Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has emphasized the strategic importance of GIFT City as a key player in India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. Speaking at a seminar titled ‘GIFT City – An Aspiration of Modern India’ during the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, Sitharaman urged GIFT City to focus on green credits and establish diverse fintech laboratories. Originally conceptualized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2007, GIFT City has evolved into a major international financial hub, boasting a growing presence of financial institutions, including banks, exchanges, and fintech entities. Sitharaman highlighted India’s role as a global growth engine and envisioned GIFT City as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to the nation’s financial prominence on the global stage.
The Union Finance Minister further said India should aim to become a manufacturing hub for shipping and eight ship leasing entities are working in IFSC that would enable access to global finance. Retail participation in stock markets in India is another distinct feature of the financial sector reforms initiated by the government, Sitharaman added.
The Union Finance Minister said India is now driving the growth engine of the world and can become the bridge between the developed Western world and the Global South as India continues onwards to the path of financial prominence on the global stage, the people of India want to become innovators and entrepreneurs and added that GIFT City can help in realising these aspirations.