Figures available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) show that margins have been very healthy, contributing to the stability and safety of the markets. "Safety continues to be our concern, but it is no longer a problem," Sebi chairman DR Mehta told The Financial Express. Not included in the calculation of the margins are the value of membership cards at NSE, BSE and Delhi Stock Exchange, and the base capital deposits (approximate) of Rs 570 crore (NSE), Rs 60 crore (BSE) and Calcutta Stock Exchange (Rs 50 crore). "It must also be realised that the trade guarantee funds and the clearing corporation funds have not been taken into account.

These add to the safety element," Mr Mehta said. Over Rs 5,000 crore are with these two bodies.

According to the Sebi statistics collected from the exchanges, on January 1, BSE's margin and additional capital stood at Rs 2,257 crore, which was 40 per cent of gross exposure. The National Stock Exchange has collections at Rs 2,673 crore as on January 1, which is the highest in terms of percentage of gross exposure, at 58 per cent.

The figures for Calcutta Stock Exchange is Rs 625 crore (46 per cent of gross exposure) and Delhi Stock Exchange Rs 216 crore or 43 per cent of exposure. The margins collection has become one of the strongest points of the stockmarket system, with bourses gearing up and rising to the occasion, despite the volatility. In fact, the highest margins collected on a single day worked out to a whopping Rs 7,730 crore on February 9, 2000, Sebi figures show.

As a percentage of total exposure too, the collections have been healthy. While it was 46 per cent of the total on Dec 27, 2000, it rose to 52 per cent on Dec29, when markets n crashed all around.