FSDC Calls For Vigilance Against Financial Risks From Geopolitical Uncertainty, AI Boom

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called for more frequent meetings of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) as it reviewed emerging risks to India's financial stability amid geopolitical uncertainties, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and a sharp rise in global bond yields.

At its 30th meeting, chaired by Sitharaman in New Delhi, the council stressed the need for heightened vigilance and proactive measures to mitigate potential risks while ensuring the resilience of the financial system, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The council also discussed measures to promote fintech innovation, explore tokenization of financial and other real-world assets, strengthen cyber resilience and deepen financial sector reforms.

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Citing rising "geopolitical headwinds and globa uncertainty,” Sitharaman urged the council to hold meetings at more frequent intervals with a predefined schedule, the ministry said. The FSDC is the apex coordination body for financial stability and development, bringing together key financial sector regulators and government representatives.

The meeting reviewed India 's preparedness to address macro-financial stability concerns and discussed ways to strengthen coordination among financial sector regulators to support the sector's development.

Cybersecurity was a key focus, with the council taking note of the Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy (FSCSS) formulated by an inter-ministerial group comprising financial sector regulators and cybersecurity agencies, in coordination with the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

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Implementation of the strategy is expected to strengthen the overall resilience of India's financial sector. Discussions also covered preparedness to protect critical information infrastructure, the resilience of protection systems and cybersecurity readiness among regional rural banks.

The council also deliberated on implementing earlier decisions and budget announcements, including measures to strengthen the domestic investment ecosystem and improve resource flows for investment, including through the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC).

Other priorities included simplifying and digitising know-your-customer (KYC) processes and digital onboarding for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), and scaling up digital public infrastructure (DPI), particularly the Account Aggregator and Unified Lending Interface (ULI) frameworks, with a focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

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The council also discussed reducing financial intermediation costs, making regulations more responsive and rationalizing credit guarantee schemes.

Sitharaman urged regulators and other stakeholders to expedite refunds of unclaimed financial assets to their rightful owners. These include bank deposits, dividends, shares, post office accounts, insurance proceeds and pension funds.

The council took note of efforts under the“Your Money, Your Right” campaign, which has been undertaken at the district level to return unclaimed financial assets. It asked ministries and regulators to pursue additional measures to ensure timely refunds to rightful owners.

The meeting also reviewed activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, and the status of action on pending decisions from previous council meetings.

The meeting was attended by RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra; DEA secretary Anuradha Thakur; DFS secretary Sanjay Lohiya; revenue secretary Arvind Shrivastava; MeitY secretary S. Krishnan; corporate affairs secretary Pallavi Jain Govil; chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran; Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey; Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India chairperson Ajay Seth; International Financial Services Centres Authority chairperson K. Rajaraman; Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority chairperson S. Ramann; and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India acting chairperson Jayanti Prasad, among others.

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