In 2008, the then SEBI Chairman C B Bhave’s detachment from his Dharma as ‘the market watchdog’ opened the door for data theft at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India’s largest asset pool. It also led to the installation of defective Co-location (COLO) trading infrastructure at NSE, by an unofficial decree, which gave a select few brokers preferential access to equity derivatives. Fast-moving trading bots, deep-rooted nexus between enterprising PhD scholars Ajay Shah and Susan Thomas, economists, top dollar earning executives, politicians, bureaucrats and salivating brokers were at play. In 2015, SEBI was woken up by a whistleblower, who described the contours of a front-running market operation perpetrated for over five years involving the use of COLO and High-Frequency Trading. Surprisingly, SEBI never scrutinized NSE’s COLO grid – an omission of duty – before the whistleblower highlighted the skulduggery.Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh are considered the ‘formidable villains’ for exploiting the systemic loopholes to manipulate share prices. Once the Demigods of Dalal Street, the rogue stock traders attracted such severe crack-down from government investigative agencies that could shock even the most hardened criminals. But a scandal of much larger magnitude involving data theft at NSE and the Multi Commodity Exchange, that Mehta and Parekh could ever rev-up, has largely remained a mystery.The author’s path-breaking investigative journalism fleshes out the meticulous planning and organization behind the COLO scam, the dark drama involving SEBI probe and its loosely-knit final verdict.
Even if you don’t have a lot of knowledge about the market or what happens there, it is fine you can still pick up this book. You wont be disappointed. It will actually give you a good background as well. Palak Shah has impressed me with this one.
Bares it all Rare to find a journalist who dares to bare all without fear and innuendo. He named people and institutions has his research done impeccably. Not many have the courage to reveal with names especially bureaucrats and regulators Worth every page of reading. Finished this riveting book in just one day.
Amazing read delving into nitty-gritty details of the NSE COLO Scam that happened during 2009-2015. The lack of a proper investigation by the SEBI as argued by the author, and the wrongdoers' protection is disheartening.
On the technical side, it is mind-blowing how a seemingly inconsequential choice of using TCP over UDP could lead to a scam potentially worth 1000s of crores.
Reading and understanding the presence of the bureaucratic brotherhood makes the book read like a thriller following the trail of people and their relationships over 20 years from the envisioning of the Nifty in the 90s to a high tech scandal in the 2010s.
This is a book about the post Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh scam time when the Scam of data theft came in front of everyone in NSE . . After that the COLO trading is installed unofficially. . But in 2015 , It hit like a tracer Bullet when SEBI came to know about the COLO 's reality. .. Author himself is a journalist for many a years and who has enough experience & own covered matters which he scrutinized in this book. . It's just highlighting the hidden part of "Dalal Street" & "SEBI". . The book is written in an absolute fearless manner where author wrote everything without any manipulation. He just tried to reflect the true incidences with his own words. . The language used in this book is simple informative understandable & have enough engaging wordplay to make it a perfect read. . The narration is good just signifies the behind the scenes of the scam from a journalist's prospective which is a good read for me.
Palak Shah I was actually very surprised to know what all was going on in what is supposed to be such a pristine institution. The author has actually gone on to name these people involved in scams and frauds. So its’ like an eye opener for anyone who didn’t know about these stuff. Nice read must say.
The author is an established journo who hits it out of the park with this one. I knew of his work but this one is seriously well done. Research, narrative, storytelling – full points on all fronts. And he’s actually named names, something most will be afraid to do. So yes, this guy seems fearless with his research. I got an eBook, which seems a good format for a subject like this. I’m hoping it reaches more people, both inside and outside of the industry.
The author is an established journo who hits it out of the park with this one. I knew of his work but this one is seriously well done. Research, narrative, storytelling – full points on all fronts. And he’s actually named names, something most will be afraid to do. So yes, this guy seems fearless with his research. I got an eBook, which seems a good format for a subject like this. I’m hoping it reaches more people, both inside and outside of the industry.
