Well, within limit…: Nirmala Sitharaman on LIC, SBI exposure in Adani group firms

Amid the Adani group crisis, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended India's financial sector stating that it is ‘very well regulated’ and referring to the recent controversy around the Indian conglomerate she added, ‘one instance, no matter how much it is talked about globally, is not going to be indicative of how well Indian financial markets have been governed’. Commenting on the SBI and the LIC getting tangled in the controversy, the finance minister said their exposure to Adani Group stocks is very well within the permitted limits.

"I want to recall the words...coming from the horse's mouth has more credibility. Both SBI and LIC have issued detailed statements. And I know the chairperson or the CMD… he has himself come out and explained how they are not overexposed or whatever they said. And also said, look, we are sitting over profits for the exposure that we have which is well within the limit. That's what I understood. I read it through media," Nirmala Sitharaman told News 18. 

They have very clearly said their exposure is well within the permitted limit and they are sitting over profit even with the valuation falling, the finance minister said. "

Speaking on how well-placed is the Indian banking sector at this moment, Sitharaman noted that NPAs coming down to a low and recovery is happening.

On how the world is reacting to the Adani crisis, Sitharaman said, "India remains as before, absolutely well-governed with a stable government and a well-regulated financial market. As a result, the investor confidence which existed before shall continue even now. Our regulators are normally very stringent about certain governance practices. One instance should not be going to be indicative."

On the Budget date, despite all the chaos around the Adani crisis, the markets had gone up. Speaking on this, the finance minister said, "The Budget has covered all the sections of society. The details took a long time in the preparation for the Budget. I am glad if it's received very well and now it motivates me to now better implement it down to the very last person. The immediate impact of the Budget on the market and subsequent to let's say for whatever reason it traded back.... I think in the next few days the Budget's impact will still continue to hold the markets high."