Salil Datar

Birding – An awesome experience !!

I have been a wildlife enthusiast. In India have been to Corbet, Tadoba, Kabini near Mysore and overseas we have done safari trips to Masai Mara in Kenya alongwith a few National Parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite , Zion, Bryce, Arches, Sequoia, Grand Canyons in the USA. During these trips, even though I did getContinue reading “Birding – An awesome experience !!”

Life at 50 – reliving youth (of old age)!!

As I look around, I realise that at 50 +, even though we might claim to be in the youth of old age and travel to exotic destinations or throw retro theme parties to celebrate Golden birthdays, we certainly are not getting younger any longer.. Over the last 3 years, I have started hearing ofContinue reading “Life at 50 – reliving youth (of old age)!!”

Life at a startup..

A fintech start up is a molten mix of a bunch of subject matter experts (SMEs) and techies. Where product, unlike in a traditional business means something that the customer experiences and NOT necessarily something that is physical like in the case of FMCG or a consumer durable or even a traditional banking product likeContinue reading “Life at a startup..”

नवते कडे झेप – नावउद्यमी च्या जगात शिरकाव

मी नुकतीच नोकरी बदलली. या आधी जवळ जवळ तीस वर्षं मी कॉर्पोरेट क्षेत्रात वेगवेगळ्या पदांवर काम करत होतो. मी नव्यानं सामील झालो ते एका छोट्या ‘स्टार्टअप’ कंपनीत. ती देखील वित्त व्यावासायाताच आहे. ह्याप्राकार च्य कंपन्यांना ‘फिनटेक’ कंपन्या असं म्हणतात. म्हणजे मी एका अर्थी एका मोठ्या कंपनीतून लहान कंपनीत आलो. असा उलटा प्रवास मी का म्हणूनContinue reading “नवते कडे झेप – नावउद्यमी च्या जगात शिरकाव”

Banking – due for disruption all over again

Banking originated around 15th century. Earlier sailors who required to store their savings in safe hands while they sailed on long journeys, availed the services of pawn brokers at ports for a charge. Subsequently, these pawn brokers discovered that this money could be put to use while it was being held for safe keeping throughContinue reading “Banking – due for disruption all over again”

Welcome 2020 – out with the old and in with the new- Millennial ways !

Times are changing and changing really fast. It is said the generation gap sets in every 15-20 years. By that logic, the current Millennial generation is at least 3-4 generations ahead. I believe my generation has been in a sweet spot having seen it all- from the double decker trailer buses in Mumbai to trafficContinue reading “Welcome 2020 – out with the old and in with the new- Millennial ways !”

Rating Agencies – Conflict of Interest resolution

With a market capitalisation close to USD 2.5 Trillion India is now the 7th largest stock market by capitalisation ahead of even Germany. India has so far taken the right steps to ensure its capital markets flourish and provide access to funds to companies wishing to access capital markets. However, over the last 12 months,Continue reading “Rating Agencies – Conflict of Interest resolution”

Depositor protection in these times of uncertainty

The PMC Bank scam has brought to the fore front the basic contradictions in our financial system. As of March 2018, more than half of the Rs 117 trillion deposits within the banking system are provided by individual depositors who form the backbone of the BFSI. It is these individual depositors who end up bearingContinue reading “Depositor protection in these times of uncertainty”

Solving the Urban Co-operative Banks Muddle

Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) were initially set up as small banks that offered banking services to people of small means from the lower and middle classes: Now they are seen as another channel to deepen financial inclusion in the country. India is considered to have one of the oldest community-banking initiatives in the world withContinue reading “Solving the Urban Co-operative Banks Muddle”

Learning to keep up with changing times, while time stands still!

Recently, I met up with a friend from my college friend, a batchmate from my cricketing days. He recovered from a by-pass surgery few months back. We visited the iconic Britannia Restaurant at Ballard Estate to have some authentic Parsee food for lunch. The moment we stepped in it felt as if time had stoodContinue reading “Learning to keep up with changing times, while time stands still!”