Ministers: No big Dubai fallout for India

CHANDIGARH, India, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Dubai's debt crisis does not pose any major consequences for India, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function in Chandigarh, Mukherjee told reporters he foresaw no "earth shaking" consequences for the country and that there is "no need to press the panic button," the Press Trust of India reported.

"The full impact of the Dubai debt crisis is yet to be assessed, but there is no need to press the panic button," Mukherjee told PTI, adding, "first of all, the amount is small and secondly, the exposure of our banking systems to the Dubai financial systems is limited."

But, he admitted, there would likely be "some adverse effect" initially on the stock markets, as was felt Friday when the Dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 150 points after Dubai officials requested that the corporate face of the emirate, Dubai World, be allowed to skip six months of interest payments on its $59 billion in debt.

Indian Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi also assured PTI that India does not expect any mass exodus of its nationals now working in Dubai.