Financial oversight body by December: Minister

NEW DELHI - Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC), India’s apex-level body for the financial sector, is expected to come into force by December, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said Tuesday.

“The Ministry of Finance has consulted all the financial sector regulators on the formation of the council,” Meena said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He said FSDC would deal with issues relating to financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination and financial literacy and inclusion.

Meena added that the council would also keep a watch on the functioning of large financial conglomerates.

Financial sector regulators like Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) would be members of FSDC, he said.

Earlier, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who proposed setting up the council in his Budget speech, said FSDC would not act as a ’super regulator’.

Many countries, including the US, have formed such oversight councils to look at the macro-stability issues post the financial crisis of 2008.