Regulatory Authority Of India Research Articles

Examining factors influencing investment in Digital Gold and Gold ETF using the PCA technique

Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund have emerged as an electronic option for investment in gold in India. The purpose of this study is to determine influential factors forming the perception and level of awareness of individuals toward investing in Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund, and also analyze the relationship among these influential factors. Data for this quantitative analysis were obtained from a self-administered 5-point Likert questionnaire of 158 respondents who are individual investors investing in either Digital Gold or Gold Exchange Traded Fund to achieve the objectives of the study. Principal Component Analysis has been adapted as a dimension reduction technique to identify the factors impacting the decision of investing in Gold Exchange Traded Fund and Digital Gold. The factors that induce investors to invest in Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund as identified in this study are conduciveness, security, and ease of accessibility. The factors that compel investors not to invest in Digital Gold and Gold ETFs are lack of contentment, operational challenges, lack of awareness, brokerage expenses, and infeasibility. The results disclosed that variables such as lack of satisfaction and lack of knowledge have higher factor loadings of 0.997, which indicates that investors are required to be more educated about the Digital Gold and Gold Exchange Traded Fund. Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India and other regulatory authorities in India may consider regulation of Digital Gold so that it can be accepted as a trustworthy source of investment.

By The People: How ‘clicktivism’ helped shape net neutrality in India

In March 2015, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a consultation paper inviting responses and comments from the public to recommendations that private telecom operators be allowed to charge extra for third-party internet-based applications and services. This was in response to certain telecom companies deciding to charge internet-based voice calls at the rate of voice calls, paving the way for differentiating between kinds of content transferred via the internet using mobile phones. In response, an unprecedented online movement inundated the TRAI website, seeking to overturn the recommendations, and laying the groundwork for what has come to be seen as robust net neutrality laws. The movement was magnified online by a group of artists, journalists, technologists, lawyers, and policy experts who came together under the Save The Internet campaign and encouraged internet users in India to take part in the consultation process. TRAI received over a million responses. It was this public outcry that defeated some of the most powerful players in the digital realm – from telecom companies to Facebook, leading to the net neutrality laws that now exist in India. This paper will attempt to chart the evolution of net neutrality in India, focusing on how the net neutrality regulations came to be. In so doing, the paper hopes to understand how a leaderless citizen movement helped shape policy within a highly technical space, normally considered the domain of ‘experts.’ As more and more ‘users’ of the internet are transformed into ‘consumers’ of internet-related products, the lines demarcating ‘consumers,’ ‘citizens,’ ‘users,’ and ‘data subjects’ are becoming increasingly blurred. In moments such as the public debate on net neutrality, not only did the ‘citizen’ aspect of internet users come to the fore, it also allowed for the observation of participatory democracy in action.

Managing natural monopolies: interplay of the regulator and telecom companies in India

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this paper are as follows: to understand the characteristics of a natural monopoly such as telecommunications sector and impact of “network externality”; to understand the role of a regulator in maintaining a balance between competition and consolidation of telecom sector; to understand the importance of first-mover advantage in telecom sector and coping mechanism of late entrants; to understand different pricing mechanisms of “natural monopolies” that can be adopted to remain profitable; to understand social cost of price floor in telecommunications sector. Case overview/synopsis Indian telecom sector is going through a downturn where most of the private sector telecom service providers have reported huge losses, failed to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and reported decline in average revenue per user over a period of 3–4 years. Fierce competition in the sector leads to rock bottom calling and data charges. Bharti Airtel benefitted for being the first mover in terms of market share but with entry of JIO in 2016, the service providers have entered a price war. As a result, service providers have requested Mr. R.S. Sharma, Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to come up with a floor on calling charges and requested the government for a bailout package. Currently, Mr. R.S. Sharma, Chairman TRAI is facing a dilemma whether to regulate and come up with a floor on calling and data charges or leave the sector for market correction. Mr. Sharma can also recommend to amend the definition of AGR. Telecommunications sector exhibit the characteristics of a natural monopoly where there is a need of a regulator to introduce “competition for the sector” and “competition in the sector.” In India, TRAI is the regulatory body responsible for introducing “competition for the sector” by auction and “competition in the sector” by deregulating calling and data charges, maintaining at least three private and one public service provider, decreasing “switching cost” of the customers, etc. The case deals with the issues of why there is a need of a regulator in natural monopolies, how different chairmen of TRAI have successfully introduced competition “for” and “in” the sector, and how Indian telecom sector went through a downturn? What should TRAI do to maintain competition in the sector? Complexity academic level The case deals with the issue of managing telecommunications sector (a natural monopoly) by a regulator in the context of India. The regulator had successfully introduced “competition in the sector” and “competition for the sector.” This led to sharp increase in subscriber base and decrease in calling and data charges. Presently, fierce competition in the sector has left the service providers cash crunched. The case deals with the dilemma faced by the chairman of the regulatory body in India on whether the regulator should come up with a price floor or market correction. Study level: MBA, Executive MBA. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public sector management.

