Finance Secy T V Somanathan terms Adani Group row as 'storm in the tea cup'

Terming the Adani Group issue as "storm in the tea cup", Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan on Saturday said that fluctuations like this comes and goes.

"I had said that in terms of our macroeconomic numbers, the issue (Adani enterprises issue) is like a storm in a tea cup and I still stand by that statement," he said in response to a query during a press conference in Mumbai. Union Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, along with the officials of the ministry, was interacting with the media after the conference.

"Foreign reserves grew to USD 8 billion. FPOs (follow-on public offers) come and go," he said, adding "Fluctuations come and go."

In a post-Budget 2023-24 conference in Mumbai on Saturday, while discussing the Adani Group row, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that regulators independent of the government will do their jobs and that a pullout of FPO pullout will not have any impact on the perception of India.

"Regulators are independent of the government and they are left to themselves to do what is appropriate so the market is well regulated," the Finance Minister said while addressing a post-Budget 2023-24 conference in Mumbai on Saturday.

"This is not the first time that some FPO (follow-on public offering) is taken back. How many times that has affected the image of the country?"

In today's press conference in Mumbai addressing a query about Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)'s exposure to the Adani Group, the Union minister said, "LIC have themselves come on the issue about their exposure to the Company (Adani)."

The Finance Minister said the government wants to sustain the recovery which had kept India at a good level of growth.

On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises decided not to go-ahead with its fully subscribed Follow-on Public Offer (FPO), with the Group chairman Gautam Adani stating on Thursday that it would not be "morally correct" to go ahead with the Rs 20,000-crore share in the current market condition. A report by the New York-based short seller had on January 24, accused Adani Group of brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud among others.

The US-based firm, in its report, raised concerns about shares of Adani group companies having a possibility of declining from their current levels, owing to high valuations. In response, Adani Group said Hindenburg's report was not an attack on any specific company but a "calculated attack" on India, its growth story, and ambitions. It added the report was "nothing but a lie".