Transactions that a business undertakes with ‘related parties’ should be subject to a higher level of scrutiny than others, as there is a natural risk that such transactions may be crafted with majority owners’ or management’s interests in mind, at the expense of minority shareholders. However, SEBI’s recent regulations to regulate related party transactions appear to go overboard. They seem to assume that all such transactions are fraudulent unless proved innocent and places the burden of compliance not only on the executive management that takes such decisions but on independent directors as well. This will result in disproportionate time and resources being spent on compliance nitty gritty as opposed to business strategy. This podcast offers a perspective.