New Delhi: Ten days ago, National Stock Exchange (NSE) Indices added five Adani group companies – Adani Total Gas, Adani Enterprises, Adani Wilmar, Adani Power and ACC – to 14 Nifty indices. Financial experts have now asked the NSE board, as well as regulator SEBI, to look into this move, The Hindu reported. With these companies being added to the indices, they said, lack of investors’ savings could go into the companies’ sinking stocks.On January 24, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report alleging widespread accounting fraud and stock manipulation in Adani group companies. Further investigations since have also revealed possible wrongdoing within the company. Adani group share prices have been in freefall ever since the Hindenburg report was released.The Adani group has denied the allegations made by the short-seller, even saying that any such accusations are an attack on India as a whole.“The NSE’s most popular market benchmark, the Nifty 50, already includes Adani Ports and SEZ and Adani Enterprises. Following this review, the number of Adani group stocks in the Nifty Next 50 and the Nifty 100 will rise to six and eight, respectively. Adani Enterprises, which was already part of the Nifty 100, has been added to the Nifty 100 Liquid 15 index,” The Hindu reported.NSE Indices told the newspaper that these decisions were made based on “objective stock selection criteria” that are mentioned on its website.“As mentioned in the [methodology] document, review of broad market indices is undertaken semi-annually based on data for six months ending January and July each year. As part of semi-annual periodicity, Index Maintenance Sub-Committee conducted a review of broad market and other category of indices based on data for six months ending January 31, 2022 and replacements in various indices in accordance with stock selection criteria…,” the NSE subsidiary said.The decision will be applied from March 31. However, given the way stock prices for all Adani companies have been falling, financial experts believe it should be reviewed before implementation. “There is an urgent need for the NSE’s board of directors to take stock of this unusual situation and consider a review of the indices and their associated provisions, and related issues,” Jaimini Bhagwati, a financial sector expert who had handled the capital markets division at the finance ministry, told The Hindu.“While index providers like NSE Indices follow objective criteria like market capitalisation and free float to determine stock selection, they must undertake a critical review of stocks like MSCI is doing. One can’t be blind to the sharp volatility and decline in stock prices seen over the past month,” Raghavendra Nath, managing director at Ladderup Wealth Management Private Limited, added.The MSCI, a global index provider, is currently reviewing the inclusion of some Adani group companies and has reduced their “free float” weightages.