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ABSOLUTE POWER - Inside story of the National Stock Exchange’s amazing success, leading to hubris, regulatory capture and algo scam
In 1992, the Harshad Mehta scam led to profound changes in capital market regulation and infrastructure.
One of these was setting up the NSE as a cleaner alternative to the century-old, scam- and faction-ridden BSE. In a supreme irony, NSE itself got embroiled in the algo scam originating in the Exchange’s sanctum the co-location servers for high frequency trading.
Here is the whole story of NSE’s commercial success leading to arrogance and fall from grace, even as it continues to remain a highly profitable near-monopoly.
One of these was setting up the NSE as a cleaner alternative to the century-old, scam- and faction-ridden BSE. In a supreme irony, NSE itself got embroiled in the algo scam originating in the Exchange’s sanctum the co-location servers for high frequency trading.
Here is the whole story of NSE’s commercial success leading to arrogance and fall from grace, even as it continues to remain a highly profitable near-monopoly.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2021
77 people are currently reading
387 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 30, 2021
I was always in awe of the NSE. I used think it was a highly professional organisation and because of this professionalism only it had managed to beat the BSE and also become one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. Of course, I read about the scams that occurred at the NSE every now and then, but never gave it much thought. In India, we are used to scams occurring at all our institutions.
Boy was I wrong! This outstanding book is a story of the NSE, right from its inception to the institution it has become today. The authors lucidly narrate the tale of how it was set up with the right intentions, which helped it grow into a mammoth and how it was then allowed to be hijacked to become a murky place. The pace is just right, allowing the reader to get himself immersed in the story and then quickening to reach a crescendo and ending on a sombre note. In the process, the authors have also detailed how India’s premier regulatory organisation for the securities markets has not played its due statutory role and allowed a near monopoly to develop. But on a positive note, the story also explains how to create a professional organisation and nurture it.
Highly recommended for anyone and everyone interested in India’s securities markets.
Boy was I wrong! This outstanding book is a story of the NSE, right from its inception to the institution it has become today. The authors lucidly narrate the tale of how it was set up with the right intentions, which helped it grow into a mammoth and how it was then allowed to be hijacked to become a murky place. The pace is just right, allowing the reader to get himself immersed in the story and then quickening to reach a crescendo and ending on a sombre note. In the process, the authors have also detailed how India’s premier regulatory organisation for the securities markets has not played its due statutory role and allowed a near monopoly to develop. But on a positive note, the story also explains how to create a professional organisation and nurture it.
Highly recommended for anyone and everyone interested in India’s securities markets.
January 13, 2022
Sucheta Dalal has written yet another good book following the Scam. Much of it reads like a thriller. This one needs a little more understanding of the technical aspects of trading software/infrastructure and some financial concepts but is a good breezy read. Some takeaways from the book
1. Designing a marketplace is very important and so are network effects.
2. A few people with the right incentive and moral rectitude can change an industry
3. Forward-looking govt policy can be very effective in changing industry
4. Good design of computer systems can have a huge impact on reducing inequity in marketplaces
5. Good governance structure is a must for fast-growing companies especially in regulated industries to check malpractices
6. Regulatory capture is a real issue in public institutions and rapidly changing markets. A good regulator can go a long way in fostering a competitive marketplace.
1. Designing a marketplace is very important and so are network effects.
2. A few people with the right incentive and moral rectitude can change an industry
3. Forward-looking govt policy can be very effective in changing industry
4. Good design of computer systems can have a huge impact on reducing inequity in marketplaces
5. Good governance structure is a must for fast-growing companies especially in regulated industries to check malpractices
6. Regulatory capture is a real issue in public institutions and rapidly changing markets. A good regulator can go a long way in fostering a competitive marketplace.
July 14, 2021
This book delves into the the banana republic which NSE has become since it overtook BSE as the leading stock exchange of India. It's story about the hubris, the political machinations, whims and fancies of select few at NSE, incentive bias, the moot/opportunistic board. This also highlights the failure of SEBI as spineless "regulator". NSE is a mockery of public institution.
