The Adani Saga: Modi govt breaks silence, “India well governed, market stable” says FM Sitharaman

Breaking silence on the Adani saga, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in an interview on Friday has said that the SBI and LIC are not overexposed to Adani and the financial market in India is well governed.

In a post budget interview with Network18, Sitharaman said that "these institutes are sitting over profits" while referring to the statements given by the LIC and the SBI.

Asserting that the Indian banking sector’s position is ‘comfortable’ Sitharaman added, "Indian banking sector today is at a comfortable level. With their NPAs coming down to absolutely low levels, recoveries happening, and their position is very sound which gets reflected in the fact that when they go to raise monies in the market, they are absolutely comfortable raising monies as well."

On the global reactions triggered by the Adani crisis over the past couple of days, the FM 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 indicative."

The FM expressed confidence that "the Budget’s impact will still continue to hold the markets high".

Meanwhile, the RBI also said on Friday that the Indian banking sector remains "resilient and stable".

Without naming Adani Group, the central bank issued the statement that read: "In the backdrop of media reports expressing concern about the exposures of Indian banks to a business conglomerate. Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy."