Letters: Sachet is a boon

With reference to Tinesh Bhasin's article, "RBI's Sachet can help curb ponzi schemes" (August 15), despite the presence of a well-developed banking and financial sector offering several investor-friendly products and services, many financially literate people are falling prey to illegal deposit and ponzi schemes. The fraudulent promoters of these schemes are looting investors through middlemen and then disappearing from the market. Investors are thus losing their hard-earned money.

The launch of sachet.rbi.org.in at this juncture by financial sector regulators - Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority - is a welcome initiative. It will make people aware of the ways they can protect themselves from ponzi schemes and how they can recover lost money. The website is user-friendly and FAQs on the site are informative.

Banks and financial institutions should actively publicise against fraudulent schemes, besides bringing to the notice of customers the contents of sachet.rbi.org.in. The site will act as a preventive measure as well as guide savers to deposit their savings in banks and scrupulous financial institutions.

Law enforcement authorities at the state level need to be more vigilant against the promoters of illegal deposit and ponzi schemes.

V S Kesava Pillai, Kottayam

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