Expense Account, Mint
So it comes to pass. The ministry of finance, which could have laid to rest the uncertainty that faces millions of retail investors, in the best tradition of bureaucratic ennui, has passed the buck to the courts to sort out the differences between the capital market and insurance regulators. While the post-retirement sinecures are no longer at threat due to bold decisions the ministry could have taken, this example of cynical buck passing will cost India in terms of the lost opportunity of fixing the retail financial market.
The seeds of the conflict between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) began when, around 2002, the insurance regulator suddenly banned life insurance companies from outsourcing fund management to asset management companies.