On the evening of 30th April, officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were in a tizzy - not over the credit policy announcement that only the CRR (cash reserve ratio) of banks would be hiked and not interest rates. The big hullabaloo was over the apparent leak of the credit policy provisions in time for some gilt traders to cream off well over Rs1,000 crore in extraordinary profits....

After years of inaction, capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), finally announced its rules for real estate mutual funds (REMFs) just when the US is in the midst of economic turmoil triggered largely by excesses in the realty business. SEBI regulations sound tough on paper. Only companies that have been in the realty business for at least five years can...

On 28th April, Business Standard reported that the finance ministry proposes to scrap Reverse Book Building (RBB), which allows investors to decide the exit price at which companies can delist. The report said that the finance ministry has decided on a formula-based exit price. Yet, the finance ministry is currently seeking public opinion on whether to scrap RBB and introduce a fixed exit...