I think there has to be balance on both sides on equity and PPF/EPF etc.
There has to be a good portfolio allocation, a good starting point is 60-40 (60 in stocks and 40 in FD/EPF/PPF etc). Depending on how much risk someone wants to take on it can 30-70 or 70-30 too.
The example of Yes Bank is rather extreme one. Things happen in short term doesn't mean things will not improve in long term. From what I can see on Google finance - Yes bank traded at 100 in June 2013 and within 2 months it has halve at 48. But, where are we now? Even with the drop it is sitting at 200 or 100% or 400% increase depending on where it was bought. So, the halving in short term doesn't matter. If Yes Bank is a good business, this whole thing will be long forgotten.
Additionally, as Kahneman has put it - individual investor should look at their holdings on a quarterly. If they are swayed by constant stream of information the only way they can save themselves is by locking themselves in a 3yr fund like ELSS and forget the keys.
On the other hand, stock market grows forever but businesses don't. So care has to be taken care of selecting a good fund. Thankfully we are in India with lots of untapped growth which means a person with even half a brain selecting only big stocks can get 10-15% annual growth over long period easily. But there are tons of funds with conflict of interests. So, it always help to be slightly careful.
That said,
@John4321 I have been looking over the list. And while I still can't tell you what to buy, I can tell you at least one stock
not to buy. That is Anmol Biscuits. One of my family member runs distribution for it and he as an insider doesn't have good things to say about it. He told me lots of stories about how they strong arm retailers into selling these crap biscuit.
So, I guess pro-tip: If you are buying some FMCG stocks, it is easy to see where things are going by asking couple of shopkeepers and/or watching the item numbers at supermarkets. Just takes couple of visits over a month or two. Are the products getting sold or just sitting there? Relying on company narratives can be harmful as people buying into story of Manpasand Beverages found out.