Mumbai. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday praised the country’s financial sector regulators for doing global level work and bringing more transparency in the system. Sitharaman said that she is not against raising questions or criticizing the regulators, but their contribution also needs to be kept in mind. In his address at the ‘Financial Express Best Bank Awards’ event here, the Finance Minister asked people to look at the facts before commenting on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issue.
SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has been accused of conflict of interest. However, he has termed those allegations as baseless.
When asked whether there is a need for an oversight mechanism for the regulators in the country or whether the governance structure among the regulators is better, he said, “Let me say clearly, before discussing anything in the matter of regulators, the facts should be considered.” “Need to be kept in.” Sitharaman said that regulators of various countries are keeping an eye on it based on the reforms in various sectors including markets, banks and insurance. “The way Indian regulators are working has actually brought more transparency to the system.” Responding to a question on competitive populism through free handouts, Sitharaman said there was a need to focus on the financial capacity of the state to shoulder the burden of announcements for the welfare of the poor.
He said that in some cases such committed expenditure is reaching 80 percent, while development needs are being ignored. Expenditure on political promises of state governments should be based on the financial capacity of the concerned state. Sitharaman made it clear that she is not against welfare measures. “We cannot refuse to help the poor get out of poverty.” On withdrawal of the scheme of direct recruitment to higher posts, he said that the move was not due to ‘coalition compulsions’ but to further improve ‘lateral entry’.
He also said that the government is not working under any pressure. It is true that BJP has won less seats in the Lok Sabha elections, but the government is not under any pressure. The Finance Minister said that the pace of decision taking remains the same. Since the present government came to power in June this year, the new cabinet has decided on schemes worth Rs 15 lakh crore. This is its sign.
He said there needs to be more discussion on whether to go ahead with the economic review’s idea of keeping food inflation out of core inflation. There is little similarity between consumer price index based inflation and wholesale price inflation. Sitharaman said that apart from mobile phones, investment is also being seen in other sectors like semiconductor and renewable energy. He said that consumption is improving in rural and urban areas.
Sitharaman also asked banks to ensure that they avoid over-lending. This may put pressure on asset quality. This may affect their ability to give loans and their profit situation. He said that the health of banks actually determines the financial health of the economy and families. He asked the banks to work expeditiously in appointing cyber security professionals who would be extremely useful in preventing any cyber attack.
The Finance Minister also appealed to banks and other financial institutions to help the government’s program by giving internships to eligible youth and making them aware of the industry requirements. He regretted that a large number of engineers are academically qualified but do not know much about industrial requirements.