July 3, 2021
Sucheta and Debashis are back with a nerve wracking book. Absolute power is the story of National Stock Exchange. Starting as an alternative to broker lobby of Bombay Stock Exchange, the books initial chapters is dedicated to the growth of NSE as largest exchange in volumes for certain products in the world enjoying the yields of highly monopolistic entity. Hidden behind this growth story is the ugly nexus of influential senior management, bureaucrats, regulators and academicians. The book delves deep into the origins of Algo scam, the role of whistleblowers, defamation case on Monelylife, favouritism in appointments and soft glove treatment of SEBI to all these developments. With immense research and first party interviews, this book shows the perils of technology and how it can be misused in hands of a few. A delightful and an eye opening read if you follow the Indian stock markets.
November 1, 2025
An insider's view of NSE's rise and fall from grace. It reads like individual essays that are taken from some newspaper articles. Interesting for those interested in NSE's colocation scam, some fantastic journalism.
April 11, 2022
Wonderful inside story. Always had a hint about NSE bullying others including the regulator but the extent is unimaginable.
November 14, 2021
Through the context of the NSE story, authors have put the spotlight on regulatory frameworks in India and how they crumble so easily under pressure. This is a story about SEBI as much it is of NSE. Citizens should be aware and alert always. Question the powers to be so that accountability is upheld.
January 1, 2023
This book is poorly written, at once explaining too much but not enough. There are too many acronyms and jumping from one place to another, no clear narrative either.
July 25, 2021
Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu, over the past few decades, have created a formidable reputation for themselves in financial reporting with their exposé of the Harshad Mehta scam in the 1990s being their crowning glory. All through their reporting, they have been tenacious in building evidence, have built a strong network of contacts and most importantly, they have been fearless in taking on influential personalities, regulators and powerful politicians. They have approached “Absolute Power” in the same vein, making the book a compelling read.
The book traces the history of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India, from its uncertain beginnings when it took on the cartels of the corrupt Bombay Stock Exchange, its rapid rise to becoming the largest exchange of India aided by some visionary policies, a nationwide presence and the use of technology, to the utter lawlessness in the Exchange under the leadership of Ravi Narain followed by Chitra Ramakrishnan. Dalal and Basu track the key issues in the latter stage of the NSE including tax evasions by brokers, the lack of sufficient risk mitigation steps, the blatant suppression of competition, the capture of regulators and finally, the illegal co-location facilities given to some investors for high frequency trading. The book builds on their regular reporting on these issues over the past several years.
In the process, they do not shy from naming the key perpetrators, whether they be senior NSE employees, the top brass at SEBI (India’s stock market regulator) or even the finance minister during that time. I can imagine the immense pressure that they may have been under during this reporting, especially when the NSE sued them for Rs1 bn (about $15 million at 2015 exchange rates). While Dalal and Basu had built formidable reputations for themselves by that time, this lawsuit would have ended their professional lives and significantly damaged their personal ones if it had been decided by the courts in favour of NSE. To me, this aspect of fearlessness exhibited by them is the most impressive.
While I was familiar with many of these issues due to my involvement in Indian equity markets over many years, the blatant disregard for external and internal rules as depicted in this book is shocking. And the lack of will to protect all investors and players depressing. Unfortunately, this seems the case all over the world, including in the US, even now. For example, Robinhood’s strategy of “gamifying” trading will surely bring grief to thousands of small investors who are not even fully aware of what they trade during any significant market downturn, whenever that happens. The suicide of a 20 year old Robinhood customer last year is one such example.
I had two issues with the book. Dalal and Basu paint the various characters as either completely black or completely white. The bulk of their criticism is directed against Narain and Ramakrishnan with nary a good word to say about them. Surely, there must be something right that they did to ensure that NSE became highly profitable and had features more advanced than those in international exchanges during their tenures? The second issue was the bland style of narration. Dalal and Basu are financial journalists and they use their usual writing style for this book. But we have seen how the writing can make a world of difference to a book as in the case of “Bad Blood” – it’s a book about the scam at Theranos but reads like a thriller. Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend “Absolute Power” to anyone with an interest in Indian equity markets.
Pros: Fearless reporting, painstakingly researched, compelling read
Cons: Bland writing style
PS: Please visit http://ananthabookreviews.blogspot.com for other book reviews
The book traces the history of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India, from its uncertain beginnings when it took on the cartels of the corrupt Bombay Stock Exchange, its rapid rise to becoming the largest exchange of India aided by some visionary policies, a nationwide presence and the use of technology, to the utter lawlessness in the Exchange under the leadership of Ravi Narain followed by Chitra Ramakrishnan. Dalal and Basu track the key issues in the latter stage of the NSE including tax evasions by brokers, the lack of sufficient risk mitigation steps, the blatant suppression of competition, the capture of regulators and finally, the illegal co-location facilities given to some investors for high frequency trading. The book builds on their regular reporting on these issues over the past several years.
