Nirmala Sitharaman unveils GIFT city's financial landscape

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided a comprehensive overview of the current financial ecosystem within the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar on Thursday.Emphasizing the city's strategic importance, the Minister highlighted the significant presence of various financial entities and the thriving derivatives market. Sitharaman said, "There are now three exchanges, twenty-six banks, and twenty-six aircraft lessors in the IFSC. The GIFT City is required to host the offices of aircraft firms. GIFT CITY is home to 86 fund managers and 8 ship leasing companies. GIFT City has advisors from 50 professional firms. GIFT city has 580 entities. By October, GIFT City's derivative contract was worth 2.02 billion USD".In her address, Sitharaman underscored the importance of aircraft companies establishing their offices in GIFT City, revealing that 86 fund managers and eight ship leasing companies have already set up operations within the financial hub.Sitharaman stressed that GIFT City's success is rooted in technology-driven financial services, asserting that without embracing technology, financial centres will not achieve their fastest pace of growth.

In India, the FinTech adoption rate is 87% as against the global average of 64%. It shows the important role which the technology is playing in financial inclusion & empowerment across the nation. That's why @GIFTCity_ should be the place for finance & technology related… pic.twitter.com/eJ8VZsjBeC

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) January 11, 2024

On Wednesday, addressing the vibrant Gujarat event, Nirmala Sitharaman said, India will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027-28, with its GDP surpassing $5 trillion during that period.The estimate that India will be at least a $30 trillion economy by 2047 is a conservative estimate, the Finance Minister said. “We are not only aiming to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, but also aim to ensure inclusive growth,” she explained.She emphasized that the nation's goal extends beyond achieving economic milestones, with a commitment to fostering inclusive growth in the long term.The finance minister said India has received USD 919 billion in foreign direct investment in 23 years till 2023 as much as 65 per cent or USD 595 billion of which came in the last 8-9 years of the Narendra Modi government.She also said that since 2014, the approach between states and Centre has been of cooperative federalism, competitive federalism and collaborative federalism. That is how today you find states competing with one another on who will contribute how much towards India becoming a developed nation in 2047, she added.India’s GDP is currently around USD 3.4 trillion making it the fifth largest economy in the world after the US, China, Japan and Germany. The country is also the fastest growing major economy with a GDP growth of 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter this year.

(Ira Singh, Asstt Editor, Gandhinagar)