Mumbai best place to set up IFSC, says Maharashtra CM

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today asserted, with "duo apologies to all" that Mumbai is the best place to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Fadnavis made the statement in the Legislative Council after a Congress member pointed out that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had ruled out setting up an IFSC in Maharashtra's capital.

Fadnavis said that London has three IFSCs, and India too can have multiple IFSCs.

Replying to supplementary queries on a Calling Attention motion moved by Sanjay Dutt (Congress), Fadnavis said Mumbai alone can be the country's financial services hub, as it is a natural financial service centre, having the front offices of major banks, life insurance firms and others.

"With due apologies to all, I want to make it clear that a financial services hub cannot be set up anywhere else other than Mumbai, and this is 100 per cent right," he said.

He said this after Dutt pointed out that Jaitley, replying to a question by Congress's Lok Sabha MP Ashok Chavan, had ruled out setting up the IFSC in Mumbai.

"The Union Finance Minister in his reply added that unless the IFSC in Gujarat is put to optimum use, a second IFSC will not be set up," Dutt had said.

The chief minister said the master plan for the IFSC is in its final stage. Maharashtra can choose from two models of IFSC, he added.

"One model is that of an IFSC in London, which does not have the status of Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which could lead to loss of some tax concessions from the Centre. While the other (option) would be to set up an IFSC in the existing SEZ anywhere in the state," he said.

In both the models, the state will not have to approach the Centre for approval, Fadnavis said.