Mumbai losing financial capital status: Govt

New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) Mumbai is fast losing its pre-eminence as the financial capital of India despite its historical and geographical advantages and natural harbour, the government informed the Lok Sabha today.

The growth in bank credit in Mumbai ''is far less than other cities,'' Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Due to larger base of credit disbursed in earlier years, the growth rate as compared to other few towns is lower in Mumbai, he said.

SENSEX: SEBI is keeping a constant vigil on the market, irrespective of the levels of the sensex and has taken immediate action wherever warranted, the Minister said in another reply.

The objective of the Government and SEBI is to ensure that securities markets operate in an orderly, transparent, safe and fair manner so that the interests of investors are protected, he said.

He made the statement in reply to a question whether the SENSEX crossing the 10,000 mark was consistent with the economic fundamentals of the country.

The Minister said the upward movement of the index is a function of increased investment arising of positive perception of the economy, and/or a sector or an index stocks. Movements of stock indices also depend on economic factors, domestic and international events, market sentiments, corporate performance and future economic growth, he said.

KISAN: The cumulative total number of Kisan Credit Cards issued to farmers by all agencies as on December 31, 2005, was 5.6 crore.

INCOME TAX: Income Tax collections have shown good growth over the last few years from Rs 69,178 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 1,31,948 crore in 2004-05, MoS for Finance S S Palanimanickam said.

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