| Sundareshan said the panel at FMC, which was looking at the proposal, will finalise its recommendations early next month. The panel comprises representatives from the top exchanges and government officials, he said. |
| "As soon as the recommendations are ready, we will take it to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval," he said. |
| FMC is working on expanding the country's nascent but growing commodity futures market. |
| "India can be a trendsetter for prices globally as it is one of the top producers for several commodities in the world," Sundareshan said. |
| "I would like to see the commodity futures markets grow manifold," he said. Among the various reform measures lined up, tighter monitoring of exchanges in a market-friendly way is a priority. |
| The Indian government lifted the ban on forward trading in commodities only two years ago, but the rapidly growing volumes at 24 futures exchanges spread across the country prove that the commodities futures trade is already well-established. |
| The reform measures to be facilitated by the FMC are likely to further liberalise the commodity markets and encourage more people to participate in the futures exchanges, said Sundareshan. |
| Sundareshan said that the government is cautious over allowing funds into commodity futures, as it wants avoid price volatility. |
| "I would like to welcome the involvement of domestic, foreign institutional investors and mutual funds, but the market is very nascent so we have to set up safeguards first," he said. "But sooner or later, funds would participate in the market." |
| Sundareshan said growth in the futures entailed the need for a gradual opening up to newer participants in commodity futures. |
| "In the first quarter of the current financial year, the market grew eight times on year," he said. "With such a phenomenal growth, proper regulatory mechanisms have to be in place." |
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