Pranab sees financial cities widening coverage

The emergence of financial cities across the country will help widen and deepen services and inclusions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday.

He was speaking at the foundation stone laying programme of the IFCI Financial City, at Hardware Park near the Bangalore international airport.

The IFCI Financial City, a project that will cost Rs 970 crore, would be a facility where banks and other financial institutions will be given space for commercial and organisational requirements, similar to an information technology park.

Karnataka is ranked among the top five states consistently in terms of credit-deposit ratio, the minister said. “Bangalore is a brand by itself and is next only to Mumbai and the National Capital Region (NCR) in terms of the credit and deposit taken together.”

At present, there is a concentration of the financial sector in one or two major cities. These type of initiatives will help the sector to be distributed more evenly between the regions, he said.

The state government has allotted 50 acres to IFCI Infrastructure Development Limited (IIDL) for the project. The project is expected to be completed in three years. IIDL is developing the infrastructure in association with leading banks and institutions.

Mukherjee said Bangalore was witnessing good financial penetration and its importance is corroborated by the income tax collection.

Speaking on the occasion, Murugesh Nirani, Karnataka minister for Large and Medium Industries, said the government is ready to give more land for the project, if needed.

Some 15 institutions such as banks and insurance companies — including LIC, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, Syndicate Bank — have shown interest in the project and were given allotment letters from IIDL. Karnataka Chief minister Sadananda Gowda, who was also present at the event, said he believed the project would increase investment and employment in the state.

Responding to a query on the bilateral trade with Pakistan, Mukherjee said: “Let us hope these visits will help to strengthen bilateral trade between the two countries. I am told that our commerce minister’s visit was successful and I do hope it is a step forward for improving relationships.”