Expert Zone
Straight from the Specialists
Can we provide more cover at lower costs?
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
When it comes to financial products, does the general rule “low cost = low quality” hold true? By quality, I mean the quality of experience and service levels that should be expected from a standardised product.
One industry which consistently beats this rule is the electronic hardware industry which keeps packing in more punch into phones, laptops and cameras at more or less the same price or even at lower prices. For a limited period of time, the niche gadget charges a premium but very soon the same power gadget is available at a much reduced cost. Is it even fair to draw this parallel between a hardware industry and a service industry?
Does it require regulatory intervention to put an end to pre-payment charges on loans — and even then selectively? Does it require regulatory intervention to slash entry and exit loads on mutual funds? Does it require regulatory intervention to cut down the excessive charges on unit-linked insurance plans? Since time immemorial, interest rates on credit cards have been ridiculously high — once you get into the revolving credit trap with a card it’s almost impossible to get out.
RBI makes the right policy call
(Rajan Ghotgalkar is Managing Director of Principal Pnb Asset Management Company. The views expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of either Principal Pnb or Reuters)
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy states that “..it is relevant to assess as to what extent high interest rates are affecting economic growth. Estimates suggest that real effective bank lending interest rates, though positive, remain comparatively lower than the levels seen during the growth phase of 2003-08. This suggests that factors other than interest rates are contributing more significantly to the growth slowdown.”
RBI needs to take bold steps
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Expectations of a rate cut were legitimate. But the RBI preferred to pause, not quite convinced that inflation is under control. That has been its singular target though it is dressed up to look more appealing as growth-inflation dynamics.
Where are the Alphonsos?
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
I had my first Alphonso mango of the season a few weeks ago in London. Oddly enough, although so many things are so easy to get hold of in London, Alphonsos aren’t. You either have to go to very expensive food halls — places like Fortnum & Mason or Selfridges or Harrods — or pick them up at one of the more selective South Asian food shops that are scattered around.
Time to think beyond monetary policy rates?
(Rajan Ghotgalkar is Managing Director of Principal Pnb Asset Management Company. The views expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of either Principal Pnb or Reuters)
Irrespective of the RBI monetary policy review and its outcome, the fact that policy rates have assumed such obsessive focus needs closer scrutiny.
India market weekahead – Watch out for Greece and RBI policy review
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The markets remained highly volatile during the entire week as investors remained ambivalent about the likely outcome of the elections in Greece and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meet.
Getting some competition for efficiency
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has taken the initiative to bring all sectors of the economy under the purview of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), including those overseen by regulatory authorities.
Is there ‘public interest’ in deferring pension bill?
(Rajan Ghotgalkar is Managing Director of Principal Pnb Asset Management Company. The views expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of either Principal Pnb or Reuters)
The pension bill, first introduced in 2005, got booted out yet again; only this time in ‘public interest’.
India Market Weekahead: Book out partially to play safe
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
After a sell-off in May, the mood has turned upbeat so far in June with benchmark indices hitting a one-month high against our expectation last week that the markets could remain subdued.
Health insurance in new, improved avatar
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
“Till now our focus was to work as a development authority but now it has been more than a decade and it is time to act as a regulatory authority,” Hari Narayan, the chairman of India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was quoted as saying in a recent interview.