In the process, they do not shy from naming the key perpetrators, whether they be senior NSE employees, the top brass at SEBI (India’s stock market regulator) or even the finance minister during that time. I can imagine the immense pressure that they may have been under during this reporting, especially when the NSE sued them for Rs1 bn (about $15 million at 2015 exchange rates). While Dalal and Basu had built formidable reputations for themselves by that time, this lawsuit would have ended their professional lives and significantly damaged their personal ones if it had been decided by the courts in favour of NSE. To me, this aspect of fearlessness exhibited by them is the most impressive.
While I was familiar with many of these issues due to my involvement in Indian equity markets over many years, the blatant disregard for external and internal rules as depicted in this book is shocking. And the lack of will to protect all investors and players depressing. Unfortunately, this seems the case all over the world, including in the US, even now. For example, Robinhood’s strategy of “gamifying” trading will surely bring grief to thousands of small investors who are not even fully aware of what they trade during any significant market downturn, whenever that happens. The suicide of a 20 year old Robinhood customer last year is one such example.
I had two issues with the book. Dalal and Basu paint the various characters as either completely black or completely white. The bulk of their criticism is directed against Narain and Ramakrishnan with nary a good word to say about them. Surely, there must be something right that they did to ensure that NSE became highly profitable and had features more advanced than those in international exchanges during their tenures? The second issue was the bland style of narration. Dalal and Basu are financial journalists and they use their usual writing style for this book. But we have seen how the writing can make a world of difference to a book as in the case of “Bad Blood” – it’s a book about the scam at Theranos but reads like a thriller. Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend “Absolute Power” to anyone with an interest in Indian equity markets.
Pros: Fearless reporting, painstakingly researched, compelling read
Cons: Bland writing style
PS: Please visit http://ananthabookreviews.blogspot.com for other book reviews
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October 13, 2021Absolute Power
The book is written by Ms Sucheta Dalal and Mr Debashis Basu
It is published by Kensource books, which is a subsidiary of the MoneyLife Group.
It costs Rs. 550/- (Link is in bio). It is divided into three parts and is 273 pages in length.
Yes Yes Yes, let's address the elephant in the room first. These are the same authors who have written the bestselling book “The Scam”(which I haven’t read, so please stop requesting for a review) which was turned into a blockbuster web series on SonyLiv “Scam 1992”(which I indeed have watched, and in fact have reviewed). The authors are the founders of MoneyLife Group (Moneylife Foundation, KenSource Books, MoneyLife Magazine, Website etc). They have been covering the Indian Finance sector for more than 30 years now (individually). I'm getting to the point. The book. The authors had been planning to write about the NSE for a while. But the defamation case by the NSE to Ms Dalal and Mr Basu escalated things. If the book had been written 10 or so years earlier, it would have been a completely different book. Or perhaps only the first 100 pages of this book. The NSE filed a defamation case on the authors because MoneyLife had published a complaint letter by someone calling themselves Ken Fong to the SEBI, about the NSE’s various illegal activities that you will read about in the book. The book is not just about the scam though. It starts with the monopoly that the BSE was enjoying and the “brokers club”, and how the NSE was established and things changed. The authors track many issues like non-existent mitigation steps, suppression of competition, brokers evading taxes and illegal co-location facilities given to investors for “high-frequency trading”. The authors are bold, in naming several people, including Senior NSE officials and even the finance ministers! The book also does a good job summarizing all the key events that happened in the equity market post-2000. The book reads like a thriller and you will not be bored at all. I am a layman when it comes to the financial sector, and I did not have any problems understanding anything, if I did not understand any term, the glossary provided is really helpful. The only thing that I was disappointed with was, well, the writing style. I know this book is not supposed to be read by literature students or anything, but it felt like I was reading a collection of well-written articles at one point. It is a very small nit-pick that you as a reader might not even notice. Overall, A FANTASTIC READ. Recommended, even to the layman with a genuine interest in the subject.
The book is written by Ms Sucheta Dalal and Mr Debashis Basu
It is published by Kensource books, which is a subsidiary of the MoneyLife Group.
It costs Rs. 550/- (Link is in bio). It is divided into three parts and is 273 pages in length.
