IFSCA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)
Context: International financial services regulator IFSCA will finalise a revised norms for direct listing of companies at GIFT City by early-July.
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
- Establishment: on April 27, 2020, by the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
- Headquarters: GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
- Objective: It is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.
oIt was established as a unified regulator with a holistic vision in order to promote ease of doing business in IFSC and provide world class regulatory environment.
oAt present, the GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre in India.
oPrior to the establishment of IFSCA, the domestic financial regulators, namely, RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDAI regulated the business in IFSC.
- Composition: Nine members, appointed by the central government.
- The IFSCA (FinTech Incentive) Scheme:
oDomestic FinTechs: seeking access to overseas markets; listing on IFSCA recognised stock exchanges; extending business to the IFSCs either by way of authorisation or registration or through the regulatory sandbox.
oForeign FinTechs: seeking market access to IFSCs in India, seeking access to domestic market under Inter-Operable Regulatory Sandbox (IORS) framework.
- Role of IFSCA
oUnified Regulatory Authority: IFSCA serves as a unified regulatory authority responsible for the development and oversight of financial products, services, and institutions within India's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
oTransition from Domestic Regulators: Before IFSCA's establishment, domestic financial regulators such as RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, and IRDAI governed business activities within IFSC.
