TMS Ep569: Retail loan apps, Sam Altman, FPIs return, D2M technology

Will RBI retail lending caution give a fillip to loan apps? Ctrl+Altman: Do Indian founders need a reboot? How long before FPIs return to India? What is direct-to-mobile broadcasting?

Just about a month ago, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had flagged the high growth in unsecured consumer loans. He had also called for better surveillance. And now, the central bank has hiked risk weights on these retail loans, credit cards and on lending to NBFCs by 25 percentage points. It will translate into higher interest rates for all borrowers. But will it also give a fillip to loan apps? 

Most of these apps take the help of Artificial Intelligence and use algorithms to gauge the creditworthiness of first time borrowers. And in this process, they are accused of excluding women and people from marginalised sections. Speaking of AI, last weekend saw a drastic change at OpenAI -- the AI startup that developed ChatGPT. Its co-founder Sam Altman was fired. The reason? He wasn’t “consistently candid” in his interaction with the board members. But can you imagine something similar in India? Unlike in developed countries, where leadership changes are embraced, Indian founders are frequently seen as irreplaceable. Why is it so and is there a need for the founder ecosystem’s reboot?

Let us now turn our focus to financial markets. After pulling out of Indian equities for two straight months, foreign portfolio investors have pumped in 1,000 crore rupees into Indian equities so far in November. Does this mean FPIs are finally returning to India? Or is this just an aberration in sustained selling? 

Do you miss your daily dose of market news due to travelling at times? Or at places where the network is weak? Well the proposed direct-to-mobile broadcasting may offer a good alternative. But how? Find out more in this new technology in this episode of the podcast.