National
Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) was established in 2005. NSEL commenced its “Live
Trading” journey on 15th October, 2008. Basically the idea behind to
start NSEL was to set spot trading platform for commodities. NSEL had been
operated in 16 States in India along with delivery-based spot trading in 52
commodities. NSEL is a company promoted by Financial Technologies India Ltd and NAFED.
NSEL
was thus established as an endeavor to fulfill the Government plans of creating
and developing a common market for agricultural produce by providing a
nationwide electronic trading platform with wide participation of a large
number of stakeholders in the agricultural commodity ecosystem. Mr. Anjani Sinha, was responsible for daily
operations, business growth and regulatory interaction at NSEL.
Electronic spot exchange is a new concept altogether. First
electronic spot market to obtain license under APMC Act in Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan and MP. It was the trade activity that
was carried out in all states by enabling farmers to sell their produce to bulk
consumers. Various trade matching solutions provided by NSEL that benefited farmers,
consumers, bulk buyers and government agencies are:-
·
Continuous action by
matching orders on price time priority
·
Forward auction model
implemented for FCI
·
Forward auction model
for sale of cotton bales on behalf of NAFED
·
Electronic auction for
MMTC, PEC, NINL, STC and NAFED
·
Forward and Reverse
auction model for HAFED
Impact of NSEL
Intervention:
- NSEL commenced its
operation in Bihar and Orissa for creating direct market linkage between
farmers and upcountry buyers, exporters, processors tec.
- Financial Times, London
devoted a full page article on an NSEL initiative in Bihar, which was based on
a field survey conducted by its team of reporters.
- NSEL also got FOW,
London ( Futures and Options World ) award for “Best Exchange in Product
Innovation in South East Asia and Australia” for this intiative.
- NSEL launched cardamom
contract for the farmers of Kerala
- Apart from trading
operation, NSEL had carried out cotton procurement on behalf of Nafed under the
PSS operation conducted by the Government of India
The crisis at NSEL arose when trading clients paired certain
contracts to maximize returns. A wide range of contracts were traded at NSEL
included:-
- Farmers Contracts
- Auction Contracts
- Forward Auction
- Reverse Auction
- e-Series Contracts
- Traders Contracts
When the Government instructed NSEL to stop all contracts
immediately, market intermediaries trading clients were caught in a liquidity
problem, disrupting the smooth settlement programme that had been going on
since the inception of the exchange. NSEL crisis with an estimate of Rs. 5600
crore came to light, where NSEL eventually failed to pay its investors in
commodity pair contracts after 31st July, 2013. There were no
underlying commodities in the warehouse, whereas the buying and selling
commodities like steel, sugar, paddy, ferrochrome etc. were only shown on
paper. Around 13,000 investors along with public sector units like Metals and
Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) and PEC were victims of NSEL
crisis. In order to fight against crisis, NSEL Recovery Group (NRG) was formed.
NSEL Recovery
Group (NRG) is an initiative by
NSEL intended to assist expeditious recovery of money from NSEL defaulters.
There were 24 defaulters, out of which 2 defaulters owing a total of Rs. 196
crore have almost cleared their dues. NSEL is committed to expedite recovery
from 22 defaulters, where the role of
NRG will include the following:-
- To oversee the recovery
efforts being made by NSEL.
- To suggest additional
measures for expediting recovery.
- To ensure transparent
dissemination of most authenticated information related to NSEL recovery.
- To help and assist the
investigation agencies and judicial forum for expeditious recovery of the
money.
NSEL Recovery Group (NRG) is here to help and assist the
investigation agencies and judicial forums for recovery of money expeditiously,
particularly the High Court Committee, setup by the Honorable Bombay High Court, in fast
forwarding their logical conclusion. They are also the constituents of NRG’s
method to stimulate recovery process.
The idea behind to form NSEL Recovery Group was
to emphasize its collective attention and resources, on recovery through
peaceful and legal means. NSEL Member Brokers and their Trading Clients can
join the NSEL Recovery Group and it does not constraint their right to be
associated with any other forum/s or to pursue legal course.
Conclusion:-
The role of
NRG is to assist expeditious recovery of money from NSEL defaulters. NSEL has
declared 22 members as “Defaulters” as per Rule 41 of the Exchange Bye laws. As
on 28th November 2014, the total outstanding from these defaulters
stood at Rs. 5323.66 crore exclusive of interest payable.