Remedial Measures to Rectify Blackspot on National Highway

Road safety becomes a major concern for the regulatory authorities in India. Indian road safety situation is many times worse when compared to the developed countries of the world, leaving much to be done in the field of Road Safety Management. Road safety is defined as the absence of crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The term "safety" implies that there are no occurrences of accidents. The present study was conducted to identify the blackspot stretch on which Injury frequency and severity rate are more. Blackspot is a stretch of National Highway of about 500 m in Length in which either 5 road accidents (in all three years put together involving fatalities/ grievous injuries) took place during the last 3 calendar years or 10 fatalities (in all three years put together) took place during the last 3 calendar years. From the traffic survey, it was found that since 2015-2020 the area near MIET College is not safe for the riders. Statically Casualties occurred shows that 12 % cases related to Fatality, 38% cases related to Minor injury, and 50 % cases have been constituted for Major injury. MIET College area is located at Chainage 500+740 wherein it is located at the ‘At-Grade’ Intersection. In the present paper, the attempt is made to provide a practical Solution to rectify Blackspot. It includes providing Short-term and Long-Term Remedial Measures. Remedial measures suggested combating the fatalities with exponential scale and ensuring the safety of identified blackspots.

Jio Fiber: disrupting the digital market in India

ABSTRACT The case is about Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Reliance Jio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries in India, it discusses the positioning of Reliance Jio in the context of Indian Internet Space. The case specifically focuses on the strategy of the company to become the ace player in the Indian market. It discusses the noteworthy business scopes of Indian internet space, namely, application provisioning, cloud service provisioning, and over the top service provisioning (entertainment sector), with reference to the competitive landscape in each scope. It very aptly brings out the dilemma faced by the promoter of Reliance Jio Mr. Mukesh Ambani, in the context of the Indian regulatory bodies (with a special focus on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), the competitive landscape, and the strategic plan of Reliance Jio. The challenges faced by Mr. Ambani in fulfilling the strategic plan are also highlighted in the case. These include the market dynamics e.g. consolidation initiatives by prominent players like Airtel, Tata Teleservices, Walmart, and raising the capital through a collection of small sums of money from a huge customer base. Comprehensive teaching notes are also appended which highlights the analysis points to be discussed in class along with the strategic plan of Reliance Jio discussed through the lens of Porter’s five forces model.

Reports of herpes simplex reactivation after COVID vaccination

Vaccination is a safe and effective way to control preventable infectious diseases. Since December 2019, the world has been facing a global pandemic of COVID-19. Physicians and scientists were totally baffled and unprepared for this sudden emergency, but the continued efforts of researchers help control the disease. Apart from the emergency use authorization of drugs, experts swiftly explored a number of candidate COVID-19 vaccines including live-attenuated, viral-vectored, nucleic acid–DNA and RNA, protein subunit, and inactivated vaccines. Post approval from regulatory authorities in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced a vaccine in the market after successful phase II/III clinical trials.

Postmarketing safety surveillance of dexamethasone intravitreal implant in the treatment of visual impairment due to diabetic macular edema in India

BackgroundDiabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. As India has the second largest population of diabetic patients worldwide, availability of various treatment options for DME is essential. This postmarketing surveillance study was conducted to fulfill a commitment to the Regulatory Authority of India to examine the safety of dexamethasone intravitreal (DEX) implant over 1 year in Indian patients with DME receiving ≥1 DEX implant for DME-related visual impairment in clinical practice.MethodsThis observational, prospective, non-interventional study enrolled patients aged ≥18 years scheduled to receive DEX implant for DME-related visual impairment. Baseline demographics, medical history, date of last DEX implant injection, detailed information about adverse events (AEs), AEs of special interest (AESIs), serious AEs (SAEs), and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported during postinjection visits and investigator telephone calls were collected. Primary outcome measures were treatment-emergent AE (TEAE), AESI, SAE, and ADR occurrences.ResultsOf the enrolled patients (19 sites throughout India; n = 250), 84 had received DEX implant previously; mean (standard deviation; SD) duration between prior and study entry dose was 199.4 (156.0) days, and 91 (36.4%) had ≥1 prior ophthalmic condition. Over a mean of 182.6 (88.6) follow-up days (min–max: 0–364 days), 22 TEAEs were reported by 7 (2.8%) patients, 6 of whom had previously received DEX. AESIs of increased IOP (n = 3, 6 events) and glaucoma (n = 1, 1 event) were considered non-serious, of mild/moderate severity, and related to DEX treatment. Eyelid ptosis was reported in 1 patient (1 event). Nonocular AEs included cardiac AEs (n = 3, 4 events), pyrexia (n = 1, 2 events), and dyspnea (n = 1, 2 events). Three (1.2%) patients had 12 serious AEs; most were cardiac disorders; all were unrelated to DEX treatment. Two (0.8%) deaths were considered unrelated to treatment.ConclusionsBased on voluntary reporting of adverse events in this surveillance study, DEX implant for treatment of DME-related visual impairment in the Indian population demonstrated a favorable safety profile with few treatment-related TEAEs (none were considered serious) during the 1-year follow-up. These data supplement previous findings and confirm the safety of DEX implant in this population during usual clinical practice.Trial registrationWorld Health Organization Clinical Trials Registry: CTRI/2017/04/008396. Registered 24 April 2017.

Competition in Telecom Sector: The Jurisdictional Tussle between Competition Commission of India and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

From enjoying natural monopolies to witnessing tough competition for services, the telecom sector in India has come a long way. It is now characterized by one of the fastest-growing sectors of deploying the latest technology and driving the economic growth in India. With the rapid intervention of innovation and competition redefining the sector dynamics, there are new emerging challenges that force the telecom and competition authorities to rethink their role and function and adopt a collaborative approach in deciding intersecting issues. In 2017, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a new entrant in the telecommunications market approached Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the incumbents for forming a cartel to deny market entry. Prior to that, it approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against the incumbents for denying adequate points of interconnection. CCI passed an order in favour of the informant, which was challenged in the Bombay High Court and later appeared in the Supreme Court of India. The case that breathed fresh air at every level of Court in the country is a landmark decision in settling the role of CCI with respect to telecom sectoral regulators, particularly in issues that simultaneously fall within the jurisdiction of both the bodies. The objectives of both legislation, when reading together, intend to create an environment that may facilitate fair competition. In fulfilling the concerned objective, the jurisdiction of TRAI and the CCI overlap. Although the watchdogs (CCI and TRAI) share a common goal, they differ in their mandate and approach. The difference in the approach adopted by the CCI and TRAI towards a similar objective leads to cases of jurisdictional conflicts. The Researcher aims to analyze the decision of the Supreme Court of India in terms of its far-reaching effects on CCI while touching base on developments in the case at every level of proceedings through the lens of optimal regulation and competition.

An Analysis of Efficiency of General Insurance Industry in India

It is well known that the overall insurance sector in India has been undergoing a series of reforms from time to time. The drastic change that re-designed the contours of the industry is the implementation of the Malhotra Committee Recommendations which opened up the landscape to the private non-life insurers in 2000. The present study has been taken up to determine the efficiency of the non-life sector and the insurers using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The empirical research also aims to statistically test whether there is any year-wise significant difference between the two sectors in respect of the overall efficiency. For the purpose, appropriate statistical test is applied. The study is based on secondary data collected from the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) Annual Reports. The sample size for this study is twelve including all the four insurers from the public sector and the remaining from the private sector. The results of the analysis showed that in terms of technical and pure technical efficiency, the overall result of the public sector surpasses that of the private. However, the findings of the Mann-Whitney U Test revealed that the result with respect to the statistical difference is mixed.

Collation, Compilation and Comparison of GLP Compliance Requirements to Support Regulatory Approvals for Select Category of Pharmaceutical Products in Selected Countries

The present study activity to shed light on to the role of the GLP inspections which is helps to overcoming non-compliance activity. The objective of the present study is to identify the GLP inspection and understanding the underlying concepts for GLP compliance for licenses pertaining to Pre-Clinical study. The study compared and contrasted the GLP requirements and their inspection procedure of the regulatory authorities in India, EU and Singapore.

