Modi inaugurates India's first int'l exchange at GIFT city

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's first international exchange -- India INX -- at the International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) of GIFT City on Monday, saying it will enable Indian firms to compete on equal footing with offshore firms.

A subsidiary of Bombay Stock Exchange, India INX is one of the world's most advanced technology platforms with a turn-around-time of 4 micro seconds which will operate for 22 hours a day, allowing international investors and NRIs to trade from anywhere across the globe.

INX will trade initially in equity derivatives, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives including index and stocks.

It plans to offer depository receipts and bonds later.

Modi, after opening the exchange by sounding the virtual gong, termed it as a "momentous occasion for Indian financial sector".

"My vision for Gift City is larger. In next 10 years from now, I see Gift City becoming a price-setter for at least a few of the largest traded instruments in the world, whether in commodities, currencies, equities, interest rate derivatives or any other financial instruments," Modi said.

"I am sure the exchange will set new standards for quality of service and speed of transactions across time zone," the Prime Minister said.

"This exchange is a part of IFSC of GIFT City. The concept of IFSC is simple yet powerful. It is to provide offshore talent with an onshore technological and regulatory framework," he said.

"This has been done with a view to enable Indian firms to compete on an equal footing with offshore financial centres," Modi said.

"There has been criticism that a lot of trading in Indian financial instruments is taking place abroad. GIFT City will be able to mitigate such criticism," the Prime Minister said.

"IFSC will be able to provide facility and regulation compared to (on par with) any other international financial centres in the world. It is not easy to create and manage such an environment in large country like India. India can't be compared to small states. We have local markets and have special tax and regulatory regime," Modi said.

"Creating an offshore centre in a large country like India poses a regulatory challenge. I am glad that ministry of finance, revenue, RBI and SEBI have found solutions to such regulatory issues," Modi said.

India needs to create 30 crore new jobs in the next two decades, the PM said.

"India needs to create 30 crore new jobs over the next 20 years. It's a huge endeavour. Skill and well-paid jobs in service sector will have to be part of job revolution.

International exposure that youth will get from Gift City will ensure that more and more of them will be able to join this important dream," Modi said.

"Over the next ten years, I expect GIFT City to generate lakhs of new jobs," the PM said.