In accordance
with the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister Shri
P.Chidambaram in his Budget Speech 2013, a Standing Council
of Experts is constituted today by the Government in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance with a
view to assess the international competitiveness of the Indian financial
sector. The Council will be headed by the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
The
Council will examine various pecuniary and non-pecuniary transaction costs/
burden of doing business in the Indian market and make recommendations for
enhancing its competitiveness.
The Council shall have the following
composition:
a. Secretary,
Department of Economic Affairs-Chairperson
b. Chief
Economic Adviser (CEA)- Member and Alternate Chair
c. Joint
Secretary (Capital Markets), DEA: Convener
- Member
Secretary to the Council.
The
other members of the Council shall include Mr. Prithvi
Haldea, Chairman, Prime Database, New Delhi, Mr. Madhav Dhar, Board Member, GTI Group, Mr. Nachiket Mor, Chairman, CARE India, Mr. Shumeet
Banerji, Ex-CEO Booz and Company, Mr. Jahangir Aziz,
JP Morgan and Company, Mr. Ravi Narain, Former MD
& present Vice Chairman,NSE, Mr. Vikram Gandhi, CEO, VSG Capital Advisors, Dr. Susan Thomas,
Assistant Professor, IGIDR, Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Director, India Development Foundation and
Prof. V. Ravi Anshuman, IIM Bangalore.
Beside above, the
Chairperson may invite any such person(s), for any of the
Meeting (s) of
the Council, whose presence is deemed necessary for
achieving the
objectives of the Council.
As
per the terms of reference of the Council, it shall be governed by the
following terms of reference:
a) To analyze
the international competitiveness of the Indian financial
sector;
b) To
comprehensively examine various pecuniary and non-pecuniary
costs of
doing business through Indian capital / financial markets,
like
transactions costs including brokerage fee, applicable tax rates,
documentation
requirements etc. vis-a-vis
other competing
destinations, and
make recommendations aimed at achieving
competitiveness;
c) To examine
related policy / operating frameworks and the
performance of
various segments of Indian capital / financial
markets and
make recommendations aimed at improving their
competitiveness and
efficiency, as also the completeness of these
markets in
terms of fully meeting client needs as per global
standards
through provision of requisite services and financial
instruments;
d) To examine
possibilities for and suggest reform measures aimed at
enhancing
transparency, promoting development of and
strengthening
governance in the Indian capital markets / financial
sector while
ensuring that risks are contained and investor
interests are
protected;
e) To deliberate
and advise on any other matter related to the above
objectives that
may be referred to it with the approval of the
Chairperson.
The Council would
meet with a frequency necessary for fulfillment of
its
objectives, with the approval of the Chairperson. An effort would be
made to
hold meetings at least once in two months.
The Government
would have the right to reconstitute / discontinue
the
Council at any time, without any notice or attribution of any reasons.
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DSM/Ka