Recently, the government passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP). Its primary purpose is to regulate the collection and processing of digital personal data and respect individuals' rights.

The way the system will work is that the government will create a Data Protection Board, as the supervising agency to monitor, enforce rules and impose penalties when appropriate. The board would adjudicate a dispute between those whose personal data has been given to a platform and the platform which has in turn breached the obligations under the Act. Companies are understandably concerned that even unintended slips can lead to serious charges of violation. This opens up a completely new industry that promises auditing of an organisation’s processes to ensure compliance. The cost of doing business will consequently jump.
This podcast explains.

Markets across the world came under a bout of bear hammering on the 5th August. US unemployment which had fallen to a new set of lows, began edging up again and inflation pressures eased. All of this contributed to the sell off, but the key reason was the unwinding of the yen carry trade - which involves borrowing in yen at minimal cost and investing in higher yield assets overseas.

This strategy adopted by punters worked very effectively over the course of the last decade, as the yen continued to weaken. But now, as the attached paper explains, the situation has turned upon its head. The Bank of Japan has started to increase interest rates and over the coming two or three years the yen is likely to strengthen. The carry trade has begun to reverse. Going forward, this will create market volatility across the world, as well as a correction in asset prices. Liquidity is bound to be affected.

The recent developments in Bangladesh, leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, were in many ways not dissimilar to what happened in Sri Lanka a few years ago. Civil Society anger against the ruling establishment had been pent up for several years, so when a peaceful demonstration by students began a couple of months ago, it quickly turned violent.

Hundreds of students were killed by paramilitary forces. However, on the 5th August, it became abundantly clear that Hasina's position was no longer tenable. The attached paper provides a background of what transpired in Bangladesh. The political turmoil brings with it a fresh set of headaches for the Indian government.