TMS Ep71: Parliament, value stocks, Web 3.0, Small Savings Schemes

The upcoming Assembly elections in five states seem to have derailed the government’s plan to bring reforms through Parliament. Not only did it not table any key economic Bill during the just-concluded winter session, but it also chose to scrap the three agriculture laws. Of the 26 Bills that the government had planned to pass, just 10 were able to see the light of the day. The Bill to regulate cryptocurrencies in India and another one to privatise two public-sector banks were not among them. Let’s look at the winter session from the point of view of legislative work done.
 
Government’s policies often impact the markets directly. From travel restrictions to ban of unvaccinated citizens from visiting public places – governments have been quick in their actions to contain the spread of Omicron. These measures have yet again hit the contact-intensive sectors, which are still recovering from the wounds of the first and second waves of the coronavirus pandemic. On the bourses, the related shares have fallen like nine pins in one month. But there’s something that investors in these stocks can cheer about. 

After the markets, let us see what else caught people’s imagination this year. 2021 will be remembered for the new terms that entered the common lexicon, such as like cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens or NFTs, metaverse and Web 3.0. While crypto became popular due to the returns it gave investors, Web 3.0 is still catching up. It seeks to decentralise the internet, taking it away from the hold of big tech companies. We try to understand what Web 3.0 is and how it may change the future of internet in the days to come.

Apart from the terms like cryptocurrency, metaverse and Web 3.0, 2021 will also be known as the year of pandemic which made people cautious about their health and savings. Amid uncertainty in equity-linked savings instruments, government’s small savings schemes offer safe and assured returns. What are these schemes? Let us understand in this episode of the podcast.

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