Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Regulators To Maintain Constant Vigil On Financial Sector

The finance minister said that the government is looking into the lapses that had happened at the National Stock Exchange

New Delhi: The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday deliberated on the challenges emanating from global and domestic developments and asked the regulators to maintain constant vigil on the financial sector.

In connection with the recent National Stock Exchange (NSE) scam, the minister said, “The government is looking into the lapses that had happened at the National Stock Exchange.”

According to PTI report, the high-level meeting was attended by various regulators of financial sector, including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

The Council meeting, which comes against the backdrop of rising tension between Russia and Ukraine, discussed measures required for further development of the financial sector and to achieve an inclusive economic growth with macroeconomic stability.

Sitharaman said that the impact due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine yet to be felt on trade. “We are careful that our exporters do not suffer,” she said, while adding, “Increasing crude prices a challenge discussed at meeting on financial stability; will keep a watch on it.”

Regarding LIC IPO, the minister said, “There is a buzz, interest in market for LIC IPO. We will be going ahead with it.”

The finance ministry in a statement said, “The Council deliberated on the various mandates of the FSDC and major macro-financial challenges arising in view of global and domestic developments. The Council noted that the government and all regulators need to maintain constant vigil on the financial conditions and functioning of important financial institutions, especially considering that it could expose financial vulnerabilities in the medium and long-term.”

The 25th FSDC meeting also discussed operational issues relating to currency management and took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee chaired by the RBI Governor and the action taken by members on the past decisions of FSDC.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, and Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi among others.

This was the first meeting of the panel after the presentation of the Union Budget. The previous meeting was held on September 3, 2021.