Amid an unprecedented fall in the stock market, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday asked investors not to panic and stay invested in the market as the system was in place and assured that government would provide all assistance to overcome liquidity problem.
Finance Ministry, market regulator SEBI, Reserve Bank and BSE authorities were virtually on hotline to assess the situation and minimise the damage.
"There was certain nervousness in the market. My message to retail investors is to stay invested. FIIs are here to stay. There is no reason to panic... Banks will provide money to those who want to provide margin calls," he told reporters in New Delhi, after a crash of over 1,100 points in the market.
"The system is in place and whatever has to be done has been done. My information is that brokers operating on proprietary accounts were under margin pressure, so they were selling."