India has no shortage of financial regulations. Yet, when ordinary customers face problems, getting financial institutions to resolve them can become an exhausting battle.
In this Podcast, Sucheta Dalal examines how excessive compliance requirements, bureaucratic delays and a lack of accountability are making life difficult for genuine customers and investors.
From a 93-year-old senior citizen struggling to access mutual fund investments held jointly with his deceased wife, to bank customers whose accounts are frozen over small suspicious credits, and families waiting months to reclaim shares and dividends, these cases expose a regulatory system that often puts institutional protection ahead of consumer welfare.
The article also examines the shortcomings in the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) claims process, the problems arising from blanket bank account freezes in cybercrime investigations, and the gaps in RBI and SEBI procedures.
Can technology and Artificial Intelligence help simplify these processes? Maharashtra's FDA, under Tukaram Mundhe, offers an example of how AI-enabled systems and automatic escalation can improve accountability.
The real question is: why can't India's financial regulators do the same?
Sucheta Dalal's analysis of why India needs not just more regulations, but regulators and financial institutions that are genuinely answerable to citizens.
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