Impact of corporate governance characteristics on intellectual capital performance of firms in India

This study examines the corporate governance characteristics and its influence on the intellectual capital (IC) performance for a sample of 95 firms listed on National Stock Exchange in India. The corporate governance (CG) characteristics are represented through board size, independence of directors, frequency of board meetings, remuneration of directors and composition of board. The impact of these CG characteristics on the performance of intellectual capital and its components is studied for a 7-year period, i.e. FY2010–2011 to FY2016–2017, using panel regression. The research findings provide clear evidence that CG characteristics influence the IC performance of only large-cap firms in India. Further, board size and independence of directors are seen to have the most significant impacts. Board size is negatively associated with IC performance of large-cap firms. Capital expended efficiency and productivity of midcap firms are observed to have a significant inverted-U relation with board size. The relative significance of various other CG factors varies for IC as well as its sub-components. The findings of this study are important because it gives a strong empirical evidence for regulatory authorities in India to strictly monitor the compliance of rules on structure and composition of the board of directors besides just laying down broad guidelines for the listed companies. This also serves as the first research work to justify the significance of corporate governance on IC performance of firms in India. One of the limitations of this research is inability to incorporate several other characteristics of board such as duality and detailed profile of board members due to non-availability of time-series data for all the firms.

An Integrated approach for performance measurement of Indian telecom service providers

The purpose of this research paper is to measure the operational performance of cellular mobile telephone service providers (CMTSP) in India. In this paper, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and preference ranking organisation method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE) integrated approach are used to compare the operational performances of CMTSP. This analysis is based on the information gathered by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, for the duration of January-March 2016. Three major parameters covering eight criteria: network availability, connection accessibility, and connection retainability are incorporated in this analysis. On the basis of the analysis, it has been observed that Reliance Communication has the first ranking and MTNL has the last ranking. This paper may help the management in the creation of a plan of action to improve the performance of the company by benchmarking the operational parameters on the basis of this model.

Pharmacovigilance programme of India: revival of the renaissance

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the fourth leading cause of morbidity in the world. In order to safeguard the health of the community, Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) is implemented as the monitoring body by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC). It is leading national authority. National Coordinating Centre (NCC) PvPI works as the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating centre for pharmacovigilance. Adverse drug reactions are reported to NCC PvPI which are then directed towards WHO Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) Sweden which is the global monitoring centre for worldwide data. Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is the regulatory authority of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India. This article focusses on the various strands of pharmacovigilance at the healthcare professional and consumer level. It also discusses the pitfalls in the journey of pharmacovigilance thus helping in enhancing the quality of health safety. Even a minuscule contribution by a health care professional or a consumer can voluminously help in promotion of drug safety. Therefore, there is a need of inculcating the culture of adverse drug reaction reporting for the welfare of the vulnerable masses.

Rising standards of sustainability reporting in India

PurposeThe increasing awareness among the stakeholders demands the companies to be more transparent in their annual reporting. In the absence of standardized reporting norms, companies are free to structure sustainability report as per their understanding, willingness and intent. Although some voluntary guidelines have been issued by the regulatory authorities in India, the norms are still not clear as to what to report and how to report. This paper aims to look in to sustainability reporting practices by top companies listed in Bombay stock exchange and its impact on financial performance.Design/methodology/approachUsing this sample of 68 companies from top 100 in the list of ET500 for 2016, self-constructed sustainability reporting score has been computed for each company for the financial year 2012-2013 and 2015-2016. The two periods represent pre- and post-disclosure reform periods in India. A sustainability reporting scale has been constructed using 16 parameters of sustainable performance based on social, environment and governance aspects as reported in the annual report, sustainability report and business responsibility report.FindingsIt has been found that there is a significant improvement in sustainability reporting by Indian companies after the introduction of disclosure reforms. Different sectors show significant difference in the sustainability reporting during pre-reform period but as the sustainability reporting improves after the reforms, sector difference reduces. Sustainability reporting is a significant predictor of financial parameters of return on sales, return on equity and Tobin’s Q in pre-reform period, but in the post-reform period, no significant impact was found on financial performance.Practical implicationsDisclosure reforms have made a significant impact on sustainability reporting by Indian companies. Companies need to identify the core areas of social responsibility, to implement Indian model of mandatory 2 per cent spending on corporate social responsibility. Disclosure of carbon foot prints should be mandatory and more number of independent directors should be appointed for successful implementation of these reforms. Market regulators should be made more powerful and given a free hand to prosecute the companies involved in frauds and high penalties should be imposed for non-compliance.Originality/valueSustainability reporting has drawn increased strategic attention in India to make reporting more transparent and responsible toward society and environment. The structural changes and introduction of disclosure reforms make an interesting case to investigate their implications on Indian companies. Accordingly, this research studies the sustainability reporting by Indian companies before and after the introduction of disclosure reforms. No previous research has investigated the impact of these reforms considering two different periods.

