New Delhi : The proposed merger of FMC with Sebi to create a unified markets regulator has sounded a death knell for the illicit ‘dabba trading’, estimated to have a turnover of up to Rs one lakh crore a day, reports PTI. Prevalent across Gujarat and many other parts of the country, dabba trading primarily involves illicit off-market trades in many commodities, while stocks are also traded in this illegal market.
In commodities alone, the overall dabba trading clocks turnover to the tune of Rs 50,000-1,00,000 crore a day, while the volumes for illicit stock trades outside the purview of stock exchanges also run into tens of thousands of crores. The efforts to check this menace are likely to get a major boost with Sebi being given the jurisdiction to regulate commodity markets as well following FMC merger, as the capital markets regulator already enjoys greater powers.
Leading commodity bourse MCX’s Joint Managing Director P K Singhal said the merger of FMC with Sebi would strengthen the regulations in commodity future market. “Unregulated or dabba market, which is estimated to be 8-10 times of the regulated commodity derivatives market… will be curbed,” he said.