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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is working on rules for regulating online advertisements, it recently informed the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology.The committee, chaired by Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey, had requested the ministry to update it on the status of the rules."MIB is in the process of formulating rules for regulation of online advertisements as per allocation of business. The committee would like to be apprised of the status of formulation of these rules for regulations of online advertisements," according to the committee's Third Report on Demands for Grants (2024-25) of MIB issued on December 16.As per the amended 'Allocation of Business Rules,' notified on July 28, 2023, the ministry’s mandate has expanded to include online ads alongside online content and digital news, in addition to satellite broadcasting, films, and FM radio.Industry experts say rapid growth of digital advertising has made it crucial to have broad regulations to ensure ethical and responsible practices."There is a need for guidelines to regulate online advertisements due to its massive reach and corresponding impact. While the industry has advocated for self-regulation, there is a necessity for government to set guidelines to provide direction to the self-regulation," said digital media expert Sajal Gupta. “Additionally, the government should address issues like consumer data usage in digital advertising and influencer marketing.”The ministry had earlier issued advisories prohibiting the advertising, promotion, and endorsement of activities deemed unlawful under various laws. These include surrogate ads, particularly in sectors like alcohol, tobacco, and betting to prevent indirect promotion of prohibited products.In November 2023, the ministry introduced the Digital Advertisement Policy 2023 to empower the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), the Union government's advertising wing, to hold digital media campaigns across video streaming, audio streaming, social media, and other mobile and web platforms. The policy also enabled competitive bidding for rate discovery to ensure transparency.Following a Supreme Court directive in May 2024, the MIB mandated that all new advertisements, effective June 18, 2024, must include a self-declaration certificate. However, the ministry further refined this mandate by requiring SDCs only for advertisements related to food and health products and services, modifying its original notification from June 3.Advertisers in these categories are required to certify that their advertisements do not contain misleading claims and comply with regulatory guidelines.

ET Intelligence Group: A booming market for initial public offerings (IPO) continued to lure foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in 2024 as they were net sellers of Indian equities in the secondary market amid rich valuations, sluggish demand and slowing GDP growth. Given the sustained flow of companies filing draft red herring prospectus (DRHPs) with the markets regulator as a part of the IPO launch process, the domestic primary market is likely to remain a major route of equity investment for foreign investors in 2025 as well.In 2024, FPIs pumped ₹1.22 lakh crore ($14.5 billion) into the primary market, the most they've invested in IPOs and qualified institutional placements (QIPs), according to NSDL data. This more than offset their exit from the secondary market to the tune of ₹1.21 lakh crore ($14.37 billion), resulting in a net inflow of ₹426.9 crore ($124 million) for the calendar year. This compares with the net total investment of ₹1.71 lakh crore ($20.74 billion) by FPIs in the previous year, the highest annual investment in domestic equities till date.116867826IPOs provide an efficient route for investment in new businesses as they are often launched at attractive valuations compared with listed peers. In addition, a bulk investment in IPOs does not have any price impact, unlike a purchase in the secondary market.The domestic primary market reported a strong flow of new offerings in 2024. A record 90 companies raised over ₹1.6 lakh crore through the IPO route during the year. That broke the earlier record of 63 companies raising nearly ₹1.2 lakh crore in 2021. Trend of Past Decade FPIs have shown a greater interest in the domestic primary market in recent years.An analysis of their annual fund flow shows that they invested ₹4.6 lakh crore ($61,43 billion) at the aggregate level in the 10 years to 2024. Of this, three-fourths or ₹3.42 lakh crore ($43.43 billion) was invested in the past five years and 41% or ₹1.89 lakh crore ($22.84 billion) was invested in the last three years.In December, FPIs invested ₹18,036.1 crore ($2.12 billion) in the primary market while selling ₹2,589.6 crore worth of equities in the secondary market. Their net total investment was ₹15,446.5 crore ($1.83 billion) for the month.Domestic mutual funds continued to support equities in December. They had invested a net ₹14,467.3 crore as of December 20, taking the total net investment to ₹4.2 lakh crore in 12 months.

Mumbai: Investors must continue to treat gold as a key component of their investment portfolios in 2025 as the precious metal will not only provide the benefit of diversification, but is also set to post gains for the fourth consecutive year, said experts.While gains this year are unlikely to be as sharp as those last year, investors should use corrections in prices as a buying opportunity, they said.Crossing ₹80,000 per 10 grams to an all-time high in the domestic market, gold prices have gained more than 26% in 2024, fuelled by geopolitical uncertainties, prospects of lower interest rates in the US and buying from global central banks. For this year, the policies and stance in the US after Donald Trump takes charge later this month will be an additional factor to look out for and could underpin gains in gold, apart from factors which drove gains in 2024.116867578"Gold was doing well the last time Donald Trump came to power in 2016 but saw initial hiccups after he started pursuing his policies," said Chirag Mehta, chief investment officer at Quantum Mutual Fund. "The uncertainty created after that and the need to diversify away from the dollar led to higher gold prices, and I think it is going to play similarly to what we saw last time," he said.He recommends using any correction in gold prices in the short term as an opportunity to buy, and following a staggered approach to accumulate gold over the next few months."Changes planned by the new US administration are very aggressive and could be inflationary in nature, and interest rates may need to be reduced to support growth," Mehta said. "On a real interest rate basis, if inflation is higher and interest rates are falling, it could be a very bullish scenario for gold," he said.Gold prices gained 14% in 2023 and 12% in 2022, outperforming several asset classes on a three-year basis."2024 has been a golden year for gold - from the perspective of being a safe haven, as a diversifier of portfolios, and from the perspective of returns from an asset class," said Sachin Jain, the regional chief executive officer of India for the World Gold Council. While he sees prices remaining range-bound through the year, he maintained that 10-15% of one's portfolio should be invested in gold.