Independent Regulatory Authorities in India—A Comparative Perspective: A Select Bibliography

Independent Regulatory Authorities in India—A Comparative Perspective: A Select Bibliography

Independent Regulatory Authorities in India: A Comparative Perspective

Independent Regulatory Authorities in India: A Comparative Perspective

Environmental Regulatory Authorities in India: An Analysis

Environmental regulatory authorities in India are post-constitutional development. It allowed for a nationally regulated and state-coordinated governance of environment. Federally speaking, while ‘right to decide’ belongs to the centre, states have authority to execute and act upon central decisions in a manner provided under such decisions. The present article analyses the major environmental enactments and structural and functional dimensions of different regulatory authorities both at the national and state levels. Methodologically, primary reliance has been made on acts and orders. The article argues that environmental governance at once is a matter of standardisation of rules and norms of conduct, regulation of policies and activities having considerable bearings on environmental protection and coordinating activities of state and non-state actors. The article concludes that environmental governance is extremely loaded in favour of the centre.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created in the onrush of such agencies following the paradigm shift from Indian Socialism to business liberalism and globalisation in 1991. The study of its functioning shows it to be less than adequately autonomous and less than sufficiently overseen by the parliament and its committee system. As a regulatory mechanism for the information and communication technology sector, TRAI’s importance cannot ever be overstressed in the context of the gradual transformation of India’s industrial society into information and knowledge society. In a way, in the long trajectory of the transformation of the public sphere in the course of the transition from feudal oligarchy to bourgeois democracy, the telecom space can be seen as the new frontier to be explored and harnessed in expanding and deepening democracy. The existing structure of TRAI falls short on the parameters of transparency, efficiency, autonomy and accountability, calling for reforms.

Parliamentary Oversight of Independent Regulatory Authorities in India

Independent regulatory authorities have become an important component of the governance landscape in India and elsewhere. Some regulators have achieved useful outcomes in India. However, the creation of independent sectoral regulators in India has not been accompanied by critical reflection on their role, or attention to the political, legal and institutional contexts within which they operate. Lessons can be learnt from mature regulatory policy countries, such as the USA, the UK and Australia, that the regulatory environment needs to be constantly evaluated to make sure it is keeping pace with the changing technology, business environment and consumer needs and demands. Despite the number of bodies in India that are involved or responsible for regulatory reform, there is one function that seems to be missing and that is of a central oversight function. Most countries have an explicit whole of government regulatory policy and an oversight body, sometimes more than one, that is/are responsible for embedding some of the systemic tools across different parts of the government machinery.

Responding to 4G telecom pricing war: ignore, accommodate or retaliate

Subject area Marketing, Pricing, Strategic marketing. Study level/applicability The case is developed for an MBA-level program. Case overview In May 2017, the telecom industry in India witnessed an intense price war over 4G (fourth generation) data prices. Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel was exploring various options on how best to respond to the situation. He had to take a final call regarding Bharti Airtel’s marketing team’s counter move to tackle this price war by Jio – should Bharti Airtel ignore it, accommodate it or retaliate with even lower prices? Bharti Airtel strongly believed that Jio pricing structure had violated “fair pricing” norms, and its pricing was anti-competitive. It had filed a case with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to restrain Jio from further giving “free” promotional offers and penalize it for it. Could the legal recourse by Bharti Airtel dampen Jio’s consistent subscriber growth rate? Expected learning outcomes The case provides the students with an insight into how the competition focused on pricing happens in the telecom industry. The pricing war affects the profit margin of all competing companies. It changes the customer reference point for evaluating the competing products and services. The students would also learn practical applications of positive-sum pricing, pricing war, fair pricing and legal aspects of pricing. This case provides the students with an opportunity to understand the pricing war and how to respond to it in a particular situation; understand positive-sum pricing and negative-sum pricing in telecom industry context; understand legal aspects of pricing; and how to leverage data for gaining newer customer insights. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.