 "Regulators mull IFSC norms; Gujarat's GIFT City may be first")
The GIFT City in Gujarat can be the first off the block under this new regime, which could entail rules and regulations different from those applicable outside these IFSCs, sources said.
The issue is being actively discussed by various regulators internally as also collectively including at the forums like Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) and a further roadmap in this regard can be announced later this month in the Union Budget, sources said.
Also Read
At a recent Sub-Committee meeting of the FSDC, the regulators discussed the "matters relating to IFSC".
The meeting was chaired by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, while those who attended include capital markets regulator Sebi Chairman U K Sinha, insurance watchdog IRDA chief T S Vijayan, PFRDA Chairman Hemant Contractor, FMC Chairman Ramesh Abhishek, as also other top officials of RBI and the Finance Ministry.
GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-city) was conceptualised as a pet project of the Gujarat government when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state chief minister.
According to its website, "GIFT city aspires to cater to India's large financial services potential by offering global firms a world-class infrastructure and facilities.
"It aims to attract the top talent in the country by providing the finest quality of life all with integrated townships, IFSC and multi speciality special economic zone (SEZ)."
The city is 12 kms away from the Ahmedabad International Airport and eight kms from Gandhinagar.
There have been several attempts in the past to develop the country's financial capital Mumbai into an IFC.
Recently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also said during the World Economic Forum summit in Davos that his government would push forward plans to make Mumbai an International Finance Centre (IFC).
"We are talking to a host of investors. We are working on improving connectivity and infrastructure. With the new set of reforms, Mumbai can be an international financial centre," Fadnavis had told PTI.
Among others GIFT City would also have an international exchange, for which leading bourse BSE has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government.
BSE CEO Ashish Chauhan said recently that the concept was to have an IFSC on the likes of Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and London.
"Even Indian companies have to go and raise funds from those IFSCs. This concept has been deliberated several times in India as well, but could not fructify somehow," Chauhan had said.