Shri birla, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

This was stated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while tabling the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday."We are bringing several of these regulators together as one unit to the limited extent of having to deal with various institutions that are present in the IFC (International Financial Corporation). We are also defining what are the actual businesses that are being recognised there," Sitharaman said.She said the Bill was withdrawn from the Rajya Sabha because being a Finance Bill it was meant to be tabled only in the Lok Sabha. "This Bill is something that was foreseen long time ago," Sitharaman said.The Bill had received Cabinet clearance in February 2019.Stating that the government wanted unified authorities to deal with a particular specialised financial services hub, the Minister said, "We want to have something similar to London and Singapore in terms of international financial hub."It would allow Indian firms to access the international market and deal with the internal market through this centre, she added.Explaining the background, the Minister said the Ministry of Finance had set up a committee, headed by Percy Mistry, in 2008 that examined the issue of financial services.Even at that time it was felt that by 2015 up to $50 billion would be spent on international financial services by Indian firms and that amount would obviously be going out of the country because of lack of our own international financial services centre, Sitharaman said.Therefore, the necessity of a financial services centre in India was recognised and in 2011 Section 18 in the SEZ Act was brought in.By 2015, it was made operational and regulators, like the RBI and the SEBI, which dealt with various financial institutions, started issuing notifications to regulate institutions that had started functioning in the Gift city, referred to as International Financial Services Centre, of Ahmedabad, she said.The BSE set up the India International Exchange (INX) and the National Stock Exchange, IFSC, there and the daily volume had crossed $4 billion, the Minister said.Around 13 international banking institutions were functioning from there, she said. Banking transaction alone had crossed $24 billion, she said and added, there were 40 more operational brokers, 19 players in the insurance business and more than 30 IT and IT-enabled services units there."All of these are bringing certain advantages to India and Indian companies because now they don't need to go elsewhere to deal with international markets and also to participate in international financial functions," the Minister said.( With inputs from IANS )

Shri BirlaFOLLOW

Shri birla, Latest News

TMC Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien gave a Zero Hour notice in the Upper House over 'I&B advisories to TV channels'. ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured the people of Assam that no one can take away their rights, unique identity and beautiful culture, amid protests in parts of the state against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. ...

To control the deteriorating law and order situation over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019, eight columns of the Indian Army was on Thursday deployed to Assam and Tripura as per the requests made by the governments of the two states. ...

Abdur Rahman, Special Inspector General of Police (IGP), States Human Rights Commission, Maharashtra said he will not attend office from Thursday in "civil disobedience" against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, which according to him went "agai ...

Assam's capital city Guwahati and its district of Dibrugarh have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. ...

Assam was rocked by violence against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, as protesters hit the streets in thousands, burning tyres and wooden logs, prompting the administration to im ...

Assam was rocked by violence against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), which was passed by the Rajya Sabha by 125-105 votes on Wednesday, as protesters hit the streets in thousands, burning tyres and wooden logs, prompting the adm ...

The International Financial Services Centre Authority Bill is aimed at brushing shoulders with the UK and Singapore in terms of global financial hub and make it possible for Indian firms to access the international market through the centre. ...