Finance Minister P Chidambaram today attributed the sharp fall in the stock markets to the plunge in the Asian markets, but said it was not a cause for concern."So what? Markets will rise and markets will fall," he told PTI when asked if it was a matter of concern."When this government took over, the benchmark index was near 4,400, and today it is on either side of 15,000," Chidambaram said.Asked to comment on the three major falls, including today, Chidambaram said: "That's because the Asian markets are down. We are part of the globalised economy today. If there is a downturn in one market, it will affect other markets."On the influence of the US subprime market on Indian stocks, Chidambaram said there was virtually no impact in India as there was no lending at subprime rates here."Subprime rates in India are given to the highest-rated industrial group. You and I don't get subprime rates. Somebody like NTPC may get a sub-prime rate or Tatas... I am only speculating. In the US, bulk of the market was lending at subprime rates. Our bankers are pretty shrewd... I don't think they extend subprime rates to many clients," Chidambaram said.
