Since 2011, algo trading has been swiftly gaining ground in the Indian stock and commodity markets. Algorithmic trading is all the rage in India now but the key questions that are rarely asked: To what extent algo trading be allowed in the Indian equity and commodity futures markets? Do we have a system of checks and balances in place to control dysfunctional algorithms and minimise the possibilities of any flash crash?
Algorithmic trading is based on a technology-driven pre-programmed mathematical model that allows execution of orders at a very high…

On December 12, 2013, India and the United Arab Emirates signed a bilateral investment promotion agreement. Since India is currently reviewing all its investment protection agreements, the government has not explained why it has worked out an exception with the UAE. However, for some inexplicable reasons, the text of the signed agreement has
not yet been made available at the official website of Ministry of Finance.

In November 2013, the South African government introduced Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill as part of an overhaul of the regulatory framework for foreign investment. Based on its review of bilateral investment treaties, the South African government has already terminated many of its existing BITs. Unlike the bilateral treaties, the proposed Bill provides no obligations regarding ‘fair and equitable treatment’ to foreign investors and excludes recourse to international arbitration. After examining various provisions of the proposed legislation, the author concludes that the investment policy overhaul should be commended…

In the light of several notices invoking provisions of India’s bilateral investment agreements and demanding billions of dollars in compensation, the Indian government decided to put ongoing BIPA negotiations on hold and initiated a review of its model BIPA. The briefing paper critically examines the ongoing review process conducted by bureaucrats with no transparency and wider public consultation. The paper suggests a number of key policy recommendations concerning the design and implementation of a model BIPA. India needs to learn lessons from South Africa which has fundamentally changed its…

On October 12, Raghuram Rajan announced that the Reserve Bank of India will soon issue new rules allowing a more liberal entry of foreign banks in India. While examining the past performance of foreign banks in India, the author contends that the key issue is not xenophobic hostility towards foreign banks but their niche business model devoid of social and developmental banking. Several big international banks including JPMorgan, HSBC and UBS have recently paid billions of dollars in regulatory fines for their alleged role in Libor rate fixing, money…