Yes Yes Yes, let's address the elephant in the room first. These are the same authors who have written the bestselling book “The Scam”(which I haven’t read, so please stop requesting for a review) which was turned into a blockbuster web series on SonyLiv “Scam 1992”(which I indeed have watched, and in fact have reviewed). The authors are the founders of MoneyLife Group (Moneylife Foundation, KenSource Books, MoneyLife Magazine, Website etc). They have been covering the Indian Finance sector for more than 30 years now (individually). I'm getting to the point. The book. The authors had been planning to write about the NSE for a while. But the defamation case by the NSE to Ms Dalal and Mr Basu escalated things. If the book had been written 10 or so years earlier, it would have been a completely different book. Or perhaps only the first 100 pages of this book. The NSE filed a defamation case on the authors because MoneyLife had published a complaint letter by someone calling themselves Ken Fong to the SEBI, about the NSE’s various illegal activities that you will read about in the book. The book is not just about the scam though. It starts with the monopoly that the BSE was enjoying and the “brokers club”, and how the NSE was established and things changed. The authors track many issues like non-existent mitigation steps, suppression of competition, brokers evading taxes and illegal co-location facilities given to investors for “high-frequency trading”. The authors are bold, in naming several people, including Senior NSE officials and even the finance ministers! The book also does a good job summarizing all the key events that happened in the equity market post-2000. The book reads like a thriller and you will not be bored at all. I am a layman when it comes to the financial sector, and I did not have any problems understanding anything, if I did not understand any term, the glossary provided is really helpful. The only thing that I was disappointed with was, well, the writing style. I know this book is not supposed to be read by literature students or anything, but it felt like I was reading a collection of well-written articles at one point. It is a very small nit-pick that you as a reader might not even notice. Overall, A FANTASTIC READ. Recommended, even to the layman with a genuine interest in the subject.
September 8, 2023
‘Absolute Power’ is book written by famous business journalist Sucheta Dalal and her Husband Debashis Basu. As suggested in title, book gives brief account of birth of Nation Stock Exchange (NSE), which came into being to broke hegemony of then ‘Brokers Club’ Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in which malpractices like insider trading, rigging up of prices, creating false market throughout spreading rumours, getting misleading information published in newspapers, opinion and kerb trading, manipulation of closing quotations of prices etc. were rampant.
In June 1994 NSE started operations and began trading in equity on 3rd November 1994, on Muhurat day Soon NSE become big success and one of the leading modern Exchange of the world with advance technology and robust risk management system.
Owning to its astonishing success and having backing form government, NSE soon became ‘arrogant institution’ and too powerful to be questioned by even its regulator SEBI. And than started many irregularities and scam which was heavily defended by NSE management and overlooked by SEBI. Eventually things seems to falling in line but punishment and actions against those who are responsible was either too weak or too late.
Book is divided in three parts and 24 chapters. First part narrates the story of foundation and rise of NSE. 2nd part mostly deals with regulatory capture and irregularities and scams at NSE. 3rd part is about unfolding scams and details of investigations.
First part is written in vary lucid and captive manner while reading other two parts, one need to do conscious efforts to remain focused. These details could have been written in more lucid and organized manner. However this book is worth reading to get hint of game being played out at world’s third largest stock exchange, processes and person responsible and some anecdotal stories.
In June 1994 NSE started operations and began trading in equity on 3rd November 1994, on Muhurat day Soon NSE become big success and one of the leading modern Exchange of the world with advance technology and robust risk management system.
Owning to its astonishing success and having backing form government, NSE soon became ‘arrogant institution’ and too powerful to be questioned by even its regulator SEBI. And than started many irregularities and scam which was heavily defended by NSE management and overlooked by SEBI. Eventually things seems to falling in line but punishment and actions against those who are responsible was either too weak or too late.
Book is divided in three parts and 24 chapters. First part narrates the story of foundation and rise of NSE. 2nd part mostly deals with regulatory capture and irregularities and scams at NSE. 3rd part is about unfolding scams and details of investigations.
First part is written in vary lucid and captive manner while reading other two parts, one need to do conscious efforts to remain focused. These details could have been written in more lucid and organized manner. However this book is worth reading to get hint of game being played out at world’s third largest stock exchange, processes and person responsible and some anecdotal stories.
