This week, Monika sits down with India’s Chief Economic Adviser, Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran, for a wide-ranging conversation on governance, regulation, and the challenges of doing business in India. He explains why India must “reduce the cost of being honest,” arguing that excessive compliance and inspection norms often force even well-intentioned businesses into shortcuts. The government, he says, is consciously working to dismantle this structure through deregulation and technology-driven transparency, making it easier for citizens and firms to operate without corruption.

Monika highlights the CEA’s strong stance on financial mis-selling — a problem the Economic Survey 2023–24 identified as widespread in banks and insurance firms. He supports a shift toward a “seller-beware” model for retail financial products, recognising that complex instruments demand stricter accountability from sellers rather than relying on the old “buyer-beware” principle. With the Ministry of Finance and RBI preparing new rules to curb such malpractice, these changes could finally bring relief to customers misled by inappropriate product sales at bank branches.

In listener questions, Ravi asks about why investments made through the RBI Retail Direct platform do not appear in NSDL-CAS statements, Rohit seeks guidance on refining his investment portfolio after returning to India from the US, and an anonymous listener from a PSU bank writes in about NPS allocation, consolidating his mother’s portfolio, and whether to consider investing in SIFs.

Chapters:

(00:00 – 00:00 ) Reducing the cost of being honest

(00:00 – 00:00 ) Why the CEA wants banks to stop mis-selling

(00:00 – 00:00 ) Understanding RBI Retail Direct and NSDL-CAS

(00:00 – 00:00 ) Setting up your financial foundation after returning to India

(00:00 – 00:00 ) Managing family portfolios and exploring new products

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAEGbvZ-3Ps&t=3516s

If you have financial questions that you’d like answers for, please email us at ⁠mailme@monikahalan.com⁠ 

Monika’s book on basic money management

⁠⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-money-english/⁠⁠⁠

Monika’s book on mutual funds

⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-mutual-funds/⁠⁠

Monika’s workbook on recording your financial life

⁠⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-legacy/⁠⁠⁠

Calculators

⁠⁠⁠https://investor.sebi.gov.in/calculators/index.html⁠⁠⁠

You can find Monika on her social media @monikahalan. 

Twitter ⁠⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠⁠

Facebook ⁠⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

Production House: ⁠⁠www.inoutcreatives.com⁠⁠

Production Assistant:⁠⁠ Anshika Gogoi⁠⁠