Last week, this column warned that an internal committee appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to suggest ways to migrate from paper-based fund transfers to electronic transfers had, in a burst of zealousness, recommended creating disincentives for use of paper based transactions (cheques, pay-orders and drafts) by transferring the service charge on such transactions to customers and making electronic fund transfers free of charge. We pointed out that India has neither the infrastructure nor the tech-literacy to permit such punitive disincentives.

Many agitated consumers also wrote to the RBI which had sought public comment. Interestingly, without even waiting for the May 15 deadline for accepting public comments, the RBI reacted swiftly to announce that it “has decided not to accept the Study Group’s recommendation of levying a charge for paper based transactions”. It also pointed out that it “had not accepted similar suggestions received twice in the past” and clarified that any recommendations by a study group — internal or external —- do not reflect the views of the RBI.

RTI and bourses

Many activists strongly reject the Finance Ministry’s stand that stock exchanges are outside the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) since they are supervised by the market regulator. Information seekers, however, find that stock exchanges are selectively willing to part with information but sometimes refuse to disclose what ought to be public.

Sachchidanand Paradkar, an investor activist from Nasik, has interesting experiences in this regard. He had sought data on specific disputes referred to stock exchanges between April 2004 and 2006 regarding the Misuse of Power of Attorney by brokers, Unauthorised Trades by Brokers, Non-Receipts of Sale Proceeds from brokers and Misuse of Depository Accounts by brokers. This information ought to be in the public domain at least to warn investors about certain brokers, but Paradkar was told that the information “is not available”.

... contd.