GIFT City is seeing a rise in interest from global financial companies, with registrations growing from around 100 to nearly 1,250 in the last few years.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV’s Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal on the show ‘Walk The Talk’, GIFT City CEO Sanjay Kaul said the financial hub is now at a stage where more companies are looking at it as a serious place to do business.
He added that its journey as an international financial centre began after the Covid pandemic. Kaul acknowledged that GIFT City is still very young compared with established global financial centres such as New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong. “Global companies have to deal with India. They have to be a part of India’s economic growth story.
Kaul said that the regulations for GIFT City’s international financial services centre came in 2019 and were notified in 2020. “When we began, there were just about 100 registrations. Today, it’s close to 1,250,” he said, adding that around 45 new registrations take place every month.
GIFT City is only about six years old, he said While these centres have been operating for decades or even centuries. He said GIFT City’s immediate role is to act as a gateway for global companies looking to do business with India. They should be transacting through GIFT City,” Kaul said.
He said the policies introduced by the Centre are helping GIFT City grow. Earlier reporting noted: Radhika Gupta said Edelweiss has launched two products out of GIFT City. Radhika Gupta said Edelweiss has launched two products out of GIFT City. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking to NDTV’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal on Walk The Talk, Gupta said Edelweiss has launched two products out of GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) for money coming into India as well as for Indians working abroad.
Asked what more he would like from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the central government, Kaul said the government is already doing what is needed. The government’s aim, he said, is to make GIFT City one of the world’s leading international financial services centres. Earlier reporting noted: It’s early days for GIFT City – India’s first operational smart city and international financial services centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project in Gujarat – but the regulator is very supportive and keen to make it successful, Edelweiss Mutual Fund MD and CEO Radhika Gupta has said.
