Jan 30, 2023
Adani stocks rout: Country’s regulators are seized of matter, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman
A day after the Supreme Court sought a report from the government by Monday on whether the country’s capital markets regulations need strengthening in the wake of the crash of the Adani Group stocks, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday reiterated that India’s regulators are ‘very experienced’ and are ‘fairly seized’ of the matter.
The minister was responding to a question on the apex court observations while hearing public interest litigations (PILs) alleging exploitation of investors and ‘artificial crashing’ of the stocks.
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An SC bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had, on Friday, enquired whether the finance ministry or other departments concerned were contemplating a ‘robust mechanism’ to protect investors from such market volatility, even as it said the government might not be required to brief the court of the ‘deficiencies’. The court also issued a similar direction to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The Adani Group stocks have been seeing a meltdown after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research made a slew of allegations in a report, including fraudulent transactions and stock manipulations by the group.
Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta told the apex court on Friday that the market regulator was “on top of the matter”.
Addressing reporters after her customary post-Budget address to the RBI’s board, Sitharaman asserted that with the changes in slabs proposed in the Budget, the exemption-free personal income tax regime will benefit the middle class as it will leave more money in their hands.
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It is not necessary to induce individuals to invest through government schemes but give them an opportunity to make a personal decision regarding investments, she said.
In the Budget, the minister proposed to extend the `50,000 standard deduction benefit to persons opting for the new tax regime.
On regulating crypto assets, she said India is in discussion with G20 nations for designing a common framework.
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