RBI on their toes as always: Sitharaman on Adani-Hindenburg matter

NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that Indian regulators are "very experienced" and seized of the matter related to the Adani Group and are "on their toes" to handle the situation that has arisen following the report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.

Addressing media persons in Mumbai, Sitharaman said the regulators "are on their toes as always, not just now".

"India's regulator (RBI) is very, very experienced and they are the experts in the domain, they are on their toes as always and not just now. So I will leave it there," the finance minister said in response to a query by a reporter who asked whether an expert committee was set up concerning this matter.

The Finance Minister was addressing a joint conference following the customary post budget meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the apex bank.

The Finance Minister briefed the RBI's Central Board of Directors on the recently-released Union Budget for the year 2023-24. Recently there was a major crash in Indian stock market in the wake of a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group.

The US firm has accused the Indian conglomerate of engaging in fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, which the Adani Group has denied

The Supreme Court on Friday heard a petition seeking the Apex Court's intervention in the Adani row. The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Finance Ministry and the statutory market regulator, SEBI on how to ensure that Indian investors are protected in future against sudden volatility.

At the press conference here today RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das addressing a query on regulatory applications and their timeline said, "Whenever any new policy is taken, any announcement is made by the RBI, there should be some amount of advance consultation with stakeholders."

He said, "Even in the last Monetary Policy Committee announcement, we have made an announcement relating to penal interest. There, too, we also made an announcement of draft circular."

The Governor also added, "We are not issuing the final circular because we want the opinion of the stakeholders: The regulated entities and the banks and any other players in the financial market."

Meanwhile, Sitharaman said the new tax regime announced in her budget, would leave more money in the hands of taxpayers. The finance minister also said that said India is in talks with G20 nations to regulate cryptocurrencies through a common framework.

"Crypto involves a lot of technology, it's 99 per cent technology. We are talking to all countries if all the countries can achieve a standard operating procedure which will be effective while following a regulatory framework. It's under discussion with G20 nations," Sitharaman said.