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The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), on June 8th, 2023 organized a conference at its headquarters, themed, "Importance of GIFT City in Attracting Foreign Funds for Indian StartUps and Tax Incentives for Indian Businesses." It aimed to provide a platform for industry stakeholders to discuss and explore the immense potential of GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tech City) in facilitating foreign investment in the Indian StartUp ecosystem. The conference featured esteemed speakers from various domains, who shared their valuable insights on regulatory framework, policies & tax incentives while delivering a comprehensive understanding of the investment prospects within the GIFT City.

Mr. Dipesh Shah, Executive Director, IFSCA in his keynote address, praised the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Modi ji for his long-term vision, he was the Chief Minister at the time when the project was conceived as he showed great determination and foresight in promoting Fin-tech, even though it was not widely recognized term back then.

Speaking further, he said, IFSCA- the International Financial Services Centre Authority, is a unified regulator governing everything in the GIFT City. It aims to make business seamless and efficient by providing commercial, residential, and social facilities all within one center and creating a financial center in India. There are currently 485 companies licensed under the IFSC Authority, and the regulations in the IFSC are aligned with international standards.

He added, In 2015, the International Financial Service Centre was notified, and the most groundbreaking initiative by the Government of India came in 2019 through an act of parliament. This act created a unified regulator within the GIFT and IFSCA ecosystem, consolidating the power of all financial regulators under one authority. To develop and regulate IFSCs in India, IFSCA has been vested with the powers of four sectoral regulators namely- RBI*, SEBI*, IRDAI* & PFRDA* under 16 Central Statutes.


Speaking about the startup ecosystem in India, Mr. Dipesh stated that we are the fastest-growing country in this sector as we have over 84,000 regulated startups, with over 107 unicorns. From 2014 to 2022, the growth has been remarkable. As regulators, we have introduced the Fund Management NTP regulation called FME, which establishes an entity fund regime in line with financial centers like Mauritius, Singapore, and Dubai. This ensures complete regulatory parity.

Furthermore, there is a new avenue available, even as a non-financing company, one can establish a financing company, and individuals can also set up financial services under the regulatory ambit of IFSC, thus supporting Indian entrepreneurs, concluded Mr. Dipesh.

Mr. Saket Dalmia, President of PHDCCI in his address, highlighted the role of GIFT City in bringing back investments that would otherwise flow to foreign destinations. He discussed, this is the environment that exists in India which offers a range of financial services and infrastructure tailored to the needs of startups, as it unlocks ample opportunities for Indians to move money out of India and international participants to move money into India.  

Further, Mr. Dalmia also emphasized the pivotal role it plays in supporting the growth and global expansion of these startups and called it a very important inflection point for Indian businesses, Indian companies, investors, and financial markets to go global and for the whole world to integrate with us.