NSE’s Sriram Krishnan pitches Russian bank entry into GIFT City to unlock listings, capital flows

Sriram Krishnan-NSE Chief Business Officer

• NSE urges Russian banks to set up offices in GIFT City.
• Russian firms could raise capital in India via rupee instruments.
• Joint working group proposed for regulatory coordination.

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The National Stock Exchange is seeking to move India–Russia financial engagement from dialogue to execution, with its Chief Business Officer Sriram Krishnan calling for a Russian banking presence in GIFT City as a critical first step to enable cross-border capital flows and listings.

Speaking at the “From the Volga to the Ganges: Dialogue of Civilizations and Integration of Capital Markets” forum hosted at the NSE on Thursday, Krishnan framed the absence of on-ground financial infrastructure as the key missing link in scaling bilateral market activity.

“What we request is for one of the Russian banks to set up an office in GIFT City, and if that happens, many possibilities emerge,” he said, signalling that capital market integration between the two countries is now contingent on operational plumbing rather than intent.

The ask is significant in context. While trade ties between India and Russia have expanded in recent years, capital market participation—both in terms of listings and institutional flows—has remained limited, in part due to currency, settlement and regulatory frictions. A banking presence within GIFT City, India’s international financial services hub, could help bridge these gaps by enabling smoother fund flows, custody, and transaction settlement.

Krishnan outlined a multi-layered opportunity set that could follow.

On the issuer side, he indicated that Russian companies—including those with subsidiaries operating in India—could explore raising capital locally, including through rupee-denominated instruments. “Issuers… can look at opportunities here,” he said, suggesting that Indian markets could serve as an alternative capital-raising venue.

The pitch was anchored in valuation arbitrage. Citing Suzuki Motor Corporation, he noted that despite deriving roughly half its revenues from India, the company’s valuation has been significantly influenced by its India-listed business. The implication: access to India’s domestic investor base can unlock valuation outcomes that may not be available elsewhere.

On the investor side, Krishnan widened the aperture beyond benchmark names. Russian capital, he said, need not be limited to large-cap exposures but could also target India’s broader opportunity set—including mid-market companies and startups. India today has a deep pipeline of emerging businesses, many of which are yet to be fully discovered by global capital.

“Investors can participate not just in top companies, but also in emerging companies,” he said, pointing to the scale of the ecosystem and the potential for early-stage strategic investments.

He also flagged fixed income as an underexplored avenue. Referring to ongoing work around bond market infrastructure, Krishnan highlighted the role of credit rating ecosystems and the possibility of enabling cross-border bond listings through GIFT City. This could open another channel for both issuers and investors seeking diversification.

At a policy level, he acknowledged that regulatory coordination would be essential to translate these ideas into flows. To that end, he suggested the creation of a joint working group involving stakeholders from both countries to articulate requirements and facilitate approvals.

“Necessary approvals can be considered… a working group can be put in place,” he said, indicating a more structured approach to resolving bottlenecks.

Krishnan also struck a notably optimistic tone on the trajectory of engagement, pointing to steady dialogue between the two sides and the absence of major disagreements in recent years. “We’ve already seen some important outcomes emerging,” he said, expressing confidence that momentum would carry into 2026 and beyond.