India's first international bullion exchange will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of his Gujarat visit. He will also lay the foundation stone of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) headquarter.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the setting up of India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) at IFSC at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in the Union Budget 2020-21.

India's bullion market is the second largest in terms of consumption, but it lacks organisation and structure, and the bullion spot exchange is expected to address this and eliminate market inefficiencies.

IFSCA is a statutory authority established by the government of India, responsible for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.

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Modi will be in GIFT City to lay the foundation stone for IFSCA after attending the 42nd Convocation of Anna University.

Apart from launching the IIBX, Modi will launch NSE IFSC-SGX Connect, a collaboration between NSE's subsidiary in the IFSC and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX). It will use the Connect framework to provide a liquidity pool for NIFTY products in GIFT City.

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Clients, customers, investors and traders using the SGX for trading in Indian securities will be able to use the NSE IFSC directly. With the IFSC being designated as a tax holiday zone, like global financial centres in Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the move is expected to open up Indian securities for many investors.

Earlier, PM Modi made his way to Gadhoda Chowki, Sabarkantha, to inaugurate the multiple projects of Sabar Dairy. The projects, worth over Rs 1,000 crore, include a powder plant with a capacity of 120 million tonnes per day (MTPD), an aseptic milk packaging plant with a capacity of three lakh litre of milk per day, and the Sabar cheese and whey drying plant project.

“These projects will empower local farmers and milk producers and increase their income. This will also boost the region's rural economy,” the Prime Minister's Office said.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Jul 26, 2022 9:40 PM IST