RBI, Finmin review impact of global crisis on India

A high-level meeting of financial market regulators headed by RBI Governor D Subbarao reviewed the impact of global crisis on India and also the steps taken to neutralise its impact on the country.

"The High-Level Coordination Committee on Financial Markets (HLCCFM) reviewed the impact of the global financial turmoil on the Indian financial sector and the action taken to address the emerging issues," the central bank said in a release.

The Committee, which comprises Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla, Sebi Chairman C B Bhave and IRDA Chairman J Harinarayan, also took stock of the "policy agenda on the way forward".

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of admission by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that "a crisis of this magnitude was bound to affect our economy and it has". Following the global meltdown the foreign exchange reserves of the country has depleted by around $57 billion to $253 billion for the week ended October 31.

Among other things, the high-level committee also discussed the recent developments in the domestic financial markets as also those taking place in the global financial markets.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex, which touched a high of about 21,200 in January, slipped to less than 10,000 last week. The trading on bourses was also marked by excessive volatility.

In order to ease liquidity crunch being faced by the Indian corporates, both RBI and the government have taken a series of steps to increase money supply.