Parliament passes International Financial Services Centre Authority bill, 2019

On December 13. 2019, the International Financial Services Centre Authority bill was passed by Rajya Sabha. It proposes to set up an authority to regulate financial services in the International Financial Services Centres in India.

Composition of the authority

According to the bill, the authority will comprise of nine members along with the chairperson. Among the nine members, two will be from Ministry of Finance and one each from SEBI, RBI, IRDAI and PRFDA. Two other officials are to be appointed on the recommendation of search committee. The members will have a term of three years.

Functions of the authority

The authority will regulate financial products like contracts of insurance, financial institutions and services, deposits and securities that were previously approved by regulators such as SEBI, RBI and IFSC. It has power to regulate services offered by financial bodies as notified by the Union Government. This makes it independent from the government and to work autonomously.

Performance Review Committee

Under the law, the authority will constitute Performance Review Committee that will review the functioning of the authority. It will consolidate the findings of the authority and submit a report to the authority at least once a year. The committee will comprise of at least two members of the authority.

International Financial Service Centre Authority Funds

The bill proposes setting up of International Financial Service Centre authority funds. The charges, fees collected will be received by the authority from different sources and will be credited to the fund. The fund will also be used to pay salaries and allowances of the employees and other expenses incurred by the authority.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019