It’s a race against time for Mumbai. Any further delay will result in the nation’s financial capital losing out to Dubai in the race to become an International Finance Centre.
MUMBAI: It’s a race against time for Mumbai. Any further delay will result in the nation’s financial capital losing out to Dubai in the race to become an International Finance Centre (IFC), warned city planners. They presented a detailed roadmap to the Centre way back in 2003, only to be frustrated by Delhi’s go-slow attitude.
“I thought that after four years, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will present the report prepared by the task force formed to develop Mumbai into an IFC. But all we got to hear was that the report is now ready and will be up for debate. In actual terms, we will loose two more years,” said Narinder Nayar, president of city-based NGO Bombay First, which first submitted a report on Mumbai becoming an IFC. Nayar claimed that small alterations in the law could elevate the city into a finance hub.
“Mumbai is well-connected by road and air, has a telecom network. There are prickly issues like housing, but they are not so bad that foreign companies won’t come here,” he said.
The roadmap to develop the city into an IFC requires amendments to three Acts - Banking Regulation Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act for dealings in foreign currency. The task force was formed under the chairmanship of Percy Mistry of the Oxford International Group and comprised leading bankers like KV Kamat and PJ Nayak.
In a recent presentation to the group, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh asked it to liberate the regulatory regime, and the group in return wanted the state government to look into the issues of higher stamp duty, property tax structure and most crucially, infrastructure development.
“Mumbai has a strategic advantage for being located between London and Tokyo. Amending the Acts is the Centre’s domain, but the state government has already taken several steps towards building infrastructure - sealink, trans-harbour links and metro rail,” said Sanjay Ubale, secretary, special projects.
An integrated approach to developing the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) through partnership with private companies and help of flexible financial institutions could bring Mumbai on a par with any international cities, felt Metropolitan Commissioner T Chandrashekhar.
“We have asked the US-based Lee and Associates to prepare a business plan for the entire region. We have asked international consultants RITES to undertake study for the parallel rail link between Sewri and Nhava. Fast connectivity is our top priority,” said Chandrashekhar.
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