On May 25, 2021, The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the regulator of GIFT- City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), constituted a 12-member expert committee on investment funds(IF) under the Chairmanship of Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd., to recommend a roadmap to promote IF at International Financial Services Centres(IFSC).
- The Committee consists of leaders from the entire Fund Management ecosystem including from areas such as technology, distribution, legal, compliance, and operations.
Objective: To develop a comprehensive and consistent regulatory framework for IF based on global best practices with a special focus on ease of doing business.
Terms of Reference for the Committee:
i.The committee has to review and recommend IFSCA, a long term vision for operations of IF in IFSC.
ii.Structure of IF in IFSC:
Recommendations by the committee over the structure of IF in IFSC will be provided twofold.
- Short term – Recommendations which could be implemented by IFSCA immediately i.e. in less than 3 months.
- Mid-term – Recommendations that could be implemented by IFSCA in 6 months to 1 year.
iii.The committee will identify inter-regulatory issues for the development of the IF industry at IFSCs.
iv.The committee will also suggest the relevant item on building the ecosystem along with asset managers, Hedge funds, Private equity(PE), Venture Capital(VC), sovereign funds, family offices, and the accompanying professional services.
Key points about IFSCA:
i.It is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the IFSC in India.
Note – GIFT IFSC is the 1st IFSC formed in India.
ii.Prior to the establishment of IFSCA, the business of IFSC is regulated by the domestic financial regulators, namely, Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Recent Related News:
In April 2021, IFSCA allowed the Non-Banking Finance Companies(NBFCs) (both local and global) to start their operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City to enable the local NBFCs to get global exposure.
About International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA):
Establishment – April 27, 2020, under IFSCA Act, 2019
Headquarters – GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Chairperson – Injeti Srinivas
