-The Indian Express West Bengal is not new to chit fund scams. What is unique to the Saradha Group scandal is how it targeted the poorest and the most marginalised, leaving them on the verge of devastation. From 17-year-old agents who raised money from depositors to 50-year-old widows who invested money, the Saradha Group didn't discriminate in roping them in. Since the house of cards started collapsing, two agents and two...

-The Hindu Even as thousands come to terms with the loss of life savings in the West Bengal "chit funds," it is interesting to find politicians promising new stern laws against such funds. Absence of laws is the least of the reasons for such schemes flourishing in the State. We are not short of such laws - in fact, we have plenty of laws that prohibit such schemes and provide for...

-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that unauthorized collection of deposits promising high returns has to be curbed as the Centre unleashed a multi-agency probe on chit funds and money pooling firms in West Bengal and the eastern region. Rattled by the collapse of the Saradha group in West Bengal, the Centre has asked various agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax department, the ministry...

-The Economic Times For many, it is a sense of deja vu. Fifteen years ago, the government and India's financial regulators came under fire after hundreds of crores were cleaned up by a few individuals and entities from gullible investors, who were promised fabulous returns from plantation schemes. In the uproar that followed, the government and the regulators sought to palm off the responsibility of regulation of such schemes on each...

-Hard News While Narendra Modi's apologists will selectively quote from the latest CAG audit report on state finances that revenue earning has registered an upswing, they will compulsively forget that "the fiscal deficit of Rs 11,027 crore in 2011-12 was met out from a net borrowing of Rs 15,083 crore". The CAG has remarked that "an increase of 41 per cent in the market borrowing in 2011-12 over previous year for...