Govt appoints council of experts for financial sector

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has constituted a standing council of experts to assess the international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector.

The council will be headed by the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs.

The Council will examine various monetary and non-monetary transaction costs or burden of doing business in the Indian market, and make recommendations for enhancing its competitiveness.

It will have Chief Economic Adviser as alternate chairman and member. The council will also have Prithvi Haldea (Chairman, Prime Database), Madhav Dhar (Board Member, GTI Group), Nachiket Mor (Chairman, CARE India), Shumeet Banerji (ex-CEO, Booz and Company), Jahangir Aziz (JP Morgan), Ravi Narain (former MD & present Vice-Chairman, NSE), Vikram Gandhi (CEO, VSG Capital Advisors), Susan Thomas (Assistant Professor, IGIDR), Shubhashis Gangopadhyay (Director, India Development Foundation) and V. Ravi Anshuman (IIM, Bangalore) as the members. According to the terms of reference of the Council, it will look at issues relating to transacting business through Indian capital markets, including brokerage fee, applicable tax rates, documentation requirements etc, vis-à-vis other competing destinations, and make recommendations aimed at achieving competitiveness.

The council has been asked to examine related policy or operating frameworks and the performance of various segments of the Indian capital market. It will make recommendations aimed at improving their competitiveness and efficiency, as also the completeness of these markets in terms of fully meeting client needs according to global standards through provision of requisite services and financial instruments.

Reform measures

The council will also examine possibilities for and suggest reform measures aimed at enhancing transparency, promoting development and strengthening of governance in the Indian capital markets, while ensuring that risks are contained and investor interests are protected.

The council has been constituted after an announcement was made in the Budget. In his budget speech, the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said, "I propose to constitute a Standing Council of Experts in the Ministry of Finance to analyse the international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector, periodically examine the transaction costs of doing business in the Indian market, and provide inputs to Government for necessary action."