NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband have been responding to some of the allegations and are defending themselves by presenting facts to counter the Congress party’s claims.
“So I think the facts have to be considered,” Sitharaman said at an event organized by Network18. When asked if she was satisfied with Puri Buch’s response, the FM said, “I am not here to judge that.”
This was the first official comment on the controversy after the Congress party leveled a string of allegations of conflict of interest against the SEBI chairperson.
The Sebi chief and her husband have also come out with several statements to counter the allegations leveled by Congress terming them as “malicious narrative”. The controversy has sparked calls for her to step aside pending an investigation.
Speaking about the stock market, particularly futures and options, the FM said there needs to be a sense of caution when speculative activity is too much. “We also need to make sure that people with their savings don’t go to engage in high fluctuating or high risk ventures. No harm in participating in F&O or no harm in investing in the equity market but eventually we need to be using financial information, authentic information before we take a call,” said Sitharaman.
Earlier, FM and the chief economic adviser had sounded caution on retail futures and options trading volumes. CEA V Anantha Nageswaran had said that there is a need to ensure that the capital market grows in areas where the country’s household savings can be used for productive purposes.
FM was confident that economic growth will accelerate in the second and third quarter of the current financial year and that would have an impact on overall growth numbers. She said that the delay in capital expenditure due to the national elections had an impact on the first quarter GDP numbers and as capital spending gathers pace in the subsequent quarters it would have an impact on pushing growth.
Latest data showed India’s economy slowed to a five-quarter low in the three months to June as the farm and services sectors remained sluggish, but manufacturing and construction were resilient. GDP growth slowed to 6.7% in the April-June quarter, lower than the 8.2% in the previous year-ago quarter and below the 7.8% recorded in the previous three month period.
Sitharaman also said govt was committed to the fiscal deficit target and said it would meet the 4.5% target set for next financial year. The deficit target for 2024-25 is estimated at 4.9% of gross domestic product.
“So I think the facts have to be considered,” Sitharaman said at an event organized by Network18. When asked if she was satisfied with Puri Buch’s response, the FM said, “I am not here to judge that.”
This was the first official comment on the controversy after the Congress party leveled a string of allegations of conflict of interest against the SEBI chairperson.
The Sebi chief and her husband have also come out with several statements to counter the allegations leveled by Congress terming them as “malicious narrative”. The controversy has sparked calls for her to step aside pending an investigation.
Speaking about the stock market, particularly futures and options, the FM said there needs to be a sense of caution when speculative activity is too much. “We also need to make sure that people with their savings don’t go to engage in high fluctuating or high risk ventures. No harm in participating in F&O or no harm in investing in the equity market but eventually we need to be using financial information, authentic information before we take a call,” said Sitharaman.
Earlier, FM and the chief economic adviser had sounded caution on retail futures and options trading volumes. CEA V Anantha Nageswaran had said that there is a need to ensure that the capital market grows in areas where the country’s household savings can be used for productive purposes.
FM was confident that economic growth will accelerate in the second and third quarter of the current financial year and that would have an impact on overall growth numbers. She said that the delay in capital expenditure due to the national elections had an impact on the first quarter GDP numbers and as capital spending gathers pace in the subsequent quarters it would have an impact on pushing growth.
Latest data showed India’s economy slowed to a five-quarter low in the three months to June as the farm and services sectors remained sluggish, but manufacturing and construction were resilient. GDP growth slowed to 6.7% in the April-June quarter, lower than the 8.2% in the previous year-ago quarter and below the 7.8% recorded in the previous three month period.
Sitharaman also said govt was committed to the fiscal deficit target and said it would meet the 4.5% target set for next financial year. The deficit target for 2024-25 is estimated at 4.9% of gross domestic product.
