India’s score on protection of minority investors compiled by the World Bank as part of the Ease of Doing Business rankings has slipped recently and there is a need for stakeholders to improve on this aspect, a senior finance ministry official said on Tuesday. Brokers need to look beyond the short-term benefits and look at long-term strategies focused on attracting, retaining and motivating investors in the capital markets, which are very important tool for nation building, Additional Secretary Anand Mohan Bajaj said.
The comments come at a time when there have been some defaults by brokerages in which small investors have been impacted.
India’s ranking on protecting minority investors slipped from 7th last year to 13th in World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report. “Protection of minority investors, we (India) are ranked reasonably high. But recently, India’s ranking has slipped on this count although the overall score remains unchanged,” Bajaj said at a conference organised by BBF India. “We need to rededicate ourselves to leverage tech, fintech, other kinds of dissemination of information to rededicate for the protection of minority investors and retail investors,” he added.
