Citizens of the world (there’s no need to), unite!
In India, we have 6 seasons – winter (Shishir), spring (vasant), summer (grishma), autumn (sharad) and pre-winter (Hemant). Fortunately, unlike the current urban generation – the one which is coming-of-age in 2025, whose chances of experiencing all 6 seasons is now almost stolen due to climate change; my generation and predecessors were lucky to distinctly experience & remember the above mentioned 6 seasons as Indians. To nip any potential argument, let me also call out that India is a vast country and while the entire country experiences these 6 seasons, the degree and duration (spacing) between these 6 seasons of course varied from South, to West, to East, to central, to north-east, to south-west, to north.
The option to enjoy these 6 seasons across the length and breadth of India was aplenty & arguably, still can be experienced in reasonably calmer years such as 2025 (this year el nino conditions that bring extreme heat in this part of the world is subdued).
Nevertheless, the post-pandemic era this far is not going to be memorable due to seasons and options to enjoy seasons. This decade is going to be remembered as the one where Gen Z & later generations have experienced long season of WARs.
War is in itself a somber topic, at least for citizens of the world who count-in the human condition and related human suffering in war ravaged countries and regions of the world. I won’t speak for the ‘makers & shakers’ of the world though. Otherwise, also referred to as “world leaders”.
However, I am here to argue for a topic that is connected with the powerful. In the context of wars, you may refer the winner country as “the powerful”. I argue that the so called “saviors of the world-order” or the “world leaders” representing these nations engaged in acts of war, never stood for level-playing-field. It has never been for universal peace and different nations, different options or different seasons. On the contrary, it has always been – “winner takes it all”.
Flipping through the pages of history of great wars, let's look at true stories:
Standard measures for men’s clothing originated from the need to dress soldiers
The Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815), the Crimean War (1853 – 1856) and the American Civil war (1861 – 1865), ushered the demand to cloth men in particular. They were the men who fought wars in the age when drones and missiles could not! And, that led to the need for universal sizing of garments – for MEN only
Needless to say, it meant “universal” in context of winning population only
These humble “war-beginnings” led to the post-World War 2 – industrial era of western industrialization age
But who worked at the factors of 1940’s US and UK? Don’t be surprised – it’s the women
Before the wars, women enjoyed the luxury of bespoke dressing – yes I am speaking of the better-off population who could afford fashion in that era
Veronica Lake (top Hollywood actress of the 40’s) was asked to take up short hairstyle named – “peek-a-boo”. Along with her, the American women cut-short their hair and took-up the “peek-a-boo” short hairstyle. Also, they were now the new workforce of American factories (without attracting potential accidents). Meanwhile, the “missing generation” was busy fighting wars
Now that the smart “leaders of the world” had the womenfolk in their factories, it was most essential to bring-in the “universal” standard for woman’s clothing as well
In 1939, the US government funded statisticians (yes you guessed right – today we call them Data Scientists purportedly, the “sexist job of 21st century & now you can connect the dots to their matching act in past). These statisticians collected and defined 58 size measurements after surveying 15,000 women – they were looking for key measurements that could predict other body measurements.
The government funded statisticians used ONLY white woman in the study, well to be fair – they did measure women of color too, however those measured were dropped for the research.
Nevertheless, similar patterns repeated over the globe – UK, France, Germany and followed by China, Korea, Mexico etc.
India is working on “INDIAsize” an initiative for Indian body measurements, leading to clothing measurement standard in later part of 2020. This project gathered anthropometric data from over 26,000 individuals aged 15 and upwards (both men & women)
The truly universal clothing measures were never meant to be. No matter what they “told” us. Just look at the scheming trends designed by western clothing brands in the 1970s and 1980’s. Garment companies began downgrading size labels and adding lower numbers (e.g. size 0, 2 etc.). This “Vanity Sizing” scheme of cunning “winners of the war” was fully supported by the government. Many more standards were introduced in the decades that followed
Take for instance – Marilyn Monroe (not same or in any way related to Stormy Daniels) was size 12 in the 1960’s but today size 6 is what would fit her.
