Finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the government had no plans to control capital flows into country?s stock markets, but the recent surge of funds required some measures to ward off a stock market bubble.

Chidambaram said the government aimed to maintain a competitive exchange rate without hurting foreign investment. ?We are trying to ward off a bubble in the stock market. It is not often that the index rises from 18,000 to 19,000 in four trading sessions,? Chidambaram said at a meet at Harvard University.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) late on Tuesday had called for urgent curbs on the flow of foreign funds into shares through participatory notes, triggering slide in the a stock market.

Participatory notes are used by foreign investors, including hedge funds, to gain trade in the stock markets without registering with its authorities.

?These measures will bring immediate relief,? the finance minister said. ?But it is not our intention to impose controls on capital flows. Nor is it our intention to keep out certain kinds of capital flows. Our immediate goal is to moderate inflows of capital.?

The portfolio inflows have helped propel the rupee to its highest in 9-1/2 years against the dollar. ?The rupee has appreciated rapidly since January 2007, nearly 12%. There are one or two economies where the currency has appreciated this rapidly,? he said.

Sebi had said it would prefer foreign investors to register if they wanted to invest but some market players said registration was a cumbersome procedure and could take months.

Chidambaram, however, said registering had become easier in recent years but if problems existed he would ask SEBI to take a look.

?I think registering has become easier since 2003/04. If there are still some niggling problems, which inhibit investors, I am willing to ask SEBI to take a look at those conditions. I am also willing to ask SEBI to call a meeting of potential investors and discuss with them what can be done to make registration easier and simpler,? he said. India has also raised the limits on the amount of money companies, mutual funds and individuals can send abroad recently as a way of countering some of the inflows.