Wary of a wrong signal that it may send out, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has refused to directly intervene in the handling of the finance situation in the country.
Singh on Thursday rejected suggestions to convene a meeting of banking heads to have a first-hand account of the situation, pointing that such a move could send a negative signal to the domestic financial world that is already beset with volatility because of turbulence in the West. Instead he is understood to have expressed satisfaction and confidence at the manner in which the finance minister P Chidambaram and others including RBI chairman were handling the state of affairs.
During a brief discussion with his senior managers yesterday, Singh however is understood to have made it clear that the government should not be seen as hesitant and be ready to take all steps to ensure that no one, especially major bank suffered any financial crisis. The assertion on the part of the prime minister, sources said, was indicative of government?s determination to even step in to take care of any possible decrease in the flow of funds into the country because of the crisis in the west.
Singh had discussed the recent meltdown on Wall Street with President George Bush as well as President Nicholas Sarkozy during his recent visit to the US and France. On his way back from the trip, Singh told reporters that India was not immune from what was happening in the West. He also expressed the confidence that India would be able to ensure that the rate of growth, between 7.5 to 8 percent, was not severely affected.