Principal AMC ceases to exist as an Mutual Fund: Sebi Principal Mutual Fund (Principal AMC) will cease to exist as a mutual fund from June 2, capital markets regulator Sebi announced on Thursday. The AMC had informed the markets regulator that it wants to surrender the registration granted by the regulator. “Sebi has accepted the request for surrender of certificate of registration of PMF. Consequently, PMF ceases to exist as a mutual fund w.e.f. June 2, 2022,” said Sebi in a statement. In January 2021, Principal AMC, managing assets worth more than 9,500 crore, was acquired by Sundaram Mutual Fund for338.53 crore for 100% of the share capital of the AMC, Principal Trustee Company, and Principal Retirement Advisors. The schemes managed by Principal Asset Management will be acquired by Sundaram MF. The deal received the required regulatory approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and from Sebi in November 2021. According to Sebi, Principal MF will continue to be liable for all liabilities/obligations, including monetary penalties, if any, for violations, if any, of the provisions of Sebi Act and MF regulations that have taken place before its surrender of certificate of registration.
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.