The Joint Parliamentary Committee has squarely blamed the finance ministry and the Securities and Exchange Board of India for last year's multi-crore securities scam.

"Although action has been taken by the finance ministry and the Sebi when the stock market was rising unusually, the committee is of the considered view that both these should have been more pro-active and vigilant", the voluminous report tabled in Parliament said.

The report said, "The committee has agreed that there was a ministerial responsibility".

This flowed from the principles that the ministry has been repeatedly emphasising the need for expeditious corrective measures for effective regulation and controlling the high degree of volatility in the stock market.

The report said the finance ministry being the financial custodian of the country is duty bound to protect the interests of small investors.

Regarding de-mutualisation and corporatisation of stock exchanges, the committee said the government must ensure expeditious implementation of the process to improve management of the exchanges and to enable smooth conduct of business in a fair and non-partisan manner.