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Enforcement actions by IFSCA: Upholding of regulatory standards in IFSC, GIFT City

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (“IFSCA”) is the unified regulator of India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre (“IFSC”) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (“GIFT City”). Uniquely positioned both as a developer the regulator for the IFSC jurisdiction, the IFSCA is tasked with fostering a robust financial ecosystem, regulating financial products, financial services, and financial institutions while promoting ease of doing business. A critical aspect of its objective is enforcing compliance requirements and ensuring that IFSC, GIFT City, maintains its status as a jurisdiction of “substance”, with its regulatory standards on par with other global centres.Continue Reading Enforcement actions by IFSCA: Upholding of regulatory standards in IFSC, GIFT City

AIF Distributors and the IFSC Opportunity: What’s Changing in 2025

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2025 (“New CMI Regulations”), were notified by the International Financial Services Centres (“IFSCA”) on April 11, 2025, in supersession of the erstwhile International Financial Services Centres Authority (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021 (“Old CMI Regulations”), and the IFSCA Circular No. F. No. 817/IFSCA/Distribution/2022-23 titled “Distribution of Capital Market Products and Services under the IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021” (“Old Distribution Circular”), dated December 21, 2022.Continue Reading AIF Distributors and the IFSC Opportunity: What’s Changing in 2025

Key Highlights of Gujarat GCC Policy (2025-30)

Introduction

India, with its dynamic and skilled youth, has progressively emerged as a global hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) established by multinational corporations. GCCs offer numerous strategic advantages, including driving digital transformation, fostering innovation, advancing analytics and technological solutions, promoting research and development, creating employment opportunities, enhancing operational efficiency, and strengthening business resilience. Recognising these benefits, Indian companies are also increasingly adopting the GCC model to fuel their growth. Consequently, several Indian states are crafting policies to attract both domestic and multinational corporations to set up GCCs.Continue Reading Key Highlights of Gujarat GCC Policy (2025-30)

GCC Series: Setting-up Global In-house Centres (GICs) in India: Key regulatory considerations

In part VI of our series on key legal considerations for establishing global capability centres (“GCCs”) in India,[1] we discuss global in-house centres or GICs that precede and are a variant of current GCCs.Continue Reading GCC Series: Setting-up Global In-house Centres (GICs) in India: Key regulatory considerations

Gift City

On October 11, 2022, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (“Authority”) notified the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Setting up and Operation of International Branch Campuses and Offshore Education Centres) Regulation, 2022 (“IBC-OEC Regulation”), permitting foreign universities and educational institutions to open a branch in Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (“GIFT City”) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. This stems from the proposal to allow the entry of foreign universities and institutions in GIFT during the FY 23 Union Budget announcements.Continue Reading Gift City: Foreign Universities’ Gateway to India?

Ship Leasing in IFSC

India has a vast coastline and easy access to shipping routes, yet India contributes only 1% in global trade.[1] Many major shipowners and operators have chosen key international maritime centres such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai as their base for operations.

To create a stimulating ecosystem that can help Indian entities compete with global marine hubs by accelerating and boosting their presence internationally, IFSCA has constituted a Committee on Development of Avenues for Ship Acquisition, Financing and Leasing Activities (“SAFAL Committee”) to obtain a complete overview and assessment of the existing legal and regulatory regime in IFSC in India for ship acquisition, financing and leasing.Continue Reading Ship Leasing in IFSC – A New Regime

Evolving Insurance Landscape in IFSC

The Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (“GIFT City”) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is India’s first operational greenfield smart city, housing a domestic tariff zone and an International Financial Services Centre (“IFSC”) in a Multi-service Special Economic Zone (“SEZ”). As part of developing India’s very own and first IFSC, both Indian and foreign entities are permitted to establish and operate IFSC Insurance Offices (“IIO”) from GIFT City, upon obtaining the requisite approvals. The IIOs have the advantage or the ability to transact in freely convertible foreign currencies in offshore markets, while being situated within the territorial borders of India. From 2015 to early 2020, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (“IRDAI”) issued guidelines for IIOs (“IRDAI IIO Guidelines”). Thereafter, pursuant to the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (“IFSCA”) was empowered on October 1, 2020 as the unified regulator with wide powers to develop and regulate financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in IFSCs, including IIOs.Continue Reading Evolving Insurance Landscape in IFSC

GIFT City

Introduction

The onset of Global In-house Centres (“GICs”) in India was driven by global financial services companies seeking to drive costs down and access India’s large talent pool across various locations. These factors together made it a compelling case for GICs to invest in India to setup large centres which performed a variety of functions across technology, risk, AML, operations, research, credit analysis, etc., for a wide variety of businesses, from retail banking, wholesale banking to investment banking, located in various foreign countries. This model has been visibly successful in driving the upskilling of a large talent pool in India and enabling significant cost advantages to the financial services companies that have implemented this model.Continue Reading GICs in IFSC, GIFT City: A Combination to Unlock Value

Fintech Hubs in IFSC

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) had notified its Fintech Incentive Scheme on February 2, 2022 (Scheme), setting up a framework to provide six grants to eligible applicants. The six grants, thematically, are for ESG financing (Green FinTech Grant), meant to provide early-stage capital for scaling up (FinTech Start-up Grant, Proof-of-Concept Grant, Sandbox Grant, Listing Support Grant), and aimed at supporting third-party incubation (Accelerator Grant), with the common thread among all being an intent to facilitate market access.Continue Reading Policy support for fintech hubs in IFSCs