July 10, 2021
✨If you are a fan of #scam1992 series, you will be a fan of this book too. The major difference between these two is, former is a scam done by a single man (Harshad Mehta) and latter is an abuse done by a powerful entity (National Stock Exchange).
✨The modern world has fallen in the hands of stock market's attractive gains. Majority of individuals in employed sector is trying to invest in some form of stock in expectation of higher returns. The general assumption is that stock market is not in the hands of one person or no one can get personal favours in the highly regulated markets. For those, this book will be a nightmare and can change the entire picture.
✨While the Part-1 about NSE's path breaking development against a set of individuals is awe inspiring, Part-2&3 will make us furious about it's exploitation of monopoly.
✨Every time NSE abuses its power to crush competition, everytime laws are taken as a joke, everytime SEBI ratifies NSE's outrageously decisions and every time the top management of NSE refuses to budge... We witness the open injustice happening, sadly with the support of regulator & gvt.
✨How easily the laws can be manipulated, gvt officials can be taken as granted, technology can be misused is unimaginable for a common man, who believes Laws & Gvt are unbendable.
✨Ravi Narain & Chitra Ramakrishanan are like the villains from cinema, who has unlimited powers and can do anything to keep the monopoly going.
✨The worst is, after all that has happened, it still remains a highly revered entity and escaped scrathless of all accusations.
✨If you feel you mastered the trading strategy, you will be made to realise, you are just a tiny part of this gambling industry.
✨Hope this is made into a film to reache a wider audience.
✨The modern world has fallen in the hands of stock market's attractive gains. Majority of individuals in employed sector is trying to invest in some form of stock in expectation of higher returns. The general assumption is that stock market is not in the hands of one person or no one can get personal favours in the highly regulated markets. For those, this book will be a nightmare and can change the entire picture.
✨While the Part-1 about NSE's path breaking development against a set of individuals is awe inspiring, Part-2&3 will make us furious about it's exploitation of monopoly.
✨Every time NSE abuses its power to crush competition, everytime laws are taken as a joke, everytime SEBI ratifies NSE's outrageously decisions and every time the top management of NSE refuses to budge... We witness the open injustice happening, sadly with the support of regulator & gvt.
✨How easily the laws can be manipulated, gvt officials can be taken as granted, technology can be misused is unimaginable for a common man, who believes Laws & Gvt are unbendable.
✨Ravi Narain & Chitra Ramakrishanan are like the villains from cinema, who has unlimited powers and can do anything to keep the monopoly going.
✨The worst is, after all that has happened, it still remains a highly revered entity and escaped scrathless of all accusations.
✨If you feel you mastered the trading strategy, you will be made to realise, you are just a tiny part of this gambling industry.
✨Hope this is made into a film to reache a wider audience.
June 13, 2021
Say's a lot about the how cosy cabal club NSE has become. NSE in the aftermath of 1994 scam was constituted to break the then cosy cabal of BSE, touted as a front guard to protect the interest of the common investors, NSE itself over the years has become the power house of crony capitalism - absolute power corrupts absolutely. Many may wonder we have SEBI as a regulator - ya one toothless regulator. The book reads as a fast thriller, every technical term, ALGO scam, High Frequency Trading has been explained, NSE'S servers use to gave preferential treatment to selected brokers, the presence of dark fiber net, the iron fist ruling by the then MD's, SEBI's kid glove treatment to protect NSE at any cost to wade of competition from BSE and Jignesh Shah. Imagine Nasdaq was keen to invest in BSE. The authors began their investigation after receiving an email from a whistle blower. The book also mentions the every steps NSE took to muscle out the authors, NSE with their legal team tried to steam roll the authors' foundation by slapping them with defamation case. The victory of David over Goliath has nicely been explained in the book.
August 22, 2021
This book deserves full stars for the content and then a few more due to the resilience of the authors in standing up to behemoth.
It is really sad, surprising and shocking to come across the underbelly of the exchange that touts itself as one of the most advanced trading exchanges on the world bourses. The fact that it is the largest derivative exchange of the world lends outward credence to the claims.
But scratch below the surface and the skeletons keep tumbling out. Outsized profits by anti competitive practices, regulatory capture and squeezing the small traders by charging extra ordinarily high transaction and other charges due to it being a virtual monopoly.
And to round up the review, the way the NSE bosses acted would not be out of place in cheap sleazy fiction novels. I still cannot believe the way they were able to twist the system. Simply unbelievable.
