IndiaCSR News Network
VARANASI: Stressing on an urgent need to spread financial awareness among the people, the SEBI Chairman U K Sinha on Saturday said agents of various money-pooling companies were defrauding the investors and were earning huge commissions.
“Financial awareness is a must to safeguard investors from frauds in the markets, “Uk Sinha said at an event here to mark the centennial celebrations of Banaras Hindu University and the 75 years of the faculty of commerce in the central university.
“Agents of the money-pooling companies mislead the investors and earn huge commissions from the money invested by the public, which is a fraud on the inv
estors,” Sinha said, adding that necessary regulations have been made to check this menace at ground level and 15 states have implemented the same. Besides, market regulator Sebi is providing free consultation to investors through phone calls in 14 languages on a 24-hour basis where their grievances are resolved.
“In the last six years, six lakh people have benefitted from this service” the Sebi chief said, adding that the regulator has been able to achieve the seventh position globally in terms of investor protection.
Sebi is also providing information through its website and help resolve the investors’ complaints, Sinha said.
The National Stock Exchange was a partner in organizing the seminar on ‘Economic Empowerment Through Financial Education’ along with Sebi and Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Sinha also asked investors to exercise caution while investing and asked them to choose the right intermediary and the right products to invest in.
BHU vice chancellor G C Tripathi said India’s capital markets were still away from the common man and there was an urgent need to connect them through a national awareness programme.
“Our aim is to reach out to investors to inculcate a disciplined approach to investing,so that they can understand financial planning better and work towards a sound financial future,” NSE managing director Chitra Ramakrishna said.
Varanasi, represented by PM Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha, is an important cultural hub of the country, and the economy here is driven by tourism as well as small scale industries, involved mainly in the manufacturing of Banarasi silk.
The seminar also focussed on various investment products such as ETFs (exchange-traded funds). Ms Ramakrishna also said that SMEs often face funds crunch because of limited sources of capital for them.
“Listing on the SME platform of NSE helps them to raise funds for growth and innovation,gives them visibility and credibility among investors, apart from helping the companies to unlock value for its early investors to find an efficient exit,” she added.
(IndiaCSR is renowned and  No.1 news portal in the domain of CSR, which is live since 2009. www.indiacsr.in  is for you and your organization. Kindly support and promote  it. We welcome reactions to stories, comments on issues that interest you, feedback & comments from your side to make it more purposeful and resourceful. Also please keep sending your valuable feedback at editor@indiacsrnetwork.com. You can find updates at Facebook  IndiaCSR News Network )
