International Bullion Exchange will help India set price of gold globally: PM Modi

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                                        

New Delhi, July 29

Prime Minister Narehndra Modi on Friday said the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) launched by him in GIFT City at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, will help India set the trend for gold price across boundaries.

“The love Indians have for gold is known to everyone. Gold has been playing a major role in economic empowerment of women in the country. Gold has been an integral part of our society and culture. This is one of the major reasons for India’s reputation as a huge market for gold and silver. Now, time has come for India to become a market-maker of gold”, the PM said after he launched India’s first international bullion exchange today.

“IIBX is an important step in the direction of India becoming a market-maker of gold. The institution will help Indian businesses dealing in gold expand their operations. It will open up new opportunities for them,” the Prime Minister said, adding that it will enable Indian businessmen to purchase bullion directly in a transparent manner and facilitate efficient price discovery.

IIBX will also become a platform for direct trading in gold, Modi said and added that as the gold trade business would get organised in the country, the demand for gold in India would influence the price of the metal globally.

The Prime Minister said India was already one of the largest economies of the world and it was going to grow further. India needed institutions that could cater to its present and future role in the global economy. The IIBX was also a step in that direction, he said.

The PM also laid the foundation stone of the headquarter building of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in GIFT City. He said he would expect IFSCA–an agency for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centres (there is only one IFSC in the country at present which is located in GIFT City)–to  become a leader in regulations, set high standards for rule of law, and emerge as the favourite arbitration center of the world.

At the function, PM also launched the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect, a framework between NSE’s subsidiary in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX).

India now stood in line with countries like the USA, UK and Singapore, from where global finance was influenced, Modi said and rued that business and industry were not given adequate importance in the country initially in the post-indepefence era initially because of the mentality of slavery and lack of self-confidence that prevailed then.