Weekly Wrapup: Downfall and revival
Welcome to this week's wrapup! Now before we talk about the usual stuff, we need to address the elephant in the room, Yes Bank.
I know many people have already asked us to do a full fledged story on what happened. But I think we have something better. We posted this tweet storm yesterday on our twitter account and I think it does a pretty good job of encapsulating the entire saga.
You can read the tweet thread here.
Now, please do note that the RBI already has a revival plan in place. We will cover this in a more detailed story soon enough. But expect this crisis to tide over pretty quick.
Meaning, depositors will lose nothing. Yes Bank will continue operations although with a new management team in place. SBI will pump in Rs.2450 Crores and own 49% of the bank. And in all likelihood they will help Yes Bank raise more money if needed in the future.
So with that story out of the way, we can now move on to the wrapup.
The Markets are crashing and we need to ask why
On Monday, we explored why stock markets across the world have been taking a beating recently.
For a good while now, global stock markets have have been making new highs every day. You could even argue that they've been rising because there hasn’t been a good reason for them to fall in the first place. But the Coronavirus has changed that in a big way.
And investors are panicking like never before. But the virus threat isn't exactly new- it has been around for a couple of months now. So why the sudden dip in investor sentiment?
We explore the reasons here.
The RBI refuses to be co-operative
On Tuesday, we spoke about co-operative banks and why the central bank is seeking to exercise more control here.
The RBI is on a mission to clean up every institution connected to the banking system- public and private banks, audit houses, rating agencies...you name it. And now, they've turned their attention to a group of institutions that many people believe need to be regulated more thoroughly: co-operative banks.
But what are co-operative banks exactly, and why do they need extra oversight? Find out here.
Competition Commission of India 2.0
On Wednesday, we explored the role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and a new bill connected to the regulator.
India's economy is pretty open, which means the government doesn't interfere in trade a lot. But when so many different players operate together in a market so huge and diverse, some of them will do anything to get ahead.
That's where the CCI comes in. It makes sure no one has any undue advantage when it comes to controlling the supply of goods and services, manipulating prices or restricting the growth of other players in any way.
So why is the government trying to introduce new changes in the way CCI functions? Find out here.
Cryptocurrencies get a new lease of life!
On Thursday, we spoke about how the Supreme Court struck down RBI's diktat on Cryptocurrencies.
The RBI has been wary of Cryptocurrencies ever sinceBitcoin started gaining popularity in India. And in 2018, they went ahead and banned banks and financial institutions from facilitating the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. But last week, the Supreme Court overruled this decision.
You can get a low-down on the whole affair here.
The world's generic pharmacist refuses to supply drugs
On Friday, we spoke about why India has been making headlines the world over.
It's probably not for reasons you think. You see India recently banned the exports of key generic drugs and that's put many countries in a bind.
But what are generic medicines and why is India refusing to export them? And what does the Coronavirus have to do with any of this? We've answered all these questions here.
...aaand that's a wrap! See you next week.
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