Nirmala Sitharaman says India’s macro fundamentals not affected by Adani’s FPO withdrawal

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Ministers of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad and Pankaj Chaudhary addresses a press conference in Mumbai on February 4, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Facing questions on whether the ongoing Adani Group issue could snowball into a major financial crisis and what steps the government was taking on this front, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that regulators would do their job.

“You had the Reserve Bank commenting on this on Friday. Though not regulators, the banks and LIC themselves had come out to say what their level of exposure is [to the Adani Group],” she said.

“So the regulators will do their job,” she said, responding to a question on the beleaguered group. “And the regulators are independent of the government. They are left to do what is appropriate. To keep the regulated market in prime condition, the SEBI is the authority, and it has the wherewithal to keep the markets’ prime condition intact,” she added.

‘FPOs come and go’

Answering another question on whether the withdrawal of the Follow on Public Offer (FPO) by Adani Enterprises would have any impact on the economy or dent India’s image, the FM pointed to the fact that $8 billion had come into India over the last two days and said that proved the inherent strength of the economy was intact.

“The macroeconomic fundamentals of our economy and image, none of it is affected. FPOs come in and FPOs get out,” she added.

The FM was in Mumbai to interact with members of the industry and tax consultants on the various aspects of the Union Budget and to seek feedback.