The regulator though get the punch line when their regulations got mentioned as "Show me the person and we will tell the regulation that applies" . Sums up the whole sorry sordid saga which is wonderfully and bravely captures in this must book read.
It is really sad, surprising and shocking to come across the underbelly of the exchange that touts itself as one of the most advanced trading exchanges on the world bourses. The fact that it is the largest derivative exchange of the world lends outward credence to the claims.
But scratch below the surface and the skeletons keep tumbling out. Outsized profits by anti competitive practices, regulatory capture and squeezing the small traders by charging extra ordinarily high transaction and other charges due to it being a virtual monopoly.
And to round up the review, the way the NSE bosses acted would not be out of place in cheap sleazy fiction novels. I still cannot believe the way they were able to twist the system. Simply unbelievable.
The regulator though get the punch line when their regulations got mentioned as "Show me the person and we will tell the regulation that applies" . Sums up the whole sorry sordid saga which is wonderfully and bravely captures in this must book read.
April 14, 2025
A good insider view of the functioning of an organization that is a foundation for investing/trading in India. It is hard to imagine that an organization that has fiduciary responsibility to safeguard and drive financial markets in India is entirely consumed with greed and power for years. Eventually NSE turned out to be the same as BSE of that time.
Kudos to the authors to bring out this history which otherwise is impossible to comprehend to an outsider. The way such a collusion with the market regulator and government go unnoticed and hidden for so long tells me that there is no limit to greed and power.
One of the highlights of the book was the story of Chitra ramakrishna who is described as down to earth, quiet, and Veena player and yet so consumed with greed and power.
Kudos to the authors to bring out this history which otherwise is impossible to comprehend to an outsider. The way such a collusion with the market regulator and government go unnoticed and hidden for so long tells me that there is no limit to greed and power.
One of the highlights of the book was the story of Chitra ramakrishna who is described as down to earth, quiet, and Veena player and yet so consumed with greed and power.
April 21, 2024
Let me start by saying that I do not understand finance & IT very well. But despite that fact, "ABSOLUTE POWER" has kept me engrossed. The writers did an excellent job in the research and the content was fantastic. The book scrutinizes what brought about the rise and subsequent fall of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The book makes an argument that the SEBI officials as well as the top executives of NSE are responsible for the breakdown of the regulatory system. The conflict of interest in acquiring CAMS, holding a stake in Omnesys (a subsidiary of a brokerage firm), and Co-location scam were all ignored by SEBI. In the small incestuous financial world of Mumbai, the conflict of interest didn't raise eyebrows. Bureaucrats, Academicians & regulators worked on the whims and fancies of NSE top brass. As the writers noted, SEBI /NSE has returned to normal with no stringent prosecutions against any of the accused. Matters such as the NSE co-location scam seem minuscule and not to be getting the attention they merit from the relevant agencies & retail investors.
This is the book that makes you angry and I'm sure that's the emotion writers wants from it's readers. What makes this book so strong is that it has such a clear purpose and motive, and it takes zero effort for the readers to understand the decay of a public institution. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" is one of the proverbial sayings that seems to be proved correct by the whole saga.
The book makes an argument that the SEBI officials as well as the top executives of NSE are responsible for the breakdown of the regulatory system. The conflict of interest in acquiring CAMS, holding a stake in Omnesys (a subsidiary of a brokerage firm), and Co-location scam were all ignored by SEBI. In the small incestuous financial world of Mumbai, the conflict of interest didn't raise eyebrows. Bureaucrats, Academicians & regulators worked on the whims and fancies of NSE top brass. As the writers noted, SEBI /NSE has returned to normal with no stringent prosecutions against any of the accused. Matters such as the NSE co-location scam seem minuscule and not to be getting the attention they merit from the relevant agencies & retail investors.
This is the book that makes you angry and I'm sure that's the emotion writers wants from it's readers. What makes this book so strong is that it has such a clear purpose and motive, and it takes zero effort for the readers to understand the decay of a public institution. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" is one of the proverbial sayings that seems to be proved correct by the whole saga.
