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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Beyond Spectacle

Ganeshotsav is at its best when it brings Maharashtra together. For ten days, neighbourhoods become communities and homes become welcoming spaces as devotion spills naturally into the streets. There is music, modaks and the unmistakable sense that the festival belongs to everyone. Few public celebrations have such a powerful capacity to create shared joy. Yet, in recent years, Ganeshotsav festivities have tended towards bombastic spectacle, be it the height of an idol or the decibels...

Beyond Spectacle

Ganeshotsav is at its best when it brings Maharashtra together. For ten days, neighbourhoods become communities and homes become welcoming spaces as devotion spills naturally into the streets. There is music, modaks and the unmistakable sense that the festival belongs to everyone. Few public celebrations have such a powerful capacity to create shared joy. Yet, in recent years, Ganeshotsav festivities have tended towards bombastic spectacle, be it the height of an idol or the decibels generated by a noisy sound system. This year’s controversies on the festivities have acquired a significance beyond their immediate headlines. The collapse of a 22-foot idol during an arrival procession in Bhuleshwar last month that killed two people was a grim reminder that grandeur has consequences. Mumbai has no general government-prescribed ceiling on idol height, and some mandals have dramatically increased their scale in recent years. But when an idol becomes a statement of prestige, the safety of devotees and immersion sites must take precedence. The same principle applies to the increasingly contentious question of noise. The trouble over DJs and high-decibel systems in Pune has exposed the growing tension between the right to celebrate and the right of others to live without suffering excessive noise. The assault on activist Vidyanand Bapat after he campaigned against high-decibel celebrations was particularly disturbing. More than 1,000 citizens subsequently joined a protest seeking action against loud sound systems. Maharashtra has a long and rich tradition of public celebration, and music is inseparable from that tradition. But celebration in a shared public space also carries an obligation to show consideration for senior citizens, patients, children and others particularly vulnerable to noise. A festival can be vibrant without becoming oppressive. The festival’s enormous popularity also carries a great responsibility with it. The larger the Ganeshotsav becomes, the greater its impact on public spaces, the environment and civic infrastructure. This is the larger test facing Maharashtra. A festival that has survived generations does not need to prove its vitality by becoming progressively bigger, louder or more extravagant. Its strength lies in its ability to adapt without losing its soul. The finest Ganeshotsav is not necessarily the one with the tallest idol or the loudest sound system but the one that leaves behind a sense of happiness, togetherness and goodwill. It is one in which faith does not have to compete with civic responsibility, and celebration does not come at the expense of others. As Ganeshotsav begins today, Maharashtra should celebrate its great public festival with all its customary warmth and exuberance but without allowing excess and spectacle to overwhelm its deeper meaning. For Bappa has always stood as the remover of all obstacles and the bringing together of communities with the promise of renewal. Ganpati Bappa Morya.

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Writer: Mangesh Kulkarni
Mangesh Kulkarni
Sep 9, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Being the first person from the private sector to be appointed as chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as part of the government’s lateral initiative, Madhabi Puri Buch also holds the honour of being the first woman to hold the top post as capital market regulator.

But the laurels that the former private sector banker enjoyed in her earlier stint with ICICI Bank, was marred with allegations that she and her husband were having a stake in offshore entities, which were used to artificially inflate shares of Adani group companies.

Terming the allegation as `character assassination, Buch clarified that all disclosures have already been furnished and the fund in question did not invest in any securities involving the Adani group.

When it rains, it pours. This allegation was subsequently followed by Congress Party allegation that Buch had received salary and post-retirement benefits from ICICI Bank after she quit the private sector bank.

In its clarification to the stock exchanges, ICICI Bank asserted that the payments made to Buch were purely retirement benefits after her exit from the bank and they were neither salary nor employee stock options.

Prior to these allegations, Buch tenure at SEBI was all about bringing in quick reforms on operational issues by changing the format of consultation paper to bring in larger responses digitally. Being data savvy, the rationale of her decisions were democratic based on big data analysis derived from the responses received to the consultation papers.

Further she bifurcated the duties of the SEBI staff between operations and enforcement, which were done by the same persons earlier. Having worked for the private sector in the capital market domain space, Buch had a better understanding of the subject compared to officers from the administrative service in the past that reflected even in her orders as a whole-time director at SEBI before becoming the chairperson. As a whole time director at SEBI, her orders on adjudication issues were more directional to the capital market space, according to experts in the compliance space. She was also quick to revamp the old provisions of the 90s at SEBI.

Being tech and data savvy, Buch enhanced regulatory surveillance and detection of market manipulation, insider trading and fraud while also emphasizing on strengthening corporate governance by introducing stricter rules for independent directors and enhancing disclosures for related-party transactions.

To put in perspective, the annual report of the capital market regulator in the just concluded financial year revealed that the number of investigations related to insider trading jumped to 175 in 2023-24 from 85 in the preceding year while probes related to front running jumped over three times to 83 from 24 in the preceding year.

Transparency in mutual funds by implementing measures to protect retail investors along with tightening norms for initial public offers, particularly in the SME platforms were some of her other positive initiatives including confirmation of denial of any market rumours within 24 hours for the top 100 listed companies which will be extended to top 250 companies from December 1. However increased transparency and compliance with tightening regulations led to increased operational costs for the market participants and hence faced resistance from certain quarters. Born in 1966, Buch completed her primary education in Mumbai and graduated with specialization in Mathematics from Delhi and later obtained a management degree from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In between, she got engaged to Dhawal Buch, a director at a consumer goods multinational at the age of eighteen and got married at the age of 21.

Besides ICICI Bank, Buch also worked as a lecturer at a college in England, worked at Greater Pacific Capital in Singapore and ICICI Securities as its CEO. She also worked as executive director on several private sector companies and as a consultant for New Development Bank (Brics Bank).

What now remains to be seen, is whether Buch, who survived the 26/11 terror attack when she along with her husband, was attending a meeting at Taj, be able to overcome the current ordeal. Keeping fingers crossed for the times to come.

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