Writing is good but it’s the research I’m impressed with. And a subject like this demands it as well. For anyone with an interest in the stock market of India, this book will be insightful. I will actually be looking forward to more books by the journalist on the Indian market.
Managed to finish this 3 days. It's actually pretty sad, the state of affairs we have you know. This book manages to shed light on that with a lot of clarity. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that you get this book for a good understanding of the subject and how these Mafias are dominating our markets.
I read this after finishing the Scam 92 show so it has really deepened my perspective on this topic. Even if you don’t know much about the markets, this book will be a good investment of your time because it will tell you a lot of good stuff about power and corruption in the Indian market.
Palak Shah has done a good job of writing this book. I can imagine it must have taken lots of groundwork. Many shocking facts here so you will learn many new things as well. You should pick up this book if you are curious about scams and stories about the Indian stock market. Very eye-opening anecdotes here.
Managed to finish this 3 days. Its actually pretty sad, the state of affairs we have you know. This book manages to shed light on that with a lot of clarity. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that you get this book for a good understanding of the subject and how these Mafias are dominating our markets.
The author writes like a crusader for justice. With the ambition of a freedom fighter, he names important people, unveils the systematic issues in our regulatory bodies and redefines the genre of investigative journalism.
I’ve managed to finish this in less than a week in a single sitting, which is a big deal actually for me. So I will recommend this to anyone looking for a good understanding of the reality of the stock markets. Book has very many good anecdotes as well. Overall interesting book for sure.
Very nice read especially if you are into finance and stuff. You will find eye opening stories here. Author has done good research work according to me. So you should be reading this book if you are into the field or have general interest also.
Content: This is one of the few books I’ve dog-eared. Some parts of this, you might need to refer again and again, just to firm your own beliefs about how low people can go with greed on their minds. Will probably read again! Thanks Palak.
I will say you should definitely be reading this book
I have read many books but this one was actually very shocking in the claims its making. From SEBI to NSE, our institutions have been taken over by scammers is what you will realize after you finish this book.
Recommended by a relative. Love it So one of my cousins asked me to read this one since I am in the finance industry. I was a little unsure because I hadn’t heard of Palak Shah. But having completed the book I can say I am happy I bought this book. The author must be congratulated I think.
Palak Shah has done a great job. We needed someone to tell this story. And I am happy Palak has. He should in fact do more of such stories so the world gets to know about the workings of the markets and how flawed they are.
This book is the revelation of how this high tech market manipulates. It’s an easy read for even those who don’t have much understanding about the market. It’s a clear and open picture shown by the author Palak Shah.
Writing is good but it’s the research I’m impressed with. And a subject like this demands it as well. For anyone with an interest in the stock market of India, this book will be insightful. I will actually be looking forward to more books by the journalist on the Indian market.
I’ve managed to finish this in less than a week, which is a big deal actually for me. So I will recommend this to anyone looking for a good understanding of the reality of the stock markets. Book has very many good anecdotes as well. Overall interesting book for sure.
Very nice read, especially if you are into finance and stuff. You will find eye-opening stories here. Author has done good research work according to me. So you should be reading this book if you are into the field or have general interest also.
This is a book that is high on research. I liked the division of the stories and factoids and how they were given a good structure. Good narrative and it keeps you engaged. I will give this book 4 on 5 stars.
Even if you don’t have a lot of knowledge about the market or what happens there, it is fine you can still pick up this book. You wont be disappointed. It will actually give you a good background as well. Palak Shah has impressed me with this one.
I was actually very surprised to know what all was going on in what is supposed to be such a pristine institution. The author has actually gone on to name these people involved in scams and frauds. So its’ like an eye opener for anyone who didn’t know about these stuff. Nice read must say.
Very good book according to me. I love how it’s written, with lots of accurate facts and things you don’t know if you are not from the industry. I congratulate the author on how he’s written this book.
I have read many books but this one was actually very shocking in the claims its making. From SEBI to NSE, our institutions have been taken over by scammers is what you will realize after you finish this book.