October 6, 2021
I've read a book on Investigative journalism after around 4 years and it's difficult to imagine the lengths at which the journalists have to go to secure some information and keep on probing to have a small effect in the industry
Sucheta Dalal (and Debashish Basu) are more famous for being the authors of Scam 1992, and this book too investigates the various scams in India's largest exchange the NSE and how the regulatory body SEBI has a soft corner for NSE. A classic example of Regulatory Capture
The writing is fluent, clear and concise and makes for a good quick read
Sucheta Dalal (and Debashish Basu) are more famous for being the authors of Scam 1992, and this book too investigates the various scams in India's largest exchange the NSE and how the regulatory body SEBI has a soft corner for NSE. A classic example of Regulatory Capture
The writing is fluent, clear and concise and makes for a good quick read
April 19, 2023
CDSL & NSDL
For all those who want to discover the history of NSE and BSE.
Key Learnings:
1. If you've got caught, and punished heavily, then you're in the 99% category.
2. If you've got caught, and punished lightly, then you're in the 1% category.
3. And if you've got caught and nothing happened, well then you're in the SHARK category.
But I'll always remember the microbial growth curve, no matter what.
For all those who want to discover the history of NSE and BSE.
Key Learnings:
1. If you've got caught, and punished heavily, then you're in the 99% category.
2. If you've got caught, and punished lightly, then you're in the 1% category.
3. And if you've got caught and nothing happened, well then you're in the SHARK category.
But I'll always remember the microbial growth curve, no matter what.
June 18, 2021
Written in a way easy to understand.Eye opener to the level of political involvement, corruption that happened in NSE and how SEBI is really yet to attain power. "Show me the man, I'll show you the rule", that's how the authors summarise SEBI's role in NSE's rise while BSE and MCX were whipped. Great read if interested in stock markets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2021
Makes one feel helpless about these kind of monopolistic organizations that don't even bother about regulators having found ways to circumvent the regulators and regulatory processes. Then there are people like Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala et al who don't give up and fight it out. An unputdownable book.
January 19, 2022
The book covers the various scams at NSE in last decade. The book covers in detail various aspects of the scams including the people involved and role of regulator. While many of these things are available in public domain the offers comprehensive coverage of these scams and the presentation make its interesting to read.
October 24, 2023
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
This famous dictum is brought out in the journey of the NSE from a pathbreaking innovator that helped democratise retail investing to a greedy and vindictive behemoth.
Its stupendous success left regulators in so much awe that a handful of people at NSE were able to twist their arms and get away with spellbinding transgressions.
This famous dictum is brought out in the journey of the NSE from a pathbreaking innovator that helped democratise retail investing to a greedy and vindictive behemoth.
Its stupendous success left regulators in so much awe that a handful of people at NSE were able to twist their arms and get away with spellbinding transgressions.
September 1, 2021
Super writing. Gives you an insight to the working of NSE. Authors disdain for NSE management is evident but to their credit they have tried to be neutral.
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the stock market in India.
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the stock market in India.
December 4, 2021
Inside story of how the public institutions in India, including the regulators, are setup with good intentions but turn into murky places, where the top management reward themselves by greasing the wheels at the financial ministry.
February 24, 2022
Not the easiest book to read... even though the subject is interesting, the prose is far too focussed on characters rather than the story. I found it a chore to wade through, and in spite of the detailed descriptions, the slow build up, the story and chain of events felt flat and sterile.
December 6, 2023
Mind boggling and awesome revelations,requires bravado sheer intelligence and guts.KEEP IT UP
Brilliant narrative,hard hitting facts revealed with sheer brilliance, intelligence,bravado and tremendous loads of hard work.REQUIRES GUTS!!!! KEEP IT UP.Blessings.Good work
Brilliant narrative,hard hitting facts revealed with sheer brilliance, intelligence,bravado and tremendous loads of hard work.REQUIRES GUTS!!!! KEEP IT UP.Blessings.Good work
June 8, 2021
Good one.
Good one to have a read. Learnt few new things and realized how enormous market capabilities are. Keeps one grounded.
Good one to have a read. Learnt few new things and realized how enormous market capabilities are. Keeps one grounded.
July 14, 2021
Gripping. Unputdownable
This is a journalistic tour de force. Kudos to Sucheta and the team of people who tried to bring the nse to account. this is a must read.n
This is a journalistic tour de force. Kudos to Sucheta and the team of people who tried to bring the nse to account. this is a must read.n
July 24, 2021
Nice read !
January 5, 2022
Reality at steps of common man
It clearly explained what can happen behind the doors when it is come to the common man. Thanks to the author for the insights
It clearly explained what can happen behind the doors when it is come to the common man. Thanks to the author for the insights
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