NEW DELHI: The much-ado-about-nothing started by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the Adani Group has failed to dent India’s economic image or dampen the spirit of its markets.
As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out in Parliament, there has been an accretion of $8 billion to the foreign exchange reserves since the controversy broke out about a fortnight ago.
“There are fluctuations in every market, but the accretion over the last few days establishes the fact that the perception of both India and its inherent strengths is intact,” Sitharaman said.
Opposition hypocrisy
She accused the Opposition of being hypocritical by trying to drag the Government in the Adani row and asserted that the FPO pull-out by the Group would not have any impact on the perception about India.
“How many times have the FPO not withdrawn from this country and how many times has the image of India been suffering because of that and how many times the FPOs have not come back?” the Finance Minister asked.
Responding to the Opposition’s criticism over the investment of public sector banks in the embattled Adani Group, she said the banks are independent to take their decisions. The dramatic turn of events after a foreign short-seller’s attempt to build an anti-India narrative has failed. It has tested Indian markets, institutions and regulators like never before. The good news is that they have all fared well.
India a bright spot
Key Government officials, apart from the Finance Minister, as well as global rating agencies maintained that India remains a bright spot amid the global headwinds. While the world is facing pressure from all sides, which includes a protracted war in Eastern Europe, India has its resilient consumer class and well-placed corporates to power its growth engine.
The country is expected to grow at 7 per cent this year, which is a robust growth rate compared to that of the other major economies. The Indian economy has risen from being 10th to the fifthlargest globally. The per capita income has doubled and increased to Rs 1.97 lakh in the past nine years.
Experts in international finance point out that short sellers like Hindenburg do not raise issues in public interest. They have vested interest in bringing down the share price of a company they’re ‘investing’ in by short-selling its US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.
