'We target a large investor pool—NRIs, PIOs and foreigners'

GIFT City, India’s first operational International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), disbursed $20 billion dollar loans to Indian corporates in FY25. This was more than a third of India’s total offshore borrowing. The IFSC is planning to start a commodity trading centre, and is fine-tuning regulations to support global fund managers. K Rajaraman, chairperson of IFSC Authority that regulates GIFT City and other IFSCs in India, discusses these and other ambitious plans in an interview with

- Kuldeep Singh. Excerpts

What is your long-term vision for GIFT City?

Gift City is designed to be one of the platforms for raising capital for India's growth journey. Last year, Indian corporates raised total debt, roughly, about $61 billion, out of which, $19 billion was provided by Gift City's international banking units.

Apart from natural advantages which India enjoys in terms of affordability and human resources, the low cost of living compared to international destinations is an advantage for us. Places like Singapore and Dubai are 3-4 times expensive. Besides, corporate tax waiver for 10 years out of 15 years would be attractive to investors. We have done a great deal of work to ease regulation, make them globally aligned and business-friendly. Market integrity is protected too.

Every three years, we upgrade our regulations, because global financial markets keep evolving, and our regulations have to keep pace. One of our work is to benchmark ourselves with the rest of the world.

How do you plan to accelerate the shift of financial business from Indian cities like Mumbai to GIFT City?