Union Finance and Corporate Affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday visited the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar and reviewed the progress of GIFT International Finance Services Centre.
An official release by the PIB said Sitharaman interacted with key market participants during her visit, adding that a high-level review meeting was attended by Gujarat finance minister Kanubhai Desai, finance secretary, Secretary, DEA, secretaries of all departments of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Deputy Governor of RBI.
Chairpersons of IFSCA, GIFT City Co. Ltd, SEBI, Acting Chairperson of IRDAI along with senior officials from Ministry of Finance and the Gujarat government were also present, it added.
During the meeting, GIFT City Co Ltd and IFSCA presented key policy, regulatory, and tax reforms aimed at positioning GIFT IFSC as a leading global financial centre.
While commending 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, the Union Finance Minister stressed on fast-tracking reforms in next few years itself to enable growth to align with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’.
Reiterating GIFT IFSC’s core mandate for focussing on bringing foreign capital into India through structured and well-regulated channels, Sitharaman also laid emphasis on the importance of Indian financial sector regulators to take initiatives for identifying aspirational needs of GIFT IFSC in this direction.
She 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, said the release.
Sitharaman exhorted officials to work towards making GIFT IFSC more competitive and cost effective to attract HNI (High Net Worth Individual) investments in the country.
She also underlined the potential of IFSCA’s role in mobilising Sovereign and Pension Funds at IFSC for financial needs of the country as well as alignment of talent development with GIFT IFSC’s expanding mandate to ensure a deep and future-ready workforce.
Given India’s status as a major gold importer, the Union Finance Minister 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.
She also held a roundtable interaction with senior representatives from 21 institutions, including 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, the release said.
During the roundtable, participants highlighted their experiences of operating from 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, the release said.
Appreciating the participants for their constructive suggestions, Sitharaman said regular interactions such as these with investors over the years by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior government officials have helped resolve concerns and enable business growth.
She said GIFT IFSC should be developed as a prominent gateway for global capital flows into India to feed the needs of high growth sectors for the country’s growth trajectory over the next two decades.
Sitharaman further underscored the importance of developing GIFT City into a dynamic smart city equipped with integrated, modern, and sustainable living infrastructure.
Establishing such world-class amenities is essential to attracting top-tier talent from both domestic and international markets, the release quoted her as saying. PTI
