustees looked th...

In 2018, a wave of corporate defaults — IL&FS, DHFL, Yes Bank — exposed deep cracks in India’s credit rating system. Ratings dropped from AAA to junk after defaults. Investors lost trust, regulators scrambled, and rating agencies came under fire. Now, in 2025, a Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order has delivered a stinging rebuke to SEBI’s probe into CARE Ratings’ former MD, calling it a...

India’s booming derivatives market isn’t the success story it appears to be. In this video, Debashis Basu breaks down why the Jane Street episode exposes far more than one rogue trader — it reveals deep flaws in how India’s F&O markets are structured, regulated, and used. From skewed indices like Bank Nifty to the illusion of liquidity and hedging, this is a sobering look at the hidden risks b...

In a high-stakes faceoff, India’s market regulator SEBI has impounded ₹4,843 crore in alleged unlawful gains from global trading giant Jane Street — a move that’s as dramatic as it is revealing. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper story of regulatory gaps, opaque trading practices, and questions about India’s derivatives market. In this video, Sucheta Dalal unpacks the full story: - How Jane S...