There are several strands to US asset management firm T Rowe Price’s—T Rowe Price has $1.12 trillion of assets under management—running dispute with the Indian government over control of UTI mutual fund, but two are especially relevant right now.
First, in the context of the government wanting to lower its stake in various PSUs to less than 51%, the UTI case makes it clear this doesn’t make an iota of a difference. Second, the fact that the market-regulator Sebi hasn’t been able to enforce its writ on four governnment-owned banks/financial institutions makes it clear that regulation
doesn’t mean much when the government decides it doesn’t want to adhere to them. Neither is good news from the point of view of restoring investor confidence in the economy. There is, in addition, a recent CAG report that points to event the Union Cabinet having a limited writ when it comes to making the system perform—that includes the bureaucrats, the regulators, the courts etc—but this is something we will come to later.
