Scale up operations at IIBX, says Sitharaman
Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has called for further development of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, as a prominent gateway for global capital flows into India to feed the needs of high growth sectors for India’s growth trajectory over the next two decades.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on 26 June, the Minister went through detailed presentations on key policy, regulatory and tax reforms aimed at positioning GIFT IFSC as a leading global financial centre.
She commended the GIFT IFSC’s role in enhancing India’s global financial standing and acknowledging its impact on reshaping international financial engagement by Indian companies and individuals.
Reiterating GIFT IFSC’s core mandate and focus on bringing foreign capital into India through structured and well-regulated channels, Sitharaman laid emphasis on the importance of Indian financial sector regulators to take initiatives for identifying aspirational needs of GIFT IFSC in this direction https://sbi.com.in/.
The Minister indicated that the twin advantages of India pertaining to technology and availability of a very large domestic market and its financing needs must be leveraged to gain competitive advantage https://www.bseindia.com/.
Sitharaman exhorted officials to work towards making GIFT IFSC more competitive and cost effective to attract HNI investments in the country, and underlined the potential of IFSCA’s role in mobilising Sovereign and Pension Funds at IFSC for financial needs of the country and also for alignment of talent development with GIFT IFSC’s expanding mandate, for ensuring a deep and future-ready workforce https://www.nseindia.com/.
Given India’s status as a major gold importer, she stressed on the need to scale up operations at the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) by expanding stakeholder participation and strengthening price discovery, thereby positioning GIFT IFSC as a global bullion hub.
At the roundtable interaction with senior representatives from 21 institutions, the Union Finance Minister interacted with MDs and CEOs, Chairpersons, Founders, and CFOs from banking, insurance, capital markets, funds industry, finance companies, payment services providers, aircraft and ship leasing firms, TechFin firms, ITFS platform providers and foreign universities.
During the roundtable, the various market participants highlighted their experiences of operating from the IFSC and appreciated the facilitation of setting up of business by IFSCA. Participants also suggested additional initiatives for achieving further opportunities for growth of financial services business.
Sitharaman further underscored the importance of developing GIFT City into a dynamic smart city, equipped with integrated, modern, and sustainable living infrastructure, and stated that establishing such world-class amenities is essential to attracting top-tier talent from both domestic and international markets. Fiinews.com
