New Delhi:
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a multilateral MoU signed between the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
It is one of the biggest multilateral forums with several regulators and has 124 signatories.
"India joining this will enable all kinds of exchange of information and ease of doing business for those registering themselves in the GIFT City," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while briefing reporters about the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting.
GIFT City at Gandhinagar is India''s first operational smart city and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
IFSCA is a unified regulator to develop and regulate financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the international financial services centres in India.
The intermediaries play an important role by providing the intermediation facilities between their clients and the various regulated financial products and services in the IFSC.
The intermediaries are also essential for building the ecosystem of capital markets in the IFSC.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry in a statement said the IFSCA proposes to enact a regulatory framework for the intermediaries in the capital markets operating in IFSC, focusing on ease of doing business and consistent with the fundamental principles laid down by the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
The proposed IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021 (Intermediaries Regulations) provide for regulatory requirements in respect of registration, obligations and responsibilities, inspection and enforcement of various types of capital market intermediaries such as broker dealers, clearing members and depository participants.
"Further, the proposed Intermediaries Regulations envisage registered capital market intermediaries to undertake cross-border business in capital markets in India and foreign jurisdictions, subject to certain conditions such as ring fencing of operations, appropriate risk management and internal controls, maintenance of records etc," it said.
Public comments have been invited on the proposed regulations till August 18. The consultation paper is available on the website of IFSCA