Therefore, hairstyles, cloth sizes and addictions (opium and linked wars) were all about winning over others. It was never about leveling the playing field. It was not at all about uniting the world citizens the common women, children and men representing every corner of the world.
Today, I see the same story unfolding. The current generations are watching it unfold on YouTube, X and Facebook. I hope this “sense making” exercise will make them think, research, ask questions and face the world irrespective of AI or no-AI.
Because remember – just like disappearing options of experiencing different seasons, the misalignment or missing options for use and adoption of AI will be a real loss for the world and temporary win for the war-wagging shriveled old men.
In my next article, I will expand on this same topic and unpack the hidden truth – citizens of the world (there’s no need to) unite. Also, I will be using the example from Finance world.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is set to seize 48.4 billion rupees ($570 million) from New York headquartered, American proprietary trading firm - Jane Street.
SEBI made a "giant-kill". It views the seizure amount as “unlawful gains” made by Jane Street.
What you’ve read above is right from the news headlines & also a hot topic on our favorite Youtubers/podcasters.
So, while we all are at it, I thought of taking a dip into this topic myself.
My objective is to bring out this story in a way that makes it interesting for non-finance professionals and novice investors.
The story begins in the oceans of our world.
Actor A: Blue Whale – Largest animal on our planet. Whales are huge and their diet adequacy is as formidable as its size. But the blue oceans are teeming with pockets or patches, where its preferred diet – Krill (Euphausia superba), a small, swimming crustacean thrives. Krill swarms sometimes reach densities of 10,000–30,000 animals per cubic metre!
Our Actor B is Krill and by now, we are clear that who gets to feed on whom :)
However, let’s continue with the story….
Krills can shrink in size, which is exceptional for animals this size. It is likely that this is an adaptation to the seasonality of their food supply, which is limited in the dark winter months under the ice. The reproductive season of Euphausia superba or Antarctic Krill, starts in January and ends around April every year.
Now, let’s return to Whales and connect a few more dots.
Whale hunting is an ancient human tradition and whale body parts are put to various uses by humans. Whale hunts are annual traditions and are scheduled around whale migration season. Usually starting late April – early June.
Starting middle of 20th century, something strange has been observed. With increased whaling, the number of blue whales and other associated whale species started decreasing drastically. Now, as simple straightforward logic, such circumstances lead us to think that its great news for our Actor – B (Krills). But this is where the incredible nature of our “ocean marketplace” steps-in.
Scientific research has proven that with dwindling population of whales (our Actor A), the Krill population too went down drastically!
WoW!! Now this is heck of a story.
Turns out that the Whale feeds on huge krill populations and whale poop then turns into nutrients for zooplankton as well as phytoplankton (under water simple cell plants & simple cell animals like krill). In short - Krills and ocean plants feed on the iron rich whale droppings. So much so, that in absence of adequate whale poop, the Krill population started dwindling!!
So, go ahead, take your time to think about this incredible ‘circle of life (and death)’.
