‘India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue’ hails reforms in both countries

Ahmedabad, Dec 14

Senior officials from India and the UK on Friday touched upon reforms in respective financial services sectors, including capital markets, insurance and reinsurance, pensions, fintech, sustainable finance and International Financial Services Centre.

The third meeting of ‘India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue’ was hosted by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, in GIFT City, Gujarat. Delegates from India and the UK shared perspectives on priorities and ongoing reforms within their respective jurisdictions.

The dialogue focused on collaboration in evolving fields of financial regulation, noting the areas of mutual interest in both markets for increasing bilateral trade and investment between the financial sectors.

The dialogue was led by senior officials from the Indian Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury, with participation from Indian and the UK regulatory agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Delegates also discussed work on developing our capital markets, noting recent UK reforms to primary and wholesale regimes and new and innovative products launched in India’s capital markets.

Delegates also discussed ongoing reforms in respective pensions sectors. The Indian representatives presented on efforts to increase workplace pension participation rates and develop pay out methods.

Both sides agreed on the opportunity presented by reforms for exploration of areas of mutual interest, and to support the mutual ambition of driving growth.

The UK welcomed the recent notification of pension schemes as financial products to be regulated by IFSCA. It also noted that insurance companies in GIFT-IFSC are allowed to invest overseas and the proposal to enable pension companies in GIFT IFSC to invest overseas is under consideration.

Participants also discussed related priorities, including the G20 payments roadmap, digital payment connectivity, regulatory sandbox collaboration, collaboration on Central Bank Digital Currencies, and future cooperation on other emerging technologies including AI and Quantum computing.