Mumbai all set to lose International Financial Services Centre

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, December 26

The proposed International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai is all set to be junked with the Narendra Modi government dragging its feet on its construction.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave an indication of this last week when he told Parliament that the IFSC at Gandhinagar is still to achieve full utilisation.

“There is a limit on how many IFSCs one can have …. one can think of another IFSC only after the one at GIFT (city
in Gandhinagar) is optimally used,” Jaitley has been quoted as saying.

The finance minister’s statement has stunned officials and leaders of even the BJP.

The proposed IFSC at Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai is a prestigious project for the Devendra Fadnavis government which has already earmarked land for the project.

The government was hoping to rope in major financial players to set up their offices at the IFSC.

The proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train slated to have its underground terminus below the IFSC was another major attraction.

Political leaders of all parties feel that the Central Government has effectively scrapped the setting up the IFSC in Mumbai.

Even BJP leaders feel that the Marathi lobby would use it against it.

“There will be many who feel that Mumbai is being discriminated in favour of Gujarat,” a senior BJP leader admitted. However, many in the party feel that the Fadnavis government may still push for the IFSC.

The MNS and the Shiv Sena are already accusing the Modi government of giving Maharashtra a step-motherly treatment.

“First they shifted major RBI offices out of Mumbai and now they have almost scrapped the IFSC,” MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.