FinMin wants entire Mumbai as financial services hub

The finance ministry has decided to make the whole of Mumbai a financial services centre, instead of setting up a dedicated international financial services centre facility in Mumbai as proposed under the Special Economic Zones Act 2005.

An exercise has already been initiated by the finance ministry to examine the quantum of financial services required by international entities based in India. The, exercise, the first of its kind, is a precursor to making Mumbai a financial services centre.

"We are not looking at setting up a centre in Mumbai but at making the whole city a financial centre since most corporates, banks and financial institutions are located there," a finance ministry official said.

He added that next year's Budget would contain several sops to achieve this. "The objective of the exercise is to figure out the size of the market for financial services. For instance, what are the risk mitigation products which are not available in India? The exercise would be completed in time for next year's Budget," the official added.

A sub-group of experts has been set up under the committee headed by economist Percy Mistry for making Mumbai a financial services centre and it is expected to submit its report soon. The 15-member Mistry committee consists of the chairmen and MDs of several public sector banks including State Bank of India, UTI Bank and Bank of India.

Officials added that the move to make Mumbai a financial services centre was not linked to capital account convertibility.