Banks are making a beeline to own space in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City). The project initiated by prime minister Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of the state, is expected to start operations in 2016-17 and in all proability banks will be the first to to occupy space and offer servces. Almost all the banks, inlcuding Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank and HDFC Bank have already concluded agreements to lease space in the convenience, which will also house an International Financial Services Center. Regulators like RBI, SEBI and IRDA have already put in place frameworks for operating branches of respective financial services institutions from IFSC, which is deemed as a foreign territory offering low taxation and a separate dispute resolution system. The project, spread over 886 acres, has a multi-service special economic zone, which will house the IFSC. The IFSC will have commodity exchanges, equity exchanges, offshore banking, KPO, BPO, data center, etc. There is also a domestic finance centre and space for other infrastructural facilities (housing, club, hotels) for people who will work at the IFSC. State Bank of India has already taken a huge space in the facility and construction work is expected to start soon.
