He said during Question Hour that whenever there was a major development or incident, it affected the stock market. The reason could be an international event or threat of war, he said adding the Indian market was still stable compared to the global market.

Admitting that 76 per cent of the people avoided the share markets, Singh said in an attempt to boost the confidence of investors, Securities and Exchanges Board of India was strictly enforcing the eligibility criteria for companies to enter into the primary market so that their money was safe.

Besides, SEBI had commenced trading in government securities on stock exchanges for retail investors, launched a nationwide Securities Market Awareness Campaign last month, revised Delisting of Securities Guidelines and expanded the list of derivatives eligible for retail trading, he said.

FDI

With a view to providing investor friendly policies, foreign direct investment was now encouraged in most economic activities under the automatic route and continuous initiatives to attract inflow of FDIs were being taken, Singh said in reply to another question.