
IIM Lucknow begins new academic year with over 600 students & 30% female enrollment
The inaugural event was attended by Ananth Narayan G, Whole Time Member, Securities and Exchange Board of India, and an IIM Lucknow alumnus, Class of 1993. Along with Narayan, other guests included were the leadership team of IIM Lucknow, including Prof Sanjeet Singh, Dean Faculty; Prof Sanjay K. Singh, Dean Programmes; Prof Pushpendra Priyadarshi, Chairperson, Doctoral Program; Prof Dipti Gupta, Chairperson, PGPSM, and Prof Alok Dixit, Chairperson, PGP, among others, as mentioned in the press release.
Overall, the new batch consists of –
–30 per cent female students
–50.70 per cent of students with an engineering background and 49.30 per cent with a non-engineering background
–32 per cent freshers in PGP and 68 per cent in PGP-ABM programmes
The new batch will also participate in interactive discussions with multiple stakeholders from academia and industry, as a part of the induction programme, to provide an overview of opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Welcoming the new batch, Prof. Sanjeet Singh, Dean, Faculty, IIM Lucknow, said, 'At IIM Lucknow, what will set you apart is your ability to think critically, challenge assumptions, and approach problems with both emotional intelligence and clarity of mind. You come from diverse backgrounds, engineering, arts, commerce, and more, and that diversity is your strength. Over the next two years, IIM Lucknow will offer you the opportunity to grow, collaborate, and discover your unique perspective. Welcome to a journey that will transform not only your career, but your way of thinking as well.'
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Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Indian Express
Rupee-backed stable coin: An idea whose time has come
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It would also need mandating reserve requirements, regular audits, and redemption rights to ensure transparency and user trust. A rupee-backed stablecoin is uncharted territory. It will require close coordination between the RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Ministry of Finance. Together, they would regulate stablecoin issuers to prevent known risks such as loss of monetary control and unknown risks. Secondly, they would need to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. The RBI's regulatory sandbox could pilot rupee-backed stablecoins, allowing private players to innovate under controlled conditions before full-scale deployment. India could align its framework with guidelines from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Financial Stability Board (FSB), which emphasise reserve backing, operational resilience, and consumer protection. 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It will need regular third-party audits (similar to USDC in the US) to verify reserve backing and ensure the stablecoin's redeemability. The stablecoin could be issued by the RBI or a company promoted by a consortium of regulated financial institutions or Private entities (eg, fintechs or crypto exchanges) under strict regulatory oversight. Rupee-backed stablecoin has several advantages. It would protect Indian users from foreign exchange volatility and reduce reliance on foreign currencies. Integration with India's remittance and trade ecosystems will drive demand for INR-backed stablecoins. A rupee-based stablecoin could address several economic pain points and enhance India's financial ecosystem. Launching a rupee-based stablecoin requires coordination among multiple stakeholders. The RBI would lead regulatory oversight, while the Ministry of Finance and SEBI could define taxation and trading rules. Fintechs, crypto exchanges, and global players like PayPal and Visa could develop and integrate stablecoin solutions. Banks could hold reserves and provide redemption services. Collaboration among blockchain developers and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to build the technical infrastructure. A suggested roadmap could include a three-phase implementation. In the first phase, a regulatory framework, pilot INR-backed stablecoins in the RBI sandbox, and integration with UPI and e-rupee. In the second phase, expand to remittances and SME payments, with RBI-regulated issuers and audited reserves. In the third and final phase, scale nationally and explore cross-border applications, aligning with global stablecoin frameworks. India can launch a rupee-based stablecoin by developing a clear regulatory framework, leveraging its digital infrastructure, and ensuring appropriate regulatory oversight and transparency. By integrating with UPI and the e-rupee and focusing on use cases like remittances and trade, India could position itself as a leader in stablecoin innovation, enhancing financial inclusion and global fintech influence. Public-private partnerships will be critical to testing and scaling this initiative. As Victor Hugo said, nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Rupee-backed stablecoin on balance is an idea whose time has come. The writer is MD, Kotak Mahindra AMC

The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Taking the bull by its horns
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Derivatives are a set of financial products that lock the prices of stocks or indices (groups of stocks such as Nifty 50), for a future date. SEBI halted Jane Street's operations until it paid ₹4,843.7 crore, the profit that the firm had allegedly made. Now, the matter is under investigation. India is the largest derivatives market in the world. In June this year, Reuters quoted the Futures Industry Association as saying that the country 'made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April'. It also said that at least six global trading giants 'are ratcheting up their presence' in India. In September 2024, SEBI brought out a report stating that the aggregate losses from 2022-2024 in the derivatives market were to the tune of ₹1.8 lakh crore. 'Despite consecutive years of losses, more than 75% of those who lost continued trading in F&Os (futures and options, a part of the derivatives market),' the report stated. While there are many reasons for this, analysts say that people look at F&Os for quick returns, since the contracts expire on a weekly or monthly basis, unlike stocks, which are long-term investments. Pump and dump Jane Street, which began operations in 2000 in New York, had a net trading revenue of $10.4 billion as of June 2025, as per Bloomberg, the business news network. Its website claims to have five offices and over 3,000 employees, trading in 45 countries (India is not listed). Nuvama Wealth Management was a company executing Jane Street's trade in India. It is now under the scanner of the Income Tax Department. In April 2024, SEBI carried out an analysis of 'the alleged unauthorised use of their (Jane Street) trading strategies in Indian options markets' and asked the National Stock Exchange to monitor it. Later that year, SEBI issued a circular announcing a series of policy steps to address problems in the derivatives market. 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Street oversmart With a spurt in online trading apps, which charge low commissions, during COVID-19 in 2020, many, including the youth, began accessing financial markets. The entry of new investors at this time drove a bull rally that lasted about four years before the slump to current levels began in September 2024. Bodies like the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) say that increasing financial literacy and awareness is the reason behind the proliferation. The awareness of financial instruments, however, does not translate into an understanding of markets. In its 2024 report, SEBI said that 43% of the people who had lost money were below the age of 30, and 93% of the people in this age group lost money trading in derivatives. Akshay Chinchalkar is the head of research at Axis Securities and actively writes on the professional-networking platform LinkedIn about market trends. He feels that there is too much information out there, which makes it difficult to separate the knowledge from the noise. 'It makes us ponder whether the sheer volume of analysis directly leads to consistent, profitable F&O trading for everyone,' he says. The Association of National Exchanges Members of India said in early August that it's studying ways of helping people move away from derivative trading. One of the suggestions they made was to increase the barriers to entry, so that uninformed or undercapitalised traders don't lose on a gamble. Markets like South Korea and Singapore have such barriers, the association said at a media briefing. SEBI has taken certain measures to control the enthusiasm, like doing away with weekly expiries of derivative contracts for all indices except the main Nifty 50 and the 30-stock Sensex, expecting that this would reduce speculatory trading. This means that contracts need to be held for longer periods in all other indices. 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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business Standard
Research analysts fail to keep pace with swelling stock investor base
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