Modi In Gujarat: PM To Launch India's First International Bullion Exchange IIBX On Day 2 Of His Visit — Details

PM Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and inaugurate, lay the foundation stone of multiple projects worth more than Rs. 1,000 crores in his two-day visit.

PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of the IFSCA Headquarters building and will also launch the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) and NSE IFSC-SGX Connect. ( Image Source :PIB )

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the country's first international bullion exchange (IIBX) on Friday on the second day of his Gujarat visit. Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the headquarters of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services, and financial institutions.

In the Union Budget 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the setting up of IIBX at IFSCA.

PM Modi To Visit 'GIFT City'

At around 10 AM, Prime Minister will attend the 42nd Convocation of Anna University in Chennai. Thereafter he will travel to Gandhinagar to visit GIFT City, where he will launch and lay the foundation stone of various projects at around 4 PM, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed. 

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad will also be present at the GIFT City event, news agency ANI reported.

PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of the IFSCA Headquarters building. He will also launch the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) and NSE IFSC-SGX Connect. He will oversee announcements regarding several milestones related to GIFT-IFSC, instituted under the regulatory initiatives of IFSCA. These milestones include the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by IFSCA with regulatory authorities in Sweden, Luxembourg, Qatar, and Singapore, to strengthen inter-regulatory cooperation. In addition, an MoU with the Department of Space, ANI reported citing to IFSC Authority. Furthermore, an MoU with the Department of Space, Government of India will be exchanged to explore possibilities of convergence between FinTech and SpaceTech.

What Is International Bullion Exchange?   

Bullion typically refers to physical gold and silver of high purity that is mostly kept in the form of bars, ingots, or coins. At times, bullion is considered legal tender and often held as reserves by central banks or held by institutional investors.

As per the PMO, IIBX will facilitate efficient price discovery with the assurance of responsible sourcing and quality, apart from giving impetus to the financialisation of gold in India. "It will empower India to gain its rightful place in the global bullion market and serve the global value chain with integrity and quality. IIBX also re-enforces the commitment of the Government of India towards enabling India to be able to influence global bullion prices as a principal consumer," the office stated.

It will also offer a diversified portfolio of products and technology services at a competitive cost compared to other Indian exchanges as well as other global exchanges in Hong Kong Singapore, Dubai, London and New York, according to a report by Mint.  

More On It: Know All About It India's First International Bullion Exchange

About NSE IFSC-SGX Connect

Prime Minister Modi will also launch NSE IFSC-SGX Connect. It is a framework between NSE's subsidiary in GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX). Under Connect, all orders on NIFTY derivatives placed by members of the Singapore Exchange will be routed to and matched on the NSE-IFSC order matching and trading platform.

"Broker-Dealers from India and across international jurisdictions are expected to participate in large numbers for trading derivatives through the Connect.  It will deepen liquidity in derivative markets at GIFT-IFSC, bringing in more international participants and creating a positive impact on the financial ecosystem in the GIFT-IFSC," PMO mentioned.