Asserting that the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai will be feasible, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the planned centre can co-exist with the already notified GIFT City in Ahmedabad, by partnering with it.
Speaking a day after the task force on IFSC held its second meeting, Fadnavis said it has been decided to partner with GIFT City, given the financial capital’s limitations and working of the “hub and spoke” model.
“GIFT and Mumbai can co-exist. Mumbai has a problem of area, so in Mumbai you can develop an IFSC say, in 50 acres. But, if you want to scale it up, you have to locate it elsewhere.
“If an IFSC is developed elsewhere, let’s say GIFT City is developed, then both can compliment each other, both can co-exist and grow,” he added.
He said ICICI Bank MD and Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar made a presentation before the meeting, chaired by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, which impressed the strengths of Mumbai as a financial services arena, as recognised by rating agencies.
“I think feasibility is not a problem,” Fadnavis asserted, pointing out that even though it is not notified as an IFSC formally, Mumbai is recognised as the country’s top financial services centre by global rating agencies.
Soon after coming to power, the Centre gave a go-ahead for an IFSC at the GIFT City in Gujarat. The financial sector regulators chipped-in by making necessary amendments in the laws.
Even though located physically within the country, an IFSC operates like a truly international area, with separate set of laws. The financial activities are undertaken in international currencies and separate books are maintained.