Time to do a "who’s-who" of our story with real players in financial markets / stock exchanges:
Actor A / Whales = Jane Street Capital (such firms are referred to as MARKET MAKERS)
MARKET MAKERS are huge like whale (in terms of financial assets) and they deploy HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING (HFT) at the exchanges where they register to trade
Market Maker’s role is crucial for a healthy financial market (just like the importance of whale survival in order to secure a teeming Krill population)
Deploying High Frequency Trading, Market Makers transform market dynamics, offering benefits such as enhanced liquidity, improved market efficiency, reduced transaction costs, and accelerated price discovery
HFT improves market liquidity by placing continuous buy and sell orders, ensuring that trades are matched quickly. This tightens bid-ask spreads and enhances price stability
As more participants can trade at narrower price differences, transaction costs reduce
There are two major players in any transaction, namely the price-taker (investor / Krill) and the market-maker (counterparty / Whale)
Market-makers post quotes offering to sell stocks at a given price (the “ask” price) and to buy stocks at a given price (the “bid” price)
When an investor initiates a trade, she will accept one of these two prices depending on whether she wishes to buy or sell the stock (at the ask or bid price, respectively)
The difference between these two, the bid-ask spread, is a frequently used measure of market liquidity. It is also a measure of trading costs
Market-makers collect the spreads through processing the flow of orders at the bid and ask prices
A market is said to be liquid if there are many buyers and sellers and transaction costs are low
In the particular case of a stock market, a liquid market is characterised by the ability to transact in a stock easily, without causing a significant price change
The trouble is that just like whales will be lured towards biggest Krill swarms, inefficient stock markets are enticing. It makes our Actor A act as a glutton. This means, overzealous Market Makers get lured to unlawful market practices
As speculators, Market Makers can use their speed advantage to quickly take the quotes posted by their competitors when new news arrives. As the arrival of news makes already placed quotes out-of-date, HFTs can make money at the expense of their competitors (often high-frequency market-makers). Anticipating these losses, market-makers have to raise the bid-ask spread to recoup the increased costs
Our Whale – Jane Street tried another trick. It’s called – “Pump-and-Dump”
Pump-and-dump is an illegal scheme to boost a stock's or security's price based on false, misleading, or greatly exaggerated statements or stock buying spree (morning of trading day), followed by massive selling of same stocks (in afternoon session)
Pump-and-dump schemes usually target micro- and small-cap stocks. Whales found guilty of running pump-and-dump schemes are subjected to Harpooning (or heavy fines)
SEBI is the proverbial Harpooner or Whaler of Jane Street Capital
Rogue Market Makers can use various techniques to artificially influence prices, such as spreading false information or creating misleading trading patterns
Key ways by which Market Makers manipulate stock prices:
Spreading rumors or false information / tips
Creating False demand (Jane Street Capital purportedly did this)
Exploiting retail investor psychology
Employing Accumulation, Participation, and Distribution
I’ve unpacked the information that will equip non-financial professionals. However, I’d like to mention some further details about High Frequency Traders / Market Makers.
The high-frequency trading industry grew rapidly after it took off in the mid-2000s. Today, high-frequency trading represents over 50% of trading volume in US equity markets. In European equity markets, its share is estimated to be around 35% of total trading volume. In India too, they represent the bigger (over 40%) chunk of trading volume generators.
Like whales in our oceans, the Market makers are not only huge (financial asset wise), but also fiercely competitive.
Competition among HFTs have adverse effects on market liquidity (Millennium Management, one of the world's largest hedge fund firms, was sued by rival Jane Street Group, which accused it of stealing a valuable in-house trading strategy after two of its traders joined Millennium Management).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced stringent new rules to address and prevent market abuse. These regulations, effective from June 27, 2025, mandate stockbrokers to implement robust systems aimed at detecting and mitigating fraudulent activities, including price manipulation, insider trading, unauthorized trading, and other unfair practices like mule accounts. The reforms hold brokers and their senior management directly accountable for market integrity, introducing mechanisms to enhance transparency and fairness in trading activities.
Key Provisions in SEBI’s New Framework
1. Mandatory Systems to Detect Market Abuse
Brokers must establish surveillance and control systems to identify: Misleading trading patterns. Price manipulation and pump-and-dump schemes. Insider trading and front-running. Mis-selling and unauthorized trading.
Broking firms are responsible for preventing the facilitation of mule accounts, which are often used for fraudulent activities.
2. Accountability of Senior Management
3. Whistleblower Policy Implementation
4. Tightening Rules on Mule Accounts
In closure, I’d like to ask the readers – Do you consider Indian Stock Market as inefficient?
If yes, then Why do you think so?
Postscript: Jane Street made about 365 billion rupees ($4.3 billion) in overall gain from trading in Indian derivatives and cash market during the period between January 2023 and March 2025, according to the SEBI order.