Chair of the 27th session of the financial stability And development council (FSDC), Sitharaman also said that regulators should maintain constant vigilance as ensuring “the stability of the financial sector is a shared responsibility” of regulators. She said regulators must take adequate and timely action to mitigate any vulnerability and strengthen financial stability.
“It was also noted that as the Union Budget has announced unclaimed deposits, shares and dividends that are in the pool, the regulator concerned should take a ride, particularly when details of the nominees are available, although the nominees may not be of them.” Knowledge is time bound to them,” Ajay Seth, secretary of the economics department, told reporters after the FSDC meeting. He added that where details of the nominees are not available, a procedure must be put in place.
In her budget speech for 2023-24, Sitharaman had said that an integrated IT portal would be set up for investors to easily reclaim unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
Seth said the council also discussed how to simplify the KYC (Know Your Customer) process and streamline it for the needs of Digital India, which was one of the announcements in the budget.
He said the global financial situation is scary but the Indian economy and especially the Indian financial sector is well protected and well regulated. “But of course we have to be careful and on our toes,” Seth said, adding that there is no encroachment on India from the global financial system.
The FM said regulators should take a focused approach to further reduce compliance burdens and ensure a tight and efficient regulatory environment. The progress made in this regard is to be reviewed by FM with each regulatory authority in June 2023, according to an official statement.
She said regulators must be proactive and ensure cybersecurity readiness of IT systems to reduce the risk of cyberattacks, protect sensitive financial data and maintain overall system integrity, thus ensuring the stability and resilience of India’s financial ecosystem.
The meeting also discussed the report on the actions taken on the budget announcements made since 2019. Regulators should take a focused approach to implement the announcements made in the 2023-24 budget, for which timelines